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Residents of Erie neighborhood voice concerns over new city project

A proposed bike path along Greengarden Blvd has some people up in arms.

Dozens of people voiced their concerns at City Hall on Wednesday, Feb. 1. Now, Erie City Council has scheduled a public meeting to continue the conversation.

As the City of Erie develops a plan to make the region more friendly for bikers, they are hearing feedback from one Erie neighborhood. Dozens of residents are concerned about the plans for a proposed bikeway on Greengarden Blvd.

The bikeway would run from West 12th Street to West 38th Street.          

“Greengarden is known as an access way. Emergency vehicles use it all the time. If we were to go with the existing plan, in my understanding of it, it would choke off Greengarden, not only for turning lanes but for those emergency vehicles,” said Jonathan Roehrl, Greengarden resident.

“I don’t see a whole lot of bicyclists. My wife and I ride bikes. We don’t ride on Greengarden because of the busyness of it. We take the side streets, 34th, 36th street, wherever we’re going,” said fellow resident David Welz.

However, some city residents support the plan, they believe it would make alternate forms of transportation, like biking, more accessible.

“The point is to connect all residents to be able to travel on bike lanes safely so every home in Erie would have access to a lane somewhere within a few blocks of their home,” explained Amanda Gates of Bike Erie.

Neighbors are hoping to develop a plan people can agree on.

“There has to be some sort of adjustment or a little more involvement and transparency so that we know what can be done to make this. It’s our environment. We have to make sure our street is safe,” Roehrl went on to say.

City officials say plans for the bikeway aren’t a done deal. They say they’re open to working with city residents.  

“Nothing is finalized, so we’re in this process and there’s a lot of information up on our website, so we’re here to gather all this information and then take all this input and then continue to work on the plans,” said Jason Sayers, Assistant City Engineer for the City of Erie.