Planned Protected Bike Way In Danger!

At this month’s Pedestrian and Bicyclist Advisory Committee meeting we learned that the proposed protected bike way along N st., part of the downtown master plan project, faces opposition. There is still general acceptance for the protected bike way from the Mayor’s office, the Downtown Business Association, and the public as a whole. But those opposing the bike way are being the greater squeaky wheel. So let’s squeak back!

On  May 30 there will be a public hearing for the Planning Commission on the update to the Downtown Master Plan. This will cover the protected bike way topic.  1:00 PM in Room 112 in the City County Building.

On June 18 is the scheduled hearing for the City Council on the update to the Downtown Master Plan. This will also cover the protected bike way topic.

We STRONGLY urge you to attend both these meetings with us. Together we will emphasize to the Planning Commission and the City Council how important it is to have a strong and vibrant downtown that is accessible to all in our great community.

– If unable to attend these meetings, please write your City Council representative.

5 thoughts on “Planned Protected Bike Way In Danger!

    • Damon Post author

      Thank you David. It is our understanding that the biggest grief of the opposition is the lost of some on street parking. The new arena and other downtown projects are the major cause for the removal of some parking, but the proposed protected bikeway has been the scapegoat.

  1. Vonn Roberts

    Damon, how about an ad in LJS the day before city council meeting that would act on bike trail/protected lane. I have no idea of cost but would contribute. Maybe include list of names of supporters?”

  2. Kent Miller

    What is the opposition? It has nothing to do with lost parking for this daily rider. I say this project creates an appearance of a “bike-friendly” community, but would be ineffective or possibly harmful to cyclists and this is supported by traffic studies and the experience of other communities. I personally felt marginally safer riding the downtown before the bike lanes were added.

    There was (some) good discussion of this in response to the LJS article about the proposed 2 way bike lane. The main opposition is that studies have found the 2 way lanes create more potential conflicts (accidents) mostly with cyclist – cyclist collisions.The other main objection has to do with the difficulty of snow removal.I have pasted and excerpt of one below.

    “As a cyclist who has commuted through the downtown area for the past decade, I simply don’t see the need for any bike lanes, let alone these ridiculous “cycle tracks”. From my experience, I can travel faster and more safely when I follow the same rules and pavement as car drivers. By doing so, others can see me, anticipate my actions, and easily pass me.

    If I were in a “cycle track”, I would be out of sight of car drivers, thus necessitating extra caution at every intersection to make a car isn’t about to turn in front of me, and I would have to be on the look out for people walking to and from their cars to the curb. Here’s an excellent video of New York cyclists’ experiences after a similar “cycle track” was installed: http://youtu.be/ADUhqva9PwU

  3. Alan

    In a comment to the Lincoln Journal Star article, http://journalstar.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/council-hears-conflicting-views-on-protected-bike-lane/article_aab9510f-9227-5d41-b488-45273fe37805.html?mode=story, tim makes a reference to a Copenhagen study that reported a 9 % increase in accidents due to a protected bike lane. It’s more complicated than that and I assume tim was referencing a Wikipedia page about it- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Segregated_cycle_facilities. While the result of the study does show an increase in the number of accidents, there was also an increase of 18 % in the number of bike riders which results in an actual small drop in accidents by percentage. tim was cherry-picking his data.

    And Kent, as far as that video is concerned, I saw a lot of what appeared to be people breaking the law in any number of ways.

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