Two-way bike lane coming soon to Jefferson Avenue

Apr. 23—Construction is underway on a two-lane cycle track that will create a bicycle route from the Toledo Museum of Art to downtown Toledo's Promenade Park.

The $2 million project along Jefferson Avenue from Collingwood Boulevard to the Maumee River should be complete by mid-August. City officials are eager to connect more parts of the city by bike, but some bicyclists argue the cycle track as planned isn't the safest choice of bicycle infrastructure for the corridor.

Sylvania Township resident Keith Webb is the founder We Are Traffic!, an advocacy and educational organization that promotes cycling as a viable form of transportation in the greater Toledo area. Since 2019, he has voiced concerns to city officials about the two-lane cycle track now under construction along Jefferson.

"Personally, I would not use it," he said.

Mr. Webb bikes instead of driving a car as often as his schedule and weather permit. He believes two-lane bicycle infrastructure is safe when there aren't many intersections, driveways, or other curb cuts — all potential points of conflict between car and bike. By his count, Jefferson Avenue has 28 curb cuts along the cycle track's route, with 19 intersections and seven traffic signals.

He also spends a lot of time teaching people to bike with the direction of traffic.

"You don't go against the grain. If you're on the wrong side of the road biking, all of the traffic signals are not facing you, so you have no controls there that are dictating your movement," he said. "Additionally, you have to think about human behavior at intersections."

Mr. Webb said a safer design for Jefferson would be to have one-way bike lanes on both sides of the street, rather than a single, two-way track. He fears motorists pulling out of intersections or alleys won't see a bicyclist coming against the flow of motor traffic.

"I would love to be completely wrong, that nobody will get hurt or killed," he said.

Doug Stephens, the city's deputy director of public utilities, said the cycle track will be protected by a concrete median to be built between the bike lanes and the street. At each intersection with traffic signals, the bicycle lanes will have their own signals, so cyclists traveling either direction can see them.

He added the cycle track lanes, each five feet wide, will be divided by a stripe. Additionally, design plans call for green paint in intersections to signal to motorists they should be aware of bicyclists crossing as well.

"We're trying to consider the avid biker who rides to work in all forms of traffic every day as well as the family and their children biking from the Old West End to downtown," Mr. Stephens said. "We want to be able to accommodate all users and be able to keep them safe."

Mr. Stephens said that even with some parking removed along its downtown footprint, Jefferson isn't wide enough to put a buffered bike lane on both sides of the street.

"It was a more efficient use of space and a lower project cost to do a two-way cycle track on one side only," he said.

Mr. Webb said We Are Traffic! will shift from advocating against the two-way facility to educating cyclists, pedestrians, and motorists who will travel and cross Jefferson once construction is complete.

"Our role now will shift to say, 'OK, this is what they built, and here are the hazards.' Because we're going to make sure people understand and ride safely and to modify your behavior based on the environment you're in," he said.

Daniel Woodcock, an avid bicyclist, sees the Jefferson cycle track as a positive for Toledo residents and a signal the city wants to attract and keep young professionals who look for those types of accommodations when choosing where to live. He said the location is great because it connects the Toledo Museum of Art to downtown's central business district, the Mud Hens and Walleye venues, and the riverfront.

"I am super excited for this cycle track in downtown because I think vibrant cities have multiple ways to get around," he said. "And I think with the bike-share system that we have downtown, it just makes a lot of sense to start building the infrastructure for people to use that system."

Mr. Woodcock said he always has safety concerns when he is bicycling, as motorists don't always take the extra two seconds they should to look both ways before turning or pulling into an intersection. But he believes the city is taking appropriate safety precautions with this project, and he is pleased there will be a concrete media separating the cycle track from car traffic.

Councilman Sam Melden said the project is a positive move toward making Toledo a more pedestrian and bicycle-friendly city.

"And that's the type of community we all want. So many people want to see a city that values multi-modal transportation," he said.

Mr. Stephens noted the cycle track is part of a complete resurfacing project along Jefferson. He said 74 percent of the project is funded through federal grant dollars, with the balance coming from the city's capital improvement fund.

"We've put a lot of effort in to make sure that we address every safety concern that we can. We understand not everybody likes the plan, but we think it's a safe and effective plan," he said. "We're really looking forward to seeing the results and hopefully seeing a lot of people happily and safely using the facility."