The Little Rock Board of Directors will make a decision tonight on adding 14 street segments to the city's Master Street Bike Plan for future consideration of bicycle amenities.
The ordinance up for a vote would add eight bike lanes, two bike paths and four bike routes.
A bike lane is a designated portion of a street marked off beside the lane for vehicle traffic. A bike path accommodates bicycle and pedestrian travel in an area separate from a vehicular roadway. A bike route is when bike symbols are painted on vehicle lanes to let motorists know that bikes will also be riding in the same lane.
The city follows the Master Street Bike Plan whenever it reconfigures a roadway after work such as resurfacing has been completed on that street.
"It's not a document that says we are going to run out and do this tomorrow to these streets. It just says here's what's proposed, and here's how these should be considered to be built if you ever do anything in the future," said Public Works Department director Jon Honeywell.
If adopted by the city board, the new master plan would show Main Street downtown with a bike lane from Seventh Street to Roosevelt Road. Chester Street would have a bike lane added from Interstate 630 to Roosevelt Road. Both Center and Louisiana streets are proposed to have one-way bike lanes north of Interstate 630.
Ninth Street is proposed for bike lanes east of Main Street to Interstate 30. Seventh Street west of Main Street would also be upgraded to include bike lanes.
In west Little Rock, LaMarche Drive from Chenal Drive to Taylor Loop Road, and Taylor Loop Road from LaMarche Drive to Rahling Road would be upgraded from having bike routes to actual marked lanes. That would eliminate parking on those roads but keep a vehicular travel lane in each direction.
"The proposal is not to enlarge any of these streets, but rather to add a bicycle lane on the existing street using either a 'road diet' (changing from four lanes to three) or removal of parking on one side. The decision on how the bike lanes would be implemented will be made at the time a street is resurfaced or reconstructed," a write-up to the city's Planning Commission said.
Bike paths are suggested in three areas. One would be at a former railroad right-of-way from Interstate Park around the State Fairgrounds to Seventh Street. Another would run along Rose Creek from Third Street where the existing proposed path ends to the Arkansas River Trail. The last would be along Coleman Creek from 20th Street to Lee Avenue in Hillcrest.
"This [last] proposal would make a north-south connection from Hillcrest to the Fourche Bottoms via the [University of Arkansas at Little Rock] campus," the write-up said.
The bike routes proposed to be added are all downtown. They are Commerce Street from 17th Street to Ninth Street; Sherman Street from Ninth Street to Sixth Street; Seventh Street from Cumberland to Sherman; and State Street from Interstate 630 to the Arkansas River Trail.
There has been community opposition recently to some bike lane projects in Little Rock.
When the city went forward with altering Louisiana Street downtown to a one-lane roadway with the addition of bicycle lanes, several business owners and employees in the area were upset. The city never had a public meeting before moving forward with that project.
When upgraded bike lanes were proposed for Riverfront Drive, a large group of area residents showed up to a public meeting and expressed opposition.
The city's part-time bicycle and pedestrian coordinator resigned from his position shortly afterward, though City Manager Bruce Moore said the meeting was not a factor in the resignation.
The city is advertising for that job, which remains part time. It pays between $10 and $12 an hour under the umbrella of the Public Works Department. The city will take applications through Friday.
The person who fills the post will review the city's Master Street Bike Plan and "utilize it as a guide in development of the program with the goal of encouraging an increase in bicycle use for recreation, fitness and transportation," according to the job posting.
The city's Bike Friendly Community Committee, which the bike and pedestrian coordinator is involved with, first recommended the current changes to the master plan in 2013. The Little Rock Planning Commission recommended approval of the package in July 2014.
The ordinance went before the city board previously, but it was put off after city directors had questions about another ordinance that developed a complete streets policy for Little Rock.
Tonight's board meeting is at 6 p.m. in the second-floor boardroom at City Hall, 500 W. Markham St.
Metro on 07/21/2015