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“We’ve heard from the vocal community who were concerned that the bike lane was not ideally situated as a connection between the Great Miami Recreational Trail and our downtown. Converting to a shared road will maintain that important link, while at the same time restoring parking in the downtown,” said Beamish.
The change comes after a council member said Tuesday it’s time for the city to put the brakes on implementing additional bike lanes in the community until the practice undergoes a detailed review.
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Councilmember Robin Oda asked council President Marty Baker to appoint a committee to talk about council action to impose an immediate moratorium on more bike lanes.
Oda said it was “incumbent” on the city administrators and council to “step back” to address questions and concerns being raised by those for and against bike lanes.
Community discussion about bike lanes increasedafter the city this summer closed the south side of Water Street from North Market to Elm Street to parking and marked that area as a bike lane. The area includes the Miami County Courthouse complex.
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More discussion came as the city began releasing numbers it said were from bike counters placed in bike lanes on West Water Street near the public library and on North Adams Street near the Junior High School. That bike lane was placed earlier, and also drew complaints.
Baker said she would assign Oda’s request to the safety and health committee. She asked Oda to work with council Clerk Sue Knight on scheduling a meeting and to “further elaborate what the ultimate goal is for the request.”
Baker also asked that the city halt designating any more bike lanes until the committee completes its work.
Patrick Titterington, the city’s director of public services and safety said there were “no intentions of doing any more in the near future.”
In information dated Sept. 1 and sent to council, Titterington noted the Adams Street bike lane counter showed 646 for 14 days between Aug. 18 and Sept. 1 and the Water Street counter showed 1,561 between the same dates.
Beamish said the city remains committed to its bike-friendly status and will continue to evaluate additional bike-friendly initiatives in compliance with Troy’s Complete Streets policy. The policy is available online at www.troyohio.gov.
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