First Active Erie bikeways coming to Greengarden in 2023, French Street in 2024
New bikeways are planned on French Street and Greengarden Road and Boulevard.
The Greengarden bikeway, from the Bayfront Parkway to West 38th Street, is expected to be completed this year.
The French Street bikeway, from East Sixth Street to East 38th Street, is scheduled to be done in 2024.
The bikeways will be the first of 12 recommended in the Active Erie Transportation Plan approved by Erie City Council in February 2021. The plan proposes safe pathways for cyclists and pedestrians, generally along streets with lower traffic volume and lower speed limits than main thoroughfares.
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"We're in position right now to implement some great improvements (for) bikability in the city," Leah Kacanda, a planner with Baltimore-based Whitman, Requardt and Associates, consultant for the Active Erie plan, said in a project video posted on the city website.
On Greengarden Road, north of West 26th Street, traffic lanes will be narrowed to make room for bikes. On Greengarden Boulevard, south of West 26th Street, on-street parking will be prohibited in designated bike lanes.
On French Street, a two-way, separated bike lane will be designated between East Sixth and East 26th streets. Shared-lane markings will run from East 26th Street to East 38th.
Both the Greengarden and French Street projects will include crosswalks, pavement markings, signs and minor street repairs.
About $350,000 in federal safety funding has been allocated for each of the two bikeways by the Erie Metropolitan Planning Organization. The French Street project additionally will include new traffic signals with green, yellow and red indicators for bicyclists at East Ninth, 10th and 11th streets funded by $982,773 from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation's Green Light Go program.
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"We initially planned minor upgrades to the signals. Now, with the Green Light Go money, we can do full signal replacements," said Bill Heiden, city project engineer.
The Active Erie plan aims to build "a network of pedestrian and bicycle facilities throughout the city of Erie that are safe for all users, regardless of age or ability."
The city expects to seek bids later this year for two more bikeways, on Sixth Street from an existing bikeway west of Gridley Park to the city's eastside, and on East 10th Street between Weschler and Franklin avenues, Heiden said.
The Active Erie plan also recommends bikeways on
19th and 21 streets, from Pittsburgh Avenue to Bird Drive
28th, 29th and 32nd streets from Pittsburgh Avenue to East Avenue
38th Street, from Pittsburgh Avenue to McClelland Avenue
Cascade Street, between West Second and West 38th streets
East Avenue, from East Bay Drive to East 38th Street
Downing Avenue, from East Lake Road to East 38th Street
19th Street near State Street
Bird Drive, from Fairmount Parkway to East 38th Street
The bikeways will benefit both recreational bikers and people who regularly ride bicycles to work and other destinations. More than 19% of Erie residents do not have access to a car, according to census data cited in the Active Erie plan. And in some city neighborhoods, including central downtown (65%) and Little Italy and parts of the East Bayfront (40%), that number is much higher.
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Public comments on the Greengarden and French Street bikeways are being accepted through Feb. 3. Project plans and a 30-minute project video are posted on the city website at https://cityof.erie.pa.us/bikeway.
Separate comment forms for each project can be downloaded and returned to City of Erie Project Engineer Bill Heiden at 626 State St., Erie, PA, 16501, or wheiden@erie.pa.us. Heiden will also accept phone comments at 814-870-1395.
Hard copies of the plans, presentation and comment forms are available in the Erie City Hall lobby at 626 State St.
Contact Valerie Myers at vmyers@timesnews.com.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: First Active Erie bikeways will be along Greengarden, French Street
