Bike Lane Project
On Oct. 16, the city board of directors voted 6-1 to approve the “Bike Lane Pilot Project,” a one-year, temporary experiment aimed at studying the effects of certain trafficalleviation measures.
Specifically, the main components of the project were called “pinch-points” and “chicanes,” and speed humps were placed in between them. The premise behind the experiment was to first observe whether these measures would reduce vehicular speeds and second, whether reduced speeds would lead to increased usage of city streets and sidewalks by pedestrians and motorists.
Seven weeks later in their Dec. 4 meeting, the board voted to remove all pinch points and chicanes, with the exception of one on Harvard Street. The decision came as a result of backlash from some residents living near the impacted areas, which were mainly on Harvard Street, Elm Street, West Jefferson Street and Maxwell Street.
After its approval a number of complaints were made by residents, at board meetings up until the December meeting, who cited concerns that the project wasn’t aesthetically appealing. Many also questioned whether the pinch points and chicanes actually made things safer for pedestrians.
On the other hand, the project received support from a number of residents who also lived in the area, who said that it makes them and their families feel safer in their neighborhood. For the organizations overseeing the project — BikeNWA and Lane Shift — the reversal eliminated much of their ability to collect data or draw conclusions on whether the project accomplished its goals.
Data collected through traffic counters for the remaining pinch point on Harvard Street, however, indicates that they are effective. At this location, the average speed has decreased by 5 miles per hour, the number of vehicles traveling at 30 miles per hour has decreased from 19.3 percent to 5.8 percent and the number of vehicles traveling 35 miles per hour has decreased from 2.9 percent to .5 percent.