The Bolivar Street bike lanes are once again moving forward, though a revised plan would not affect existing parking on the 200 and 300 blocks.
At the Public Works and Planning Committee meeting Thursday, City Engineer David Bange brought a revised plan for bike lanes on Bolivar Street, which had previously been discussed by the Transportation and Traffic Commission.
Last month, the Transportation and Traffic Commission approved a staff recommendation to remove parking on the east side of the 200 and 300 blocks of Bolivar Street to help make room for planned bike lanes along the sides of the street. After complaints from residents and businesses on Bolivar Street, the commission earlier this month rescinded its previous vote, and the planned bike lanes were abandoned.
Since then, Bange said staff had taken a look at remaining options and came to the Public Works and Planning Committee meeting Thursday, recommending "advisory bike lanes" in those two blocks of Bolivar, a fairly new concept for Jefferson City. The 400-600 blocks of Bolivar are planned to have the regular bike lanes.
"Advisory bike lanes, like designated bike lanes, provide a defined place for bikes on the street but allow for cars to use the lanes when necessary after yielding to bicycles," Bange wrote in a memo to the committee. "For the motorist, it does not require the removal of parking. For the cyclist, it allows for the lanes to be striped wider than a typical bike lane, which with adjacent parking, provide the cyclist the opportunity to ride outside the swing of car doors providing a safer environment.
"It is anticipated that the striping will make the street feel narrower, which will have a traffic-calming effect and reduced speeds."
Bange said the advisory lanes allow for a middle ground between residents and businesses that did not want to lose any street parking and cyclists who may be coming into town from the Katy Trail.
Bange said it is a newer concept for Jefferson City, and many people may not be aware of it. But, it is a method used in other cities across the country. Because it may be unfamiliar to people, Bange said the city would have to make an educational effort by making presentations to committees and other interested groups, as well as posting information on the city's website and designing signs for the street itself.
Committee chair and 3rd Ward Councilman Bob Scrivner said the plan for advisory bike lanes is simply better defining the existing law that requires cyclists to obey the rules of the road and vehicles to yield to bicycles in the street when there's oncoming traffic.
"You can't run over a bicycle if it's in front of you," Scrivner said with a laugh.
Bolivar Street residents who attended Thursday's meeting indicated they were fine with the new plan as long as their parking remained the same. Cyclists in attendance also seemed pleased with the new plan.
Karl Staub said it would dramatically improve safety on a route cyclists already use.
"This is a great idea," Staub said.
Though formal action was not required to move forward with the plan, the committee voted unanimously to endorse the revised plan for bike lanes on Bolivar Street.
Adding bike lanes is part of a regional wayfinding plan, which seeks to help visitors and residents locate districts, landmarks and other venues in town through signs and informational kiosks. Last year, the city was awarded $214,000 in grant funds from the Transportation Alternatives Program to implement a wayfinding plan, "including fabrication and installation of wayfinding signage for downtown Jefferson City and from the Katy Trail leading into Jefferson City."
The total cost of the project is $267,500, and the grant funds cover 80 percent. The majority of the 20 percent local match has been provided by several groups, including Capital Region Medical Center, the Jefferson City Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Discover Jefferson City Foundation, Downtown Jefferson City, the East Side Business Association, the Historic City of Jefferson and the parking division of the city.
Part of the wayfinding project will install signage from the Katy Trail to the Clay Street bike plaza and along Bolivar Street, where the new bike lanes were planned, to the Wears Creek Greenway trail head on Dunklin Street. Kiosks also will be placed in North Jefferson City and at the Clay Street bike plaza that will include information on hotels and restaurants in the area.