This story interested me because of all the issues we've had with cyclists riding anywhere they felt like it on our campus.
"Trying to balance bustling vehicle traffic in downtown Clayton and growing bicycle use, city officials plan to revamp a stretch of Maryland Avenue to include new parking-protected bike lanes. Under a plan adopted last week by aldermen, parallel-parked cars — plus curbs or bollards — will separate new curbside bike lanes from vehicle traffic." And two lanes will be reduced to one each way.
Now Maryland is sort of the north border of downtown Clayton. It begins on the east end at Hanley and goes to around 170 and the Ladue plaza. This construction for bikes will not go that far, but end on the west at Forsyth which is a stop light intersection with a Straubs grocery store. What makes this interesting to me is the fact that this street was chosen. A cyclist would have to want to end up somewhere along that route. There are plenty of places to eat, coffee shops, etc. But it isn't actually a place you'd start off from or end up. Maybe the city officials just want to get bikes off of the major downtown streets. And I wouldn't blame them.
"Not everyone was happy with the plan, however. Some people associated with shops along Maryland are among those concerned. I've got nothing against bike riders; I used to ride myself," said Simon Katz, owner of Simons Jewelers. "I just think it's the wrong place to put it in Clayton." He worries that the change will result in more congestion and make the area less safe. Now when vehicles encounter a car ahead of them stopping to back into a parking space, he noted, they often can move out into the left lane to avoid a delay."
Another store owner said, "people have enough trouble figuring out the parking here" without reconfiguring parallel parking."
Here is what sends a chill over me: From Clayton mayor, Harold Sanger: "We heard from every angle on this," Sanger said. "The bottom line is we went with engineers' options and a study of how many people moving into Clayton are bringing bikes. It's a huge number."
A huge number of new cyclists and bikes! oy.
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