Title
Prioritize Bike Corridors
Recommended Action
Move to recommend finishing the Bike Corridor pilot project and then proceed with the Southeast to Downtown Route
Report
Issue:
Whether to support staff's recommendation to finish the pilot project and then move forward with the Southeast to Downtown route as the next Bike Corridor.
Staff Contact:
Sophie Stimson, Senior Planner, Public Works | Transportation, 360.753.8497
Presenter(s):
Sophie Stimson
Background and Analysis:
Bike Corridors are on small, quiet streets that do not have much car traffic. Since there are fewer cars, it is easier for people biking and driving to share the same lane. Bike Corridors are called bike boulevards or neighborhood greenways in other cities. We design Bike Corridors to appeal to people who are interested in riding bicycles but are concerned about riding in bike lanes on busy streets.
In 2014, the City Council funded a pilot project of a Bike Corridor. To find a good candidate route, the BPAC and staff worked throughout 2014 to evaluate the whole City for possible routes and came up with several. From those possible routes, the BPAC and staff chose a pilot project route. The pilot project route connects Lions Park to downtown and was built in 2016.
Next Steps with the pilot project
The west leg of the 7th and Adams intersection is being built by the developer of the nearby Franklin Lofts apartment building. When it is built, the pilot project will go all the way to Sylvester Park.
Because this was a pilot project, we built part of it with interim materials. Since it has been successful, we will need to make some parts of it permanent, including:
* Filling in the painted bulb-outs at 5th & Eastside and 7th & Plum with concrete
* Refreshing the pavement markings with more durable material
* Adding traffic calming to 5th Ave between Eastside & Pear
We recommend completing the pilot project before starting a new Bike Corridor.
As part of the outreach we did fo...
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