Ashland looking to become more bicycle-friendly city; Officials look to add over 8 miles of bike facilities

Bike lanes could be added to several Ashland roadways in the coming months to make the city more bicycle-friendly.

Officials with the parks and recreation and public utility departments have drafted a plan to add bike lanes to roadways such as Third Street West, Beaser Avenue and Eleventh Avenue West. Part of the plan also calls for connection to Prentice Park via Junction Road, connection to the elementary/high school walking path via Ninth Street West, and connection of the Fifth Street Corridor trail to downtown via Chapple Avenue.

In all, there are 8.6 miles of proposed lanes. Of those, 3.9 miles would be bike lanes, 3.9 miles would be shared lanes with the roadway, and 0.8 miles would be signed, meaning street signs would designate the road as a bike route, but it would have no painted pavement markings.

Officials believe the plan will create a network that serves the community by connecting residential areas with key access points, like schools, colleges, downtown, the hospital and the waterfront, the plan states.

Public Works Director John Butler said the bike plan is helpful in seeking grants for road repair projects.

“We’re constantly looking for grants,” he said.

Federal funding is shifting to require more incorporation of bike and pedestrian facilities along with vehicular accommodations. As a result, plans for these bike accommodations would be coordinated with roadway projects as they occur.

The city currently has 2.9 miles of bike-friendly roadways; 2.6 miles of that is identified as bike lanes and the other 0.3 miles are shared. There are also about 8.6 miles of trails in the city that are available for biking, including the Fifth Street Corridor and the Waterfront Trail.

As owner of Bay City Cycles, Alex Faber thinks the plan is a great idea for Ashland.

“I get to hear plenty of stories from people who are uncomfortable biking around town and those who are. Having bike (facilities) is very helpful for people to feel comfortable and empowered to bike places in town. That’s good for commuting and good for exercise,” she said.

Council member Kevin Seefeldt addressed concerns about the road crossing by the private drive at Walmart.

“This plan doesn’t address that. But maybe some funds can come our way to reroute that to avoid that dangerous crossing,” he said.

Fellow council member Ana Tochterman wanted to know how much maintaining these bike accommodations would cost. The approximate annual cost per mile is $1,200 for a bike lane, $320 for shared lanes and $1,000 for signs. If all the proposed facilities were implemented, the total cost would be about $5,000 annually, Butler said.