Lakewood Bikeway Planning Community Workshop

[Melissa Page]

Hosted by the City of Lakewood
Department of Planning and Development

Tuesday, October 5, 2010
6:30 PM - 8:00 PM
Main Library Auditorium
15425 Detroit Avenue

Here is the press release information provided by Lakewood City Planning & Development:

Help us make our city a great place to ride!

This workshop is the first opportunity for residents to share their input and ideas about commuter and recreational bicycling in Lakewood.

Bicycling promotes efficient land use, promotes efficient use of road space, promotes equitable transportation, supports buying local, promotes health and fitness, reduces air and noise pollution, reduces traffic congestion, reduces taxpayer burden, reduces parking demand, reduces energy use, and is an integral part of a progressive community.

Lakewood has a significant bicycling population of both transportation and recreational riders. Most of the City is flat, densely-populated and was developed around streetcar lines creating a compact layout that offers relatively short distances between schools, parks, residential areas and commercial centers. Most vehicle trips inside the City are less than five miles round trip and because of Lakewood’s layout could potentially be accomplished on a bicycle. However, the City currently lacks the coordinated infrastructure that supports bicycling in taking full advantage of that potential.

In the interest of improving the cycling environment, the bicycle plan’s purpose will be to identify and then direct the implementation of a continuous network of cross-town routes and facilities. Such a network will promote safe and convenient bicycle travel throughout the community for riders of all abilities, skills and objectives.

For more information contact Dru Siley in Planning and Development at 216.529.6630 or planning@lakewoodoh.net

[Melissa Page]

As part of the city wide look at biking in Lakewood, City Hall is looking into the feasibility and appropriateness of creating separate bike lanes on Madison Ave. As Madison Ave. is coming up for repavement and also opportunity for redesigning striping, should a separate biking lane be added to the road?

Here’s a couple issues for consideration from my experience as a Lakewood biker, Chairperson of Madison Ave. Merchant Assoc., and much of my life is spent along Lakewood's main corridors. While working with Officer Michael Fritsch who heads up Lakewood’s Police bike team and spearheaded the Lakewood Bike Rodeo held in June, he taught me the important point that all bike “riders” should be actually considered as “drivers”. Bikers have equal responsibility as that of auto drivers. Therefore, I will use the term “driver” instead of bike “rider” as it really helps me understand how a biker should be viewed from a safety issue perspective.

PROS of a bike lane

1. Get bike riders off the sidewalks – Having bike drivers on the sidewalk leads to just as many accidents for the bikers, walkers, and autos as being on the street. Current law ordinance prohibits all bike drivers to not drive on sidewalk. Ha! You think I’d have my 6 year old driving his own bike along with me on the street? Currently, when my kids are on their own bike I ride on road slow while they bike along with me on sidewalk. I believe sidewalk bikers drive on sidewalks because they don’t feel safe on street (or tweens/teens’ parents support their kids to be on sidewalk over road). Will bike lanes increase safety, real or perceived, for all.

2.A bike lane would clearly dictate to autos and bikers alike that bikes should be on the road just as equally as autos. Hence, following all traffic laws as a car would.

CONS of a separate bike lane

1. It’s a temporary band-aid not the ultimate long lasting cure - I’ve learned the need for all auto drivers and bike drivers to understand and accept that bikes have every right and therefore, responsibility, to be on the street as any car does. Could Lakewood City and advocacy groups just help educate and inform any driver in Lakewood of the equal status autos and bikes have when using our roads? This could include proper signage, traffic calming measures, communications, police enforcement, continuing of educational efforts such as kids Bike Rodeo, efforts through our schools, Bike Lakewood, Walk & Roll advocacy. How does a separate bike lane help with this educational process to get autos and bikes to understand their shared responsibility by sharing the same space (lane) on all roads, not just those that have a designated bike lane?

2. Not most efficient use of our limited space.
I fear having to make a separate bike lane will now give too much preference to the biking minority over the much more car and bus traffic flow that does and can serve the vitality of Madison Ave. businesses. Or, it may impede on the potential for widening sidewalks in areas where this may help encourage pedestrian traffic and storefront/restaurant business.

Any thoughts that can help weigh out our options? About Madison specifically or other in Lakewood? I would love to discuss for some food for thought before the workshop next week.

[Gary Rice]

As chairperson for the original Lakewood Day Bike races in the dim distant past, and one who has been interested in cycling for many years, I'm sure that this is a well-intended adventure in planning, but as far as I am aware, and I may be wrong, I think that the idea of "bike lanes" was rendered virtually obsolete by revisions to the Ohio Revised Code, allowing bikes full use of most roadways. (Check out the Code for full details, to be sure.)

The old separate "bike lane" concept tended to collect dangerous road debris blown over from the regular highway, plus they oftentimes put cyclists next to (if not actually riding over) dangerous storm drains. Add to that, the issue of parked vehicles and swing-out auto doors, (particularly sports two-door models) and I would think that you could end up with a significant municipal public safety issue. You would need to paint a bike lane so far out to avoid a swinging auto door, as to virtually have it out in the middle of the street anyway, here in Lakewood.

I served on a bike committee with the city years ago, and I seem to recall that our solution at that time, in order to be in conformity with the new state laws, was simply to suggest having periodic bike signs with the comment "Share the road", or words to that effect.

Back to the banjo...

[Melissa Page]

I had the meeting notice moved to Announcements for the info on the Biking Workshop.

In hopes to really draw out some good dialogue on a particular focus around biking, I restarted the topic found under Lakewood General Discussion. Please see Topic titled:

"Are Separate Bike Lanes Best For Madison?"

And either chime in hear on the Deck and/or won't you attend the Tuesday, Oct. 5th Biking Workshop, 6:30pm at Main Library.

Thank you, Mel

[Bryan Schwegler]

Glad to see the city having this meeting, I'm just bummed that I'll be out of town for it.

To me, it's not so much whether or not we have bike lanes on the roads that will help Lakewood be more bike friendly (I tend to agree with Tim and Mel, that bike lanes are probably not the best option anyway), but it's the lack of consistent places to lock your bikes.

I feel pretty safe already riding on most Lakewood streets (other than maybe Detroit which is always crazy), but the problem I find is that places to lock your bike are inconsistent throughout the city. Sometimes there's racks, sometimes signs or trees, sometimes there's no where near the business to lock up a bike. If the intention is to make Lakewood more bike friendly, then having a master plan to figure out consistent, regular placement of lockable areas is going to be important to figure out.