Council approves Plaza bike racks

A two-phase plan that would nearly triple the amount of bicycle parking at Sonoma Plaza was unanimously approved Wednesday night by the City Council.
The proposal was identified by the council as a high-priority component of Sonoma’s Bicycle And Pedestrian Improvement Plan, which the panel approved Sept. 2 as part of a countywide initiative to encourage alternative transportation.
In her report to the council, Associate Planner Wendy Atkins said bike racks would be placed so as “to remind the public that while it is not permitted to ride a bicycle through the Plaza, it is encouraged to ride a bicycle to the Plaza and to destinations surrounding the Plaza.”
Currently, the eight-acre park contains 29 spaces for bicycle parking. But the city’s Community Services and Environment Commission (CSEC) voted on Oct. 8 to recommend that the council add another 48 for a total of 77 spaces, with 32 in Phase 1 and 16 in Phase 2. Unlike the cement slots at the Plaza’s southwest corner and the wooden posts near City Hall, the new racks would mostly consist of twin bollards – waist-high pillars accommodating a pair of bicycles apiece – with inverted-U racks under the eaves of City Hall’s east-facing alcove.
The project will be constructed in two phases in order to test user reactions, Atkins said. Phase 1 includes four locations near each Plaza entrance, one to the west of City Hall, one in its southern alcove and one at the bus stop near West Napa Street. Phase 2 would put an additional pair of bollards next to the Carnegie Library as well as in the park’s northwest, southwest and southeast corners.
Atkins said the City Hall racks would be painted tan to match the building, with the others a dark forest-green. No new signs are being planned, although Atkins said city staff will review the existing signs which “may be misunderstood as not allowing any bikes in the Plaza, when in fact … persons must dismount and walk their bikes while in the Plaza.”
The council had previously allocated a total of $280,000 for the overall bike improvement plan. Estimated costs for the new racks are $13,913, but Atkins said Caltrans’ Bicycle Transportation Account (BTA) recently issued a call for projects – meaning that if the bike racks are accepted for state funding, Sonoma would only need to commit to paying for 10 percent. She said the item was on the council’s Wednesday agenda due to the BTA’s Dec. 1 application deadline.
Wednesday’s action was the council’s second bike-related decision since adopting the improvement plan. Unlike the council’s Oct. 15 meeting, where the panel voted 4—1 to eliminate 91 parking spaces on the north side of West Spain Street in favor of a striped bike lane, no comment was offered by members of the public
Council comments were largely limited to matters of aesthetics. Mayor Joanne Sanders, citing the ongoing discussion about public art in Sonoma, wondered whether the bike racks could incorporate some sort of sculptural element. Atkins replied that the CSEC had suggested the same thing, but after input from city staff ultimately decided that the Plaza wouldn’t be the best place for them.
Another point concerned whether or not the Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition, which the council elected to join at its Nov. 5 session, should be tapped for funds instead of Caltrans. Atkins pointed out that she was hoping to apply to both.
“This isn’t the only (grant),” she said, “just the first one that’s coming up.”