Chamber president offers argument for bike paths

Editor: Regarding your Thursday, Oct. 3 article headlined “Sides argue about Lodi bike lane plans.”

I was unable to attend last night’s Lodi City Council meeting as I was attending an industry function. Because the Chamber of Commerce was mentioned at least twice by council members, I would like to set the record straight on points taken regarding the Church Street road diet.

At the council meeting on Oct. 1, Councilwoman JoAnne Mounce pulled the consent item about the Church Street Road Diet, where the four north/south lanes will shrink to two lanes plus a left turn lane in the middle, useable by drivers going north or south.

I’ll admit it is counter-intuitive thought that going from four to two lanes will speed up traffic. One main reason is because of the dedicated left turn lane. With the change, a left turner going either direction can do so more safely and not slow or stall traffic behind them. Councilman Doug Kuehne was in the information meeting held at the Chamber and did say that many businesses were on hand and after hearing the facts were won over. I was one of them.

Councilwoman Mounce said not all businesses are Chamber members and therefore were not made aware of the meeting, according to the article. We did promote it through our channels to almost 800 businesses. However, we promoted on our Facebook page, which has over 6,000 followers, plus we posted it on Lodi 411, open to 11,826 members of the community, along with a news release in this paper on Page 2 under News Briefs.

Mayor Chandler is correct, that biking is getting more popular by the day. Same for biking tourism in Lodi. I’m sure that fact will be confirmed by Nancy Beckman at Visit Lodi. And let’s not forget, 25% of Measure L is funded by tourists, says our city finance department. Also, some of the 150-plus short-stay home rentals in Lodi advertise bikes come with the home.

While Councilman Johnson does not see many cyclists on Lower Sacramento or Elm, I certainly do, especially in the evenings after work when the temperature cools down, Elm has many riders — young, old and families. You will not see those riders on Lower Sacramento, but you do see those who are fearless and ride for sport, usually attired in bright colored spandex racing togs. Casual riders and families do not want to ride that close to cars traveling at 45 to 50 miles per hour. I’m in that category, I often ride my bike Downtown via Elm on Saturdays. But the bike lane going east stops at Hutchins, leaving a two-block gap with no bike lane to get to Church and Downtown.

Church Street will be not only safer and quicker for motorists but cyclists as well, a big safety improvement for those on bikes. And all the businesses having heard the facts of what this “Street Diet” plan will do, understand why it will be an improvement for them as their businesses will be easier and safer to turn into. Plus, we live in a beautiful city and you can see it best on a bike, and your heart will appreciate the exercise. PAT PATRICK President/CEO, Lodi Chamber of Commerce