Citizens speak out on proposed bike lanes
Examiner photo by Connie Clements: Resident Deborah Richardson suggests the possibility of future shared use streets in her neighborhood with Strand Associates engineers Jared Engelke and Kelly Hajek.
Nearly two dozen citizens attended a public meeting Tuesday, May 18, to provide input on three proposed grant projects that would impact Washington Avenue, Brosig Avenue and Hillside Street. The meeting was hosted by the City of Navasota and those attending weighed in with public comments, one-on-one discussions with city staff, architects, and engineers, and a participant survey. The projects are part of the Pedestrian and Bicycle System Plan developed November 2020, and for which grant funds from TxDOT’s Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) are being sought. The application deadline is June 14.
Rayna Willenbrink, Economic Development Specialist, told the Examiner Thursday, “The comments are being addressed and will be reflected in the final grant application we are bringing to city council for approval Monday, May 24.”
Funding explained
Landscape architect Ben Miller, with Goodwin Lassiter & Strong said that the grant funds come from the Federal Highway Administration and TxDOT’s TAP and are set aside specifically for pedestrian-bicycle infrastructure. Though funds available this year are lower than previous years, Navasota could receive about $1 million of the $10.5 million available to cities its size.
Miller said, “Criteria for selection is based around transportation and safety, ‘How can we get as many people off the road and onto the sidewalk, or onto the bike lane as safely as possible?’”
A 20% match is required but project consultants indicated the City “should have no issues” receiving the matching funds from TxDOT’s Transportation Development Credits.
Citizens speak
Opening the floor to comments, Miller told the audience, “This is still very much up for debate. If you think something won’t work, we can make changes.”
While sidewalks were generally supported by those attending, the majority of negative comments were about the impact adding bike lanes in downtown would have on parking and safety. One criticism related to the potential loss of parking spaces on Washington at LaSalle if parking was converted to parallel to accommodate turn lanes.
Realtor Max Brand said, “You’ll hurt all of our downtown businesses if you take away our parking.”
Resident Mitch Bertone questioned narrowing traffic lanes in a town which experiences a lot of farm-related traffic. Navasota resident and County Attorney Jon C. Fultz inquired about funding and project priority.
Developer Jim Hassell described the proposed narrow lanes downtown as “dangerous.”
Dorothy Hassell pointed out many delivery trucks park in the center lane to make deliveries due to lack of parking. Miller responded that it might mean requiring businesses to use single vehicle trucks instead of 18-wheelers for dropoffs, as is done in Bryan.
Commissioner Barbara Walker said that sidewalks and bike lanes would be welcome on FM 379 and FM 1227, an area where many residents don’t have cars and have to walk or ride bicycles.
Several Hillside Street residents spoke against a bike lane on their street which would prohibit on-street parking; however, Miller said that idea had been discarded. The revised proposal for Hillside Street included construction of 6-foot wide sidewalks with 2-foot buffers on the northeast side of the street. Resident Connie Clements pointed out that homeowners are responsible for sidewalk maintenance.
City Manager Brad Stafford concurred saying, “Our ordinance actually says it’s the homeowner’s responsibility but we’ve had the discussion of should that be changed.”
Project revisions
According to Willenbrink, there was no substantial feedback on Washington Avenue Segment A from SH 6 to LaSalle but based on comments received, she said, “We will apply for a shared use sidewalk down Washington Avenue to SH 6. We will eliminate the originally proposed striped bicycle lanes.”
Addressing Washington Avenue Segment B in downtown, there will be a number of items eliminated. Those include the proposed median extending down the west side of Washington Avenue, elimination of the bicycle lanes but keeping 6-foot sidewalks on both sides from Eighth Street to Third Street. There will be no switch to parallel parking, so no loss of parking spaces.
For the Brosig/Hillside project, the proposed sidewalk on Brosig and bridge over Cedar Creek will remain.
Instead of constructing the Hillside sidewalk which would necessitate removing trees, Willenbrink said, “Instead propose a sidewalk on the east side of Hillside, crossing onto Moore Street and continuing along Moore on the west side until it reaches John C. Webb Elementary.”
Addressing sidewalks along FM 379, Willenbrink said that construction of sidewalks from Eighth Street westward “increase our chances for being chosen for funding for FM 379 in a later round because it will have a connection point.”