The following message comes from Allentown's Scott Armstrong:
Fellow West Park Residents:
It was recently brought to my attention that unbeknownst to us the city has for some time has been considering putting bike lanes on both Linden and Turner Streets. Several variations are being considered, but two of the options call for restricting both streets to single lanes or removing parking from one side of both streets to accommodate the bike lanes. Restricting traffic on these through streets would result in massive back-ups in the morning and at school dismissals. The loss of parking from one side of Linden and Turner between 15th and 17th would result in the elimination of around 90 parking spaces. This is a very serious matter that requires our immediate concern and attention. Don’t hope that the city will act in our best interests. This is our neighborhood and it is up to us to voice our opinion on a plan that would be sure to impact all of us significantly. Please note this link for the proposal on the city website and the meeting time below.
Wednesday, October 26
7:00pm – 8:30pm
Allentown Public Library • Presentation of final design concept
10 comments:
This is a great idea.
Now the gang members will be able to practice for the olympics.
I hear the Latin Kings are lobbying the IOC to switch the Biathlon from skiing and riflery to biking and riflery.
nincompoops...
Simply a ploy to get the suburban cycling geeks to patronize the underperfoming restaurants.
Will The Cosmopolitan's valets chain your bike to the post for you?
How do you spell sheer genius?
Chairman Pawlowski and his Rubber Stamp City Council.
Always vote a straight Democrat Party ticket, everything always works out best that way.
CAPTAIN, CITY HALL CHEERLEADING SQUAD
it's actually worse than it appears. these bike lanes are part of the plan to connect all the parks with additional macadam paths. i attended the meeting last spring and one of their goals (paid consultant from maryland) is to connect the city with the parks, and provide exercise for obese center city children. the consultant prepared an elaborate map, but it did not contain, nor was mentioned, the WPA steps at fountain park. they do connect the center city with the park system, and they do provide exercise. the consultant's fee alone would pay for the restoration of this irreplaceable icon. this plan caters to what i call the spandex crowd. worse, because the consultant is from maryland, it ignores the reality of center city allentown. even the spandex yuppies will not peddle around 7th and linden, but it will disrupt auto traffic. also, people who ignore rules on double parking will not respect or care about bike lanes. an asinine waste of taxpayer money.
How far along Linden and Turner would these bike lines extend?
I consider those streets to be one lane already - not a day goes by when both lanes are open on the stretches of those streets I drive, due to the double parking MM mentions. And near the high school at dismissal time is certainly one lane already, due to cars stopping randomly & without warning to pick up students.
I will be giggling all day today, thinking of my neighbors being asked to bike downtown. The Lehigh Valley does have an unusually active biking population, so taking advantage of this crowd (with money) is not exactly stupid, but it does show that the priorities of the administration are not actually with the people who LIVE downtown.
hizzhonor is fishing for more votes. a disaster in the making
In addition to allowing a safe place for bicyclists to ride, this will help to calm traffic, which should result in less crashes.
Shouldn't the mind numbed, straight ticket voting plebes just bow down before their patrician ruler King Edwin and thank him for converting their scarce parking spaces into bike lanes? Maybe the ruling elite will pass down the edict that the lower classes should be riding bikes instead of driving anyway.
Monkey Momma,
There are several studies showing that bike lanes on roads are actually more dangerous to bicyclists. I know I would prefer to ride on a road without one. Too often, drivers will go into that lane to pass someone on the inside, often with bad consequences. Also, the lane is never maintained well. Finally, these lanes give cyclists a false sense of security. You can see examples of this in Philly. I know many alternative transportation advocates who oppose bike lanes as a rule for these reasons. There is no reason to have a bike lane. A cyclist already can use the road.
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