Mr. Mayor Andy Berke,
As daily commuters on this road, we have been following the new bike lane issue closely and understood that no decision had been made pending additional public meetings. Needless to say, we were surprised to recently learn that the bike lanes would happen next year.
Given the controversy surrounding the Broad Street bike lanes, please reconsider the Bailey announcement for the following reasons:
1. We have yet to see a cyclist on Bailey since the announcement was made. This suggests federal bike lane grant money in search of a problem.
2. A poll of 2,300 citizens is running 86 percent - 14 percent against the bike lane project.
3. Unlike Broad Street, there is no means to pass slow moving traffic when narrowed to one lane. The problem is further compounded by a variety of buses stopping every few blocks and at railroad tracks.
4. The merchant angle does not explain extending the narrowing the entire length of Bailey.
5. If a concern is excessive speeding, there are other means to address those scofflaws without impacting thousands of innocents e.g. traffic cameras.
Hopefully the wishes of 86 percent of concerned citizens will be given a legitimate opportunity to be heard. There is no compelling reason to rush this.
Kurt Faires
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I love it when people get fired up over adding a few minutes to their morning commute time so that other less fortunate people can actually get around the city easier and safer. That's me being sarcastic.
MLK is like Talladega. Ask any business on MLK and they will tell you to slow the traffic down. Ask anyone one who lives on MLK and they will tell you the same.
People live there, people work there. There are lots of people who use the boulevard for more than just blazing to get to work or drop their kiddies off at a private school. And you can't slow drivers down with traffic cameras as our leaders in Nashville thankfully made those illegal last year. I'm assuming all the fast drivers would complain about speed bumps and stop lights too so now you are fast running out of options.
When MLK traffic slows down, more people will feel comfortable to bike and walk and shop and visit MLK. That's the point. If you want to get to work faster, leave a few minutes earlier in the morning or use the interstate. Problem solved.
Martin Knowles
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I read some of the opinions regarding bike lanes and some appear balanced, well-researched and describe the pros and cons of this issue.
I am biased for increasing bike lanes as I quite often ride my bike to work downtown from Hixson and am very gratefully for our Riverwalk where I'm off the road 70 percent of the way.
I am responding when I read a writer's opinion that bike riders should pay a tax for the choice to ride a bike. I pay all the taxes that anyone else does. My choice to ride my bike takes one more car off the road. This means I'm healthier and statistically will be less a drain on our nation's healthcare costs. I don't pollute, I am intimately less likely to hurt someone as I can't text and I am not driving a car with hundreds of pounds of force to kill or hurt someone. I don't break down the roads like cars.
So please, no matter what is your personal practice, please weigh the pros and cons fairly for the benefit for all Chattanoogans.
Dan Shaughnessy