Portsmouth bicycle lane gets bad reviews
Jeff McMenemy jmcmenemy@seacoastonline.com @JeffreyMcMenemy
Nov 5, 2018 at 6:03 PM Nov 5, 2018 at 6:03 PM
PORTSMOUTH – Members of the city's Parking and Traffic Safety Committee received a lot of public input about the city's new Middle Street bike lane, and not much of it was good.
Charlie Griffin reminded the committee that when the project was first proposed, the city was told "it would result in significant numbers of high school students bicycling to and from the high school."
But after he did his own survey about how many high school students bicycled to school, he discovered few are doing so, Griffin told the committee during their recent meeting.
Griffin sat in his car on Lafayette Road at the intersection of Andrew Jarvis Drive for 15 mornings between 7:50 and 8:20, he said.
"On two days there were two students, on seven days there were one student, on six days no students at all," Griffin said. "Some of those students actually used the sidewalk instead of the bicycle lane, and I suspect they did because they didn't feel safe using the bicycle lane because it's too close to the vehicle traffic."
He also contended that by establishing the bike lane on Middle Street and Lafayette Road, the city put "bicyclists on equal footing with motorists."
He asked the committee to support his idea of creating an annual registration and inspection program for bikes in the city, to make sure they're safe to operate.
The city's new bike path is protected by bollards, which are designed to keep bikers safe and put more distance between bikers and motorists.
But by adding the bike lanes, the city has also shrunk the size of the road.
South Street resident Mimi Clark told the committee that the "aesthetics of Middle Street are heartbreaking" because of the new bike path.
Because the travel lanes have been narrowed, Clark reported during Thursday's meeting, "so many cars are going over the double yellow line. It is so narrow, it is so tortured now. I've seen this over and over again."
A vehicle recently crossed the double yellow line as Clark drove down Middle Street.
"I had nowhere to go because of the stanchions," Clark said.
Biker Roger Peterson of Middle Road joked that after hearing the discussion about bike registrations he was concerned he might "have to leave my bicycle parked in front of City Hall and call a taxi" to get home.
But like most of the other residents, Peterson criticized the bike lanes and the city's decision to put them on Middle Street.
He told the committee there's debris in the bike lane, including wet leaves.
He described the bike lanes as "very narrow and restrictive."
On his ride to City Hall Thursday morning, he also saw recycle bins "scattered throughout the lane."
Before the bike lane was installed "Middle Street … seemed to be one of the safest roads" in the city, Peterson said.
It was "wide enough" for bikers "to avoid traffic and for traffic to avoid the bicycles," he said.
"It's puzzling why a bicycle lane was put in there," he added.
City Councilor Rick Becksted pointed to the bollards that are used to separate the bike lanes "on both sides of Middle" Street.
"COAST buses now no longer have a place to pull over and stop so they stop in the middle of the road," Becksted said.
"I observed many close calls because people are inpatient," which has prompted some drivers to pull around the COAST buses and into the other lane, he said.
"There are seven (bus stops) within the bike lane … traveling outbound so that's going to definitely be something to be addressed …and make it safer for everyone on Middle," Becksted said.
But city resident Charles Fleck commended city officials for "putting the bike lane in."
"It's been phenomenal in my experience," he said.
Before the bike lane, he used to avoid Middle Street.
"It generally wasn't the most pleasant way to get there especially if I had my family in tow," he told the committee.
"But since the bike lanes have been in, I haven't been yelled at yet," he said with a smile. "That's been promising. You haven't really lived until you've had someone scream out the window while you're riding. That's a nice way to wake up in the morning."
He called the biker registration idea "terrible" because it would deter bikers.
"Most of us are just average citizens, we abide by the law as best as we can," he said.
He believes a registration law would discourage kids from biking, too.
"To be honest most people aren't going to spend a hundred dollars on a kid's bike and also go get it registered every year," he said. "What's the point?"
He noted that people inspect and register their cars every year, but "there are car accidents every day."
"I don't think anyone is calling to ban cars from the road," he said.
City Councilor Doug Roberts, who chairs the committee, predicted that "there will be some adjustments to the bike lane."
The committee could also receive a report back from city staff at next month's meeting, Roberts said.
He argued against establishing a bike registration program, and pointed out the city already has a voluntary bike program.
"You can sign up on the Police Department website," he said. "The main purpose is to track down stolen bikes."
Police Capt. Frank Warchol said if police see someone "riding on the sidewalk, we're going to have a conversation with them."
But he expressed his concern about having police conduct bike inspections.
"I don't think this is what the community as a whole wants to see the Police Department doing versus all the other issues we have to deal with and facing this city that I find to be more pressing," he said.
Department of Public Works Director Peter Rice told the committee that with winter approaching, "all of the bollards" will be removed, likely before the committee's next meeting.
"There's obviously some adjustment with any change like this so we're looking at how best to address snow removal operations, but we know the bollards will not survive a winter with our plows," Rice said.
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