The recent restructuring of South Louisiana Street downtown into a one-lane roadway to accommodate what is known as a protected bike lane has upset several people who work and drive along the corridor.
Many are complaining that the city did not hold a public meeting to seek input on the changes before they went into effect Oct. 17. The city said it invited downtown business and property owners to a general meeting in February about bike lane changes to the city's master street plan and that possible changes to South Louisiana Street were noted.
City Manager Bruce Moore said Friday that he'd have to check on why a public meeting wasn't scheduled specifically to go over the changes on South Louisiana, adding that it's standard procedure for the Public Works Department to do that.
"If there wasn't a specific meeting to discuss the changes, we dropped the ball," Moore said in an email Friday.
"Bike trails being placed throughout the city without residential input is showing little or no respect," Ward 1 City Director Erma Hendrix wrote in an email to Moore and the mayor Thursday. Ward 1 covers downtown.
The restriping of South Louisiana Street from Fourth Street to Interstate 630 didn't cost the city any additional funds because the road was already set to be repaved. Jeremy Lewno, the city's bicycle/pedestrian coordinator, saw the repaving as an opportunity to suggest the city put in its first protected bike lane. He said such lanes are becoming popular across the nation.
Instead of the bike lane being placed on the outside of the parking lane next to vehicle traffic, Little Rock's protected bike lane is sandwiched between the sidewalk and parking lane, moving the row of parked cars closer to the middle of the street next to the lane motorists use.
Cities such as Chicago, Austin, San Francisco, Seattle and Atlanta have protected bike lanes. In Memphis, the first protected bike lane went in next to Overton Park last year. It still allowed for four lanes of traffic, and instead of having a row of parked cars between the traveling motorists and the bicyclists, it has a sectioned-off, buffered area.
Little Rock Public Works Director Jon Honeywell said the city is aware of complaints about the changes to South Louisiana Street and that traffic and engineering crews have been monitoring the road. They will propose changes as they see fit, but the one lane for motorists and the protected bike lane are here to stay.
Business owners were concerned about losing on-street parking, and that is why an accommodation was made to leave parking intact after the street restructuring, Honeywell said.
Those who work in the area said they have seen confusion from motorists.
"You have people who are turning from Fourth Street and actually driving in the parking lane," said Ron Harrington, who works at Sufficient Grounds, Sports Page bar and the Little Rock Child Support Office -- all of which are along South Louisiana Street.
He said he hasn't seen a bicyclist use the new lane.
He's not alone. Patricia Vick, a state employee who works in the Union Plaza building at 124 W. Capitol Ave., hasn't either.
Sure, the roadway isn't particularly busy and doesn't have a high traffic count, but that "drastically changes during rush hour," Vick wrote in an email to Moore on Thursday. With the coming closure of the Broadway Bridge, Vick said she fears even more traffic will be diverted to South Louisiana Street, making it even more crowded during rush hour.
"We haven't seen a herd of cyclists, by the way, which means you guys have created a big ol' mess just because someone thought it was a neat idea to put us on the 'cyclist map.' How arrogant and elitist -- to put the 'needs' of the few ahead of the needs of the many," Vick wrote.
Moore responded to her email and told her the city is making changes based on public input and asked that she keep him posted on the progress.
In response to traffic flow complaints, the city has adjusted signal timing in an effort to ensure the least amount of congestion. When monitored by traffic engineers Thursday, the evening rush-hour traffic experienced congestion for about 15 minutes, Honeywell said.
Just after 5 p.m. that day, one driver turning right from Fourth Street onto South Louisiana Street turned into the parking lane and stopped behind a parked vehicle. The driver threw her hands up and by the time she realized it was a parked car, three vehicles were stuck behind her.
Less than five minutes later, a driver traveling from Fourth turned right onto South Louisiana and drove in the bike lane.
"As with any new project, there will be a period of adjustment and staff will continue to work on fine-tuning the operation of the street," Honeywell said.
Lewno said he's asked for some kind of designation at the intersections to tell drivers turning right onto South Louisiana that it is down to one lane, but he suggested it only needs to be temporary.
"These protected bike lanes are going in all across the country. It's extremely important not only for bikers but for drivers. It takes the biker off the car lane. By separating the two, it creates a safer environment for everyone," Lewno said, adding that the one lane also deters speeding.
After seeing a Sept. 15 Arkansas Democrat-Gazette article about the suggested street redesign, Jennifer Lester, manager of the Union Plaza building, asked city officials to reconsider, not because she is against bike lanes, but because of the traffic congestion the change would create for motorists exiting the valet parking deck in her building, she said.
Lester said she was told Sept. 19 -- four days after city officials were quoted in the newspaper as saying no plans had been finalized -- that the restriping and bike lane were a done deal. Officials couldn't answer Friday when exactly the decision had been made.
The city addressed Lester's concerns by adding a loading lane in front of her building's parking deck and agreeing Thursday to take out the three parking spaces there, she said.
"I still think it's confusing. I think it's dangerous," Lester said of the new layout.
Dangerous was also how Sufficient Grounds employee Roxanne Johnson described the change.
"The reaction hasn't been good," she said. "I can look out our window and people are struggling to worry about if the car in the middle lane is going to hit them or not. I've not seen a single bicyclist even use the new lanes."
Metro on 10/25/2014