Gaines Street Notices
Please check back with this page often to get updates on the construction that is occuring and will occur on Gaines Street.
Cyclist Safety on Gaines
The City shares your concern about the safety of cyclists along the Gaines Street corridor. As you know, our goal for Gaines Street is to create a design that balances the needs of pedestrians, cyclists and cars by allowing them to safely and comfortably travel together within the limited width of the Gaines Street right-of-way and adjacent sidewalks. In order to accomplish this, a workshop was held in 2007 to study various design options for Gaines Street. The current design is a result of that workshop.
To help slow traffic, provide access to businesses and create a more pedestrian-friendly district, on-street parking was included in the Gaines Street design. Because on-street parking can create the potential for serious collisions between car doors and cyclists, the City chose not to place a traditional bike lane adjacent to the on-street parking. We have, instead, chosen a street cross-section that accommodates cyclists by utilizing a shared auto/bike facility in which the traffic lanes are designed to operate at slower speeds. This is accomplished through the use of traffic calming elements such as medians, pedestrian crossings and on-street parking. Bicycle/car share- the-road arrows or "sharrows" will be prominently placed on the street surface to clearly indicate that the road is a shared facility. These elements, working together, should allow cyclists to travel Gaines Street safely without placing them in direct conflict with parked cars or pedestrians.
For cyclists who prefer dedicated bike lanes, the City is currently examining opportunities for alternate bicycle routes to the North and South of Gaines Street along Madison Street and a future extension of St. Francis Street. Additionally, the City is evaluating an option for obtaining additional width along the sidewalks for bicycle lanes on both sides of Gaines Street. These lanes could be installed as the area re-develops and bicycle traffic increases.
Please let us know if you have any questions or comments. If you would like to meet to discuss this issue further, please let us know. You can contact Roxanne Manning via email or phone at 891-6460.