Who could argue with a new, free bike lane along idyllic W. Spain St. in the Cittaslow, certified bicycle-friendly community of Sonoma?
Just about everybody who lives and works along the proposed route.
Bike lanes that would eliminate 91 parking spaces on W. Spain St. will be reviewed Wednesday by the Sonoma City Council. Opposition is expected.
The 6 p.m. meeting will be broadcast live on Sun TV Channel 27 and at sonomasunfm.com.
Pamala Garant, a resident of the 200 block of W. Spain, said more than 200 neighbors of the proposed project have signed a petition opposing it.
Residents on the south side of the street “would never be able to park at or near our houses,” she said. Eliminating parking, particularly near the Plaza, would be bad for business and snarl traffic, Garant said. “Parking is overburdened now, especially on heavy tourist days.”
Safety would become a concern as north-curb residents would have to scurry across the busy street to and from their parked car.
“This is a weird form of motivation,” said a Spain St. resident worried about losing his parking spot. “I guess I’m supposed to ride my bike to my car.”
The plan approved by the Sonoma Valley Citizens Advisory Commission calls for re-striping segments of Fifth Street West, West MacAthur Street, Napa Road and West Spain Street. Only the Spain Street segment has generated any controversy.
City Planner Wendy Atkins estimated the cost of the Spain Street segment at $70,000, but said she’s confident the total cost will be covered by available grants. “The city does not have to contribute,” she said.
Atkins said that event without the north curb, 72 percent of existing parking would remain. “Our parking survey determined there still will be adequate parking.”
Garant contends the survey is flawed because it sampled parking on only three weekdays, in 2008,
Redundancy is also a complaint. The new bike lanes would run parallel to the city’s off-street bike path that lies less than 75 yards to the north.
Atkins said that path, often busy with pedestrians and dogs, is not an efficient lane for bicycling.
The new on-street lanes would appeal to non-recreational riders, particularly kids going to school, according to SVCA Commissioner Will Pier. “They’re not using the bike path,” Pier said. “They use streets as shortcuts.”
Creating the bike lanes is part of a master plan to make the city as bike-friendly as possible. “As more bike lanes hook up together, they will be used more,” Pier said.
Save the parking spaces, re-route the bikes out around the Plaza. Cittislow still needs to generate revenue and businesses pay taxes. Bikes and riders do not throw significant dollars into commerce in Sonoma. Think about it, they are riding their bikes. These guys don’t ride with saddle bags or baskets on their handlebars. There is a place for bikes, just a few blocks away from the Plaza Perimeter is all.
Bad idea for commerce. If business and tourists (much less residents) don’t live here and pay taxes, shop and generate revenues, then the concept of Cittislow dies anyway.
Green space and parks only survive with robust commercial enterprise. SO in this case, keep the parking spaces. It makes the best $$$ sense. With the commerce and tourists we can generate more dollars and in turn build more bike paths out away from the Plaza.
I still argue its a hazard for bikes to be near the Plaza with traffic and pedestrians. Bikers I see never seem to honor the road signs when they ride on the streets. They expect preferential treatment. They want all the attention, all the roads, and all the tax dollars, but never play by the rules.
Sign, Sign, everywhere a sign. Do this, Don’t do that, can’t you read the sign? It says NO BIKES on the Plaza and certainly not on the sidewalks. Why rip out 100 spots or even more in the immediate area? Stay on the bike path and park your bikes up in the Depot park. Walk into town and spend money.
Generally cyclists do obey the rules. It is the driver who did not see the cyclist waiting their turn at the sign who thinks “they ran the sign”. Also, I commute to work every day on a bicycle, my work in Sonoma generates great economic benefit and my choice to cycle, along with many others’, relives traffic and parking congestion. Since the only real hazard to pedestrians and cyclists is a vehicle, maybe we should keep vehicles off our beautiful and historic plaza.
Save the parking spaces, re-route the bikes out around the Plaza. Cittislow still needs to generate revenue and businesses pay taxes. Bikes and riders do not throw significant dollars into commerce in Sonoma. Think about it, they are riding their bikes. These guys don’t ride with saddle bags or baskets on their handlebars. There is a place for bikes, just a few blocks away from the Plaza Perimeter is all.
Bad idea for commerce. If business and tourists (much less residents) don’t live here and pay taxes, shop and generate revenues, then the concept of Cittislow dies anyway.
Green space and parks only survive with robust commercial enterprise. SO in this case, keep the parking spaces. It makes the best $$$ sense. With the commerce and tourists we can generate more dollars and in turn build more bike paths out away from the Plaza.
I still argue its a hazard for bikes to be near the Plaza with traffic and pedestrians. Bikers I see never seem to honor the road signs when they ride on the streets. They expect preferential treatment. They want all the attention, all the roads, and all the tax dollars, but never play by the rules.
Sign, Sign, everywhere a sign. Do this, Don’t do that, can’t you read the sign? It says NO BIKES on the Plaza and certainly not on the sidewalks. Why rip out 100 spots or even more in the immediate area? Stay on the bike path and park your bikes up in the Depot park. Walk into town and spend money.
Generally cyclists do obey the rules. It is the driver who did not see the cyclist waiting their turn at the sign who thinks “they ran the sign”. Also, I commute to work every day on a bicycle, my work in Sonoma generates great economic benefit and my choice to cycle, along with many others’, relives traffic and parking congestion. Since the only real hazard to pedestrians and cyclists is a vehicle, maybe we should keep vehicles off our beautiful and historic plaza.