On the road: Cape finishing up bike lanes

They have been honked at, cursed and crowded off the road. Ice-cold sodas have been chucked on them and one was even intentionally hit on the head by an airborne beer bottle.

At times, it seems, motorists have been less than tolerant with bicyclists.

"Motorists are sort of incensed by us," said longtime Cape Girardeau bicyclist Chris Moore. "Having to slow down for us bothers them. It's passive aggressive, sometimes, but they don't seem to like us much."

But a number of area cycling enthusiasts are hopeful that a nearly completed system of bike paths -- coupled with an educational component -- will help both groups learn to peaceably and safely share the city's public streets.

About 16 miles of new bike lanes are being striped in designated bike routes in Cape Girardeau, a plan four years in the making. City officials say that when the project is completed in the coming weeks, new bike paths will be in place on Lexington Avenue and sections of Sprigg Street, Silver Springs Road and Frederick Street.

The $253,000 project, paid for by a Missouri Foundation for Health grant, includes "share the road" signs and will include both solid and dashed lines, shared-use arrows and bicycle symbols. Shared-use arrows, which are in places where bicyclists are asked to yield to parking, exist in sections of Lexington Avenue, Sprigg Street and the entirety of the Frederick Street portion.

The project, a cooperative effort between the city and Southeast Missouri State University, will also provide for 325 bicycle racks, a part-time project coordinator and an educational program, assistant city manager Heather Brooks said.

"It made a lot of sense for people who wanted to bicycle to work to commute," she said. "We wanted the paths to sort of circle the city and connect to the River Campus area. We think it's a good thing for Cape Girardeau in a lot of ways -- it adds to our sense of community and it will hopefully make us a healthier community."

Click on the image to view an enlarged version.

And more such paths are on the way. The Missouri Department of Transportation has a plan in place to spend $1.5 million to stripe bike paths on the existing shoulders of both sides of Highway 74 -- from the Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge to Siemers Drive.

The transportation department also intends to put in a 10-foot-wide biking/hiking trail along the north side of Route K -- off the roadway, said department project manager Tim Richmond. That will begin on the west side of Merriwether Street between Schnucks and the Pasta House Co., he said. A new 6-foot-wide pedestrian bridge will start the trail off before it connects with Route K, commonly called William Street, and extends along the roadway west to Mount Auburn Road, Richmond said.

Details haven't been finalized, he said, though he added that the money is coming from statewide enhancement funds. Bids on the project are to be let next summer, though the entire state project may not be completed until early 2013.

"So we're definitely going to be monitoring what's going on," Brooks said when asked if the city has plans for more bike paths.

The city's interest in providing bike paths began in earnest in 2007, when Chris Moore began gathering signatures for a petition urging city leaders to build bike paths. Moore is a member of the Bicycle Advisory Council and Velo Girardeau, two groups of cycling enthusiasts.

The city got on board, formed a partnership with the university and applied for the grant. After the grant was awarded, the city's engineering team mapped out a potential 40 miles of routes connecting schools, parks and other areas.

But at an open house earlier this year, residents came out in droves to protest the loss of parking on several city streets. The strong opposition caused the city to regroup. Then a scaled-down version was cemented when bids came in higher than anticipated, Brooks said.

On the new map, no residential parking was lost.

In addition to bike lanes, 325 bike racks are being added near the university and along sidewalks in the downtown area. (Kristin Eberts)

The bike racks have also started to go up as well. The university will have 257 installed by spring and the city's racks have mostly gone up, Brooks said, with the exception of the ones that will be installed along Broadway. Those will be completed along with the Broadway corridor enhancements next year.

The cost for all the racks plus installation came in at $108,420. The three-year grant also is paying for $21,573 for educational and marketing efforts and another $36,000 over those three years for a part-time person to coordinate those efforts.

A part-time employee, Jessica Sexton of the city's public information department, was made full time and given those responsibilities. Educational efforts will include brochures, videos and other programs to inform motorists and bicyclists how to properly share the road.

Many bicyclists are on board, Moore said, but not all of them.

Two longtime bicyclists, Mark Farmer and Peter Kerr, said they don't like the lanes. They claim the lanes are confusing and more dangerous than not having them.

Debris gathers in the curb, making it dangerous for bicyclists who are then more likely to have tumbles. The bike paths don't extend through intersections and that just adds to the confusion, both Kerr and Farmer said.

"They're a detriment to bicyclists and a waste of taxpayers' money," Kerr said.

But Moore said that if the laws are followed, the lanes make people safer. State law allows bicyclists to navigate out of bike lanes if there are hazards, he said. Moore said he has no reason to believe the city wouldn't keep the curbs free from debris.

"Some people just like things to stay like the old way," Moore said. "But if we're educating people about how this works, the streets will be safer."

smoyers@semissourian.com

388-3642

Pertinent address:

Lexington Avenue, Cape Girardeau, MO

Sprigg Street, Cape Girardeau, MO

Silver Springs Road, Cape Girardeau, MO

Frederick Street, Cape Girardeau, MO