At the city council 2:30PM work session today, Public Works staff will report Bike Plan progress to the council, and the council members will discuss and give direction back to staff. The new priorities are listed as:
1. Windsor (Old North to Bonnie Brae)
2. Sycamore (DCTA station to UNT)
3. To Be Determined
4. Oak & Hickory.
The Windsor proposal is simply a redirection of county bike plan funds, and it will add bike lanes without removing any parking. The Sycamore route also uses county money, but from Commissioner Andy Eads, and the focus is on designating a route between the downtown transit center and UNT. Since Sycamore has no signal at Carroll, the new proposal favors Mulberry as a designated, non-bike lane route. (The Mulberry/Carroll timing and activation are also problematic)
Lastly, the Oak & Hickory bike lane proposal brings a new, untimely challenge. City staff says the roads need to be re-designated as “commercial collectors”, and that will require a $35,000 traffic consulting study. That’s nearly 18% of the total $200,000 allocated for the bike plan first year.
Oak & Hickory will be studied to determine if they can be re-designated as a commercial collector. If these roads can be re-designated there will be one way bike lanes on Oak and Hickory. The cost of the traffic study for this type of re-designation is estimated in the $35,000 range. Staff will work with a traffic consultant to verify the cost associated with this type of study.
