This past Thursday, February 2, the City of Shreveport released a Roadway Improvement plan, which includes proposed bike lanes, now set to be the first biking infrastructure in Shreveport.
The bike lanes are an adjunct of the city’s efforts to resurface all minor arterial and collector streets by the end of this year. The full plan details how $46 million dollars have been spent in the past two years to improve our roadways and is “the most aggressive citywide street improvement efforts in Shreveport’s history.”
Appendix D, Bike Path Consideration for Streets, designates 4 recently-resurfaced streets in Highland neighborhoods for new bikeways when the roads are painted, or striped. These first bike lanes fit into a collaborative master plan that will connect into downtown and throughout Caddo Parish.
The lanes create a kind of clock-wise loop connecting downtown and South Highland. One could leave downtown biking on Marshall Street, passing the Agora Borealis and Red River Brewing, and turn right into the Highland neighborhood to pick up the Gilbert Drive bike lanes (or, if heading further, the Centenary Boulevard lane). Gilbert Drive will be narrowed from a 4 lane street into 2 car lanes with 2 distinct bike lanes.
Continuing down Gilbert, one could ride past Kings Highway and go to Ki Mexico or Marilyn’s Place. Near the Bayou Pierre and Fern Street, the lane turns into a one-way path on Ockley Drive and heads to Betty Virginia Park.
Ready to head back downtown from the park? Hop on the Fairfield Avenue lane, which starts at Pierremont Road and takes you all the way to the-bar-frequently-known-as-Bear’s.
Leaving the bike lane behind, one could turn back into the downtown area via the Murphy Street Bridge and Texas Avenue.
In general, the decision on where to place these bikeways was developed over three years using the bottom-up strategy of adopting streets already frequently used by shreveport cyclists. The City of Shreveport’s plan has picked streets wide enough to accommodate a separate bike lane without displacing cars or significant parking spaces and will offer cyclists safer access to key locations, such as grocery stores and schools. The placement of the lanes also connects a target, low-income neighborhood, a priority the City has stated previously.
Biking culture in Shreveport has been growing for many years, as is evident at popular, monthly “Slow Roll” group rides and at the volunteer-led the Bike Container, a donation and repair center. The leaders of such initiatives are celebrating the City of Shreveport’s work to create new paths that meet their travel needs. They hope that the first bike lanes will create an opportunity for more community members to feel safe on a bicycle and increases the adoption of this healthy transportation option.
However, leaders, such as Stephen Pederson of Bike Shreveport, see implementation of the City’s plan as a crucial step after years of planning and want to ensure the lanes are optimal before permanent paint hits the ground. To make recommendations on the proposal, he and other bikers will attend the public hearing scheduled for Monday, January 6th, specifically to to discuss two areas of concern.
First, is maximizing the potential of a North-South lane through Highland, which is currently planned on Gilbert Drive. Like water seeking it’s own level, bicyclists prefer to find flat streets. Gilbert Drive is hilly, especially between Marshall and Olive Streets, and will create an obstacle for casual riders.
“Cycling for transportation is about minimizing effort and maximizing comfort. Show people a flat surface with slow traffic, and they will bike more. So, Gilbert is a great street to bike on – but, I have to say, only south of Olive Street,” said Pederson. “We don’t want to create paths that aren’t used.”
Pederson feels that bikers coming to and from downtown, himself included, will continue to ride on Creswell Street when commuting between Marshall and Olive Streets and suggests College Street as an East-West throughway to Gilbert Drive. He also believes that casual bikers are more likely to utilize Gilbert lanes if there are additional barriers, such as plastic poles or “armadillo shells,” to help drivers adjust to new bike lanes.
A second concern is that many of the identified streets can accommodate space for only one bike lane with two car lanes.
“I suspect that a one-way bike lane on a two-way street will be confusing and unsafe, and I would like to hear reasoning behind that proposal,” said Garrett Johnson, another biking enthusiast. “However, instead, two-way sharrows would be appropriate on streets like Centenary and Ockley.”
Three of the four proposed lanes are single bike lanes on streets with two-way traffic. If a biker needs to go “counter-clockwise” around the proposed map, Johnson thinks that biker will “salmon” and use the bike lane on the wrong side of the street, putting himself and oncoming bicyclists in danger. Therefore, Johnson plans to advocate for sharrows, or shared-lane markings in traditional driving lanes, as a solution for this safety concern.
“I want them to take this very seriously. Putting one bike lane on a two-way street is against AASHTO guidelines, and there are options for making two bikeways work on the designated streets,” echoed Pederson, referring to the American Association of State Highway and Transportation.
Even with significant recommendations for the City, Highland-area bicyclists are thrilled about visible biking infrastructure and already resurfaced streets in their neighborhoods.
“I can’t tell you how exciting it is to have Gilbert down to two lanes and to live on the new route,” wrote Luke Lee in an online forum. “I like that the bike lanes on Gilbert connect to Fern because it’s a straight shot to the South part of town, too.”
Valerie DeLatte, my neighbor downtown, feels the same way. She says, “Biking has been my primary form of transportation for most of my life, and I know these clearly marked bike lanes will give those new to biking or wanting to start riding the confidence to take to the streets.”
The City will have a community meeting to discuss the proposed bike paths at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, February 6, 2017 at Centenary College’s Whited Room off Wilkinson Street.
