Pasadena Weekly: Boosting bikes
Public asked to fill in the gaps in city’s bicycle plan
By Jake Armstrong 02/18/2010
The public will get its say on Pasadena’s $1.7 million strategy to increase the miles of bike lanes coursing through the city when the Draft Bicycle Master Plan heads to the City Council at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday.
In the works for a year, the draft plan would add about 16 miles of new bike lanes and improve about 30 miles of the city’s existing bike lanes, while adding three miles of paths dedicated to bicycles. It would also increase the number of bicycle parking spaces and attempt to carve out a safer place for bicyclists on city streets. Bike paths or lanes currently run about 30 miles through the city, and cyclists have complained about a lack of places to park and lock their bikes.
“It’s really to expand on our current plan, to close a lot of the gaps,” said Rich Dilluvio, a senior planner for Pasadena’s Transportation Department.
City officials have been surveying bicycle riders in the community and respondents have overwhelmingly declared that a lack of safe streets keeps them from biking more often.
One aspect of the plan is to explore options for “emphasized” bikeways, or streets where the city could reduce vehicle traffic to make more room for cyclists, Dilluvio said. Bike lanes would be widened and some streets would receive signage urging motorists to share the road, he said.
