Politics & Government

City Says No to Bike Lanes on Grand (Video)

Three variations of bike lanes were presented to the City Council Wednesday. A few residents said they were OK with these lanes, but many were not.

While the City Council unanimously voted in favor of adopting a negative declaration and update to the City's Bicycle Master Plan, bike lanes on Grand Avenue were overruled in a 3-2 vote Wednesday night. 

Three variations of bike lanes were presented to City Council. Some residents at the meeting said they would be OK with Class 3 bike lanes, which would include shared roadway bicycle markings (also known as sharrows) as well as signs on the road.  

Yet many felt any type of bike lane would give bikers a false sense of safety. Not only would the lanes bring bicyclists closer to cars, residents said, but these lanes would also cause cars to drive even faster. 

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"If the city wants to promote safe biking that's one issue," said South Pas resident Carol Kramer after the meeting.

"If the city wants to slow down cars on Grand, the most effective way of doing that is speed bumps, which work very well on our street up in Pasadena," she continued.

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Council member David Sifuentes and Mayor Mike Ten were in favor of the lanes. Sifuentes said he voted on behalf of the many residents seeking a complete program. 

Currently, there is $50,000 available from the Transportation Development Act to support the City's bike plan. Additional money would be obtained through grants, according to Assistant City Manager Sergio Gonzalez. 

Click on the video above to watch Councilmember David Sifuentes, who voted in favor of Class 3 bike lanes, discuss his views on the topic. 

To view a draft of the updated Bicycle Master Plan with information about the three types of bike lanes, click here. Also in this updated plan (and approved by Council) is plans for completion of the Arroyo Seco Trail (Appendix C).

Editor's Note: City council unanimously agreed that both Grand Avenue and Monterey Road would be excluded from the update to the master plan.

Check back today for more updates from the City Council meeting. 


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