Downtown bike plans roll forward

The city’s goal of developing more bicycle-friendly streets won’t sit well with everyone who prefers getting around in cars.

At a Dec. 6 workshop, it was a source of exasperation for resident Dan Lobeck. As city staff and consultants discussed a plan to redesign two downtown streets as “bike boulevards,” Lobeck suggested it was part of an ongoing policy directive that sought to make it more difficult to drive.

“There seems to be this underlying contempt for the automobile,” Lobeck said.

Although staff might disagree with the tone of Lobeck’s complaint, it’s admittedly not entirely off base. The city is developing plans to turn Second Street and Fourth Street into roads that primarily serve cyclists between U.S. 301 and U.S. 41.

The goal is to encourage people to use alternative modes of transportation. The city is considering a variety of traffic features that would slow and discourage vehicular traffic on those streets.

So yes, the city does want to make the street less convenient for motorists. It might seem like a jarring change, but Assistant City Engineer Dan Ohrenstein said the bike-centric streets would represent a small fraction of the regional road network, which typically prioritizes cars.

“Our goal with this project is to have an area where bicyclists do have a priority — that’s an explicit goal of this project,” Ohrenstein said. “I would scratch my head to think of where, in this county, do we have a place that emphasizes bicyclists traveling?”

The city’s preliminary plan is to turn the streets into sharrows, a term for roads designated for cyclists and motorists to share. Posted signs and street markings would tell drivers that the streets are designed for bikes, encouraging them to slow down and give cyclists more space.

Other proposed changes include reducing the travel speeds and including traffic-calming features such as curb extensions and speed pillows. Despite the potential frustration for drivers, Ohrenstein said accommodating cyclists is an important part of addressing traffic issues.

“I think there’s something cultural we need to do to make people aware bicyclists have a place in the transportation network,” Ohrenstein said. 

Lobeck said he understands the desire to accommodate both cyclists and cars, but he thinks the city is doing too much to privilege one over the other. Ohrenstein said he knows there’s some skepticism among residents, but he also thinks other residents want a more comfortable place to ride their bikes.

“I think people do want to see Sarasota become a more bicycle friendly community,” Ohrenstein said. “We have to start doing that by inviting people to go out bicycling.”

Fruitville plans

Although Ohrenstein said the city planned to pursue the changes to Second and Fourth streets independent of any other project, the proposal is designed to be considered alongside a proposed revision to Fruitville Road between U.S. 301 and U.S. 41.

Earlier this year, staff’s plan to narrow a segment of Fruitville Road from four lanes to two lanes drew concern from the public. Most candidates in the spring City Commission election said they were opposed to the proposal, including Hagen Brody and Jen Ahearn-Koch, who won and now sit on the commission.

Still, as the city prepares to revisit the subject, staff continues to defend the plan to narrow the road, one of two alternatives that have been developed. The plan would reduce Fruitville to two lanes between Cocoanut and Lemon avenues, adding roundabouts at Cocoanut, Central and Lemon avenues. It would also remove bike lanes on Fruitville Road.

The goal of the project is to make Fruitville more pedestrian friendly. Staff said traffic models show roughly the same volume of traffic moving along Fruitville despite the reduction in lanes. 

Staff will refine its options for changes to Second Street, Fruitville Road and Fourth Street before returning to the commission for consideration in spring. As on Second and Fourth streets, the potential changes to Fruitville are controversial, but staff isn’t shying away from the conversation.

“We want to continue to examine how we can improve Fruitville Road,” Ohrenstein said.