“We need to make sure everyone is aware of what the rules of the road are,” state Sen. Floyd Prozanski of Eugene said. “Everyone needs to be held accountable – cyclists as much as drivers.”

Prozanski, a cyclist who rode with Higdon’s group for more than six years, applauded what he called the state’s quick installation of signs, which is to include a second batch later this year. But the long-term solution is to widen sections of Territorial and add shoulders, Prozanski said.

He’s encouraging twin efforts – one local, the other state-level – to secure money for the work.

Lane County commissioners may review whether they could quickly improve this section of the state road by taking ownership in return for giving some stretch of county roadway to the state, Prozanski said.

The other option would be earmarking money for Territorial through the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program, a long-range road planning system, Prozanski said.

Like the first option, this requires the support of the commissioners, who could make the roadway a priority for funding.

However, some people don’t think cyclists should ride Territorial, where the speed limit is as high as 55 mph. A neon-orange sign found in the area Monday read “Attention Bicyclists Find A Safer Road.” It was unclear who placed the sign there.

One cyclist said the problem isn’t bike riders, and the answer isn’t widening the road.

This cyclist said the solution is for motorists to drive more safely.

“What the roadway needs is motorists to slow the hell down,” said 35-year-old Dave Dixon, who rides the route a couple of times a month. “Motorists have a legal obligation and a moral obligation to respect the safety of others.”

Bob Hing, 65, a Lorane area resident, said careful bicycling and a wider roadway – rather than signs – are the keys to safety.

“If (bike riders) bunch up where a car has to go past three, four, five, six (bicyclists) at a time, if there’s an accident, they’re as much at fault as the driver,” Hing said.

Another local resident, Craig Royce, 59, said bike riders must be careful not to impede traffic unduly, and officials should thoroughly review whether to spend money on the problem.

“I don’t think the money ought to be spent (on Territorial) just because it’s a squeaky wheel,” he said.

Joe Harwood, a spokesman for ODOT, said the state can support either funding option that’s under consideration. The State Transportation Improvement Program process could end with construction as soon as the summer of 2008.

Prozanski said Oregon’s rural routes are increasingly promoted for recreational bicycling, which intensifies the obligation on all users to observe state laws regarding car, bicycle and pedestrian traffic.

Prozanski said he will push for more recognition of “rules of the road” in public service announcements and testing for driver’s licenses.