City will add ‘protected’ bike lane in Villages later this year
WEST PALM BEACH — A specific type of bike lane — called a “protected” or “green” lane — is coming to West Palm Beach, specifically along Cumberland Drive in the Villages with construction starting in November.
The bike lane will be set aside from the road and the sidewalk by a raised barrier for about a mile from Military Trail to Village Boulevard, said Erik Ferguson, the city’s senior project engineer.
The $1.15 million project also includes a Dutch-st yle roundabout at Saratoga Road.
“We’re really pushing to build protected bike lanes whenever we can,” Ferguson said. “The city is so progressive on this type of infrastructure.”
Despite criticism from some residents, West Palm Beach has been a pioneer in traffic calming measures, including roundabouts and speed bumps to discourage people from taking short cuts through residential neighborhoods.
West Palm Beach city commissioners agreed May 22 to tap a $40 million bond fund for the work. Bidding is scheduled for July, with construction on the sixmonth job scheduled for November. The road is just east of the new Ballpark of the Palm Beaches.
The move toward making life easier on bikers is part of a nationwide push.
Between 2011 and 2016, the number of protected bike lanes in the United States quadrupled as they become more integrated in American street design, according to The Green Lane Project, a national program designed to help cities build better bike lanes to create low-stress streets. They focused on protected bike lanes, which are separated from traffic by curbs, planters, parked cars or posts.
The exi sting road i s 16 feet wide, but after construction, it will be reduced to 11 feet wide. Ferguson said homeowners have been complaining about people speeding on the 30-mph road, but the smaller lane will force slower speeds.
The bike lane will be 5 feet wide and the divider between the lane and street will be 2 feet wide, Ferguson said. The cit y chose to build a protected bike lane because studies show people use protected ones more than unprotected ones.
The middle of the roundabout will feature grass and an art piece, Ferguson said.
Ron Warnecke, president of the Villages of Palm Beach Lakes, said he wasn’t notified that the center of the roundabout would have landscaping instead of pavement.
“I don’t think the city can maintain it as well as we maintain the rest of our properties in the Villages,” he said.
Ferguson said he’s still working with the homeowners association to see if the city or the neighborhood will maintain the 30-foot diameter grassy section.
This is the first of protected bike lanes in West Palm Beach, but the city may have more starting next year.
The city has set aside $2 million to produce an extensive bicycle plan. The plan includes signs, more protective bike lanes and greenways.