City officials said Pasadena’s Department of Transportation currently favors recommending the city proceed with a North Lake Avenue redesign which has no dedicated bicycle facility.
The city-initiated pedestrian safety enhancement project is planned for North Lake Avenue between Maple and Mountain Streets.
During the third community workshop for the North Lake Avenue Traffic and Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Plan last Tuesday, city officials presented the three options under consideration for the project’s concept design.
Talin Shahbazian of the city’s Department of Transportation said among the three options such as the Pedestrian Enhancement Plan, the Buffered Bike Lane Plan and the Raised Cycle Track Plan, city planners found feasible the first option, which is the only option that has no dedicated bicycle facility.
Talin Shahbazian of the city’s Department of Transportation said among the three options, city planners favored the only option that has no dedicated bicycle facility.
“After close review of all three options and with the recommendation of our consultant, the Department of Transportation staff is going to be advancing with option number 1 which is the Pedestrian Enhancement option,” said Shahbazian. “Option 2 and 3 were not feasible.”
The Pedestrian Enhancement option allows for the widening of sidewalks and provision of curb extensions that will allow shorter distance for pedestrians to be able to cross intersections.
The proposal, which would cost between $8 to $10 million to implement, also allows for convenient bus boarding and the retention of all street parking, loading zone and curb access for transit, paratransit, rideshare and personal vehicles, according to planners.
According to Shahbazian, the other two options, which both propose the inclusion of a bicycle facility, were not feasible because these will result in the elimination of vehicle access to the curbs for parking and for loading and unloading.
Initially, there was no bicycle component included in the scope of the project as the city’s Bicycle Transport Action Plan does not include Lake Avenue as a bikeway, according to Shahbazian.
But following a meeting last April with stakeholders including the Pasadena Complete Streets Coalition, among other organizations, and considering feedback from the community, Shahbazian said the city started looking at the possibility of including a bike lane along the corridor on North Lake Avenue.
The city developed option 2, the Buffered Bike Lane Plan, which allows for cycle lanes to be buffered by bollards from motorists and pedestrians, and option 3, the Raised Cycle Track Plan, which allows bike lanes to be elevated at the sidewalk level. Both options would eliminate curb access for loading and unloading and will remove on-street parking.
The second option would cost somewhere between $7.5 to $9 million to construct while the third option would cost $12 to $15 million.
The public now has until September 21 to submit comments on the option that will be advanced. The public can view the final concept design in October 2021, according to Shahbazian.
To submit questions or comments regarding the proposed design for the project, visit: tinyurl.com//northlakeavenue
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3 thoughts on “City Planners Favor North Lake Avenue Pedestrian Safety Redesign With No Bicycle Facility”
Why isn’t this presentation on line? This was no “public” workship, as the public were not even allowed to ask questions in a rushed and very incomplete presentation by City staff and the consultants. There were many elements missing in the presentation, and since no public questions were allowed, there was no way to get clarification. Regardless of one’s viewpoint on the proposed actions, the presentation itself was unprofessional and incomoplete, in it’s failure to actually allow the public to participate.
My goodness, a common sense solution. Lets see how long this lasts.
Yeah Right! You have it right with your comments and this happens all the time. The presenters take up all the time and when questions come in they have to get back to you with the answers.