FAYETTEVILLE — Bikeways are clearly marked routes meant to encourage cyclists to follow a path to get from one place to another. City officials view bikeways as an alternative in areas where building a trail would be impractical.
“This isn’t intended at all to replace the trails system,” said Matthew Petty, Ward 4 alderman. “All it’s intended to do is connect neighborhoods with trails.”
Petty called Spring Street an ideal demonstration project for a bikeway. It’s short, relatively flat and cyclists use it already. Petty said additional bike traffic on Spring Street wouldn’t be a safety concern because cars drive slowly on the street already.
Petty’s bikeway proposal would remove two east-west stop signs at School Avenue and Spring and replace two east-west stop signs at Church Avenue and Spring with two north-south stop signs. The move would clear the way for bicycle traffic to flow along Spring without stopping.
Signs directing cyclists to destinations such as the downtown square, the Fayetteville Public Library and Wilson Park could also be installed.
Cars would still use Spring if the bikeway approach is adopted.
Brenda Boudreaux, Ward 1 alderwoman, said during a city Street Committee meeting Tuesday she was concerned removing stop signs at School and Spring would be unsafe.
“I’m really concerned about leading into that and the safety issue of making motorists aware that those are no longer four-way stops,” Boudreaux said. “That’s going to take some signage as far as I’m concerned — and lots of it.”
Chris Brown, city engineer, said any time signs are changed there’s an adjustment period and potential for collisions. Those risks can be mitigated with permanent “cross traffic does not stop” placards below a stop sign, Brown said. Temporary double stop signs can also be posted, or orange flags can be installed to catch drivers attention, he added.
The council’s Street Committee decided Tuesday to study how many vehicles go through the School/Spring intersection.
A traffic study was never done when the four-way stop was installed, Brown said. In the past, stop signs have been added at the request of residents without much technical insight.
“There is such a thing as having too many stop signs out there,” Brown said.
Petty said the fact that people will have to adjust to new signs isn’t reason enough to scrap the bikeway idea.
“It has to be a clear route, a safe route, and beyond being safe, it has to be comfortable,” he said.
Creating the bikeway would cost about $1,500, according to Matt Mihalevich, city trails coordinator. The money would pay for signs on Spring Street and share-the-road symbols on East Avenue.
At A Glance
Bikeways
If the City Council approves a bikeway on Spring Street, others could be added. Potential routes include:
- Southeast of the downtown square, through the Washington-Willow neighborhood to an area near Evelyn Hills Shopping Center
- Connecting Bryce Davis Park and bike lanes on Rupple Road
- Connecting Fayetteville City Hospital at 221 S. School Ave. with the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences campus at North Street and College Avenue
Source: Staff Report