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First bike lanes come to Logansport

Last Updated on September 12, 2016 by cassnetwork

UPDATE: As of Sept. 12, the far right lane of Broadway between 6th and 7th Streets has been marked as “turn only.”  According to INDOT, the far north (right) lane between 6th and 3rd on Broadway should be used as a bike lane only, not for traffic. Permanent painted lines will be installed on Broadway soon.

ORIGINAL POST:

When a double line showed up on the new pavement on Broadway and Market between 3rd and 6th Streets in downtown Logansport last week, it caused a lot of confusion. That set of double lines  on the right side of the street is actually a buffer — the bike lane will be on the south side of that buffer on Market Street and on the north side on Broadway.

The downtown project that included repaving of 3rd and 6th Streets and Market and Broadway between those streets, was an Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) project.

INDOT says the current markings are temporary, and, weather permitting, what’s known as the grooving process will begin Wednesday, with the line striping and painting to follow on Thursday or Friday.

“It is basically recessing the painted lines so that the snow plows do not scrape all of the reflective material off of the roadway,” Tim Hoffa, INDOT project supervisor, said of the grooving process. “Any of the lines that are painted on right now are temporary.  It gives the grooving company a guideline to run off of. When the grooving process is complete, all of the permanent lines will be painted on the road surface.”

At 6th and Broadway, the far right lane (on the north side of the street), will become a “right turn only” lane.

Signal loops, which activate the traffic signals, are also scheduled to be installed Wednesday and Thursday, weather permitting.

Deputy Mayor Mercedes Brugh says this section of the project was funded by INDOT, but Logansport has committed $279,075 to extending the bike lanes from the confluence of the rivers to the east end.

The money comes from $3.5 million in relinquishment money made available to the city by INDOT after giving up sections of highway to the city.

Planning director Arin Shaver says the bike lane plan actually began with the Complete Streets Committee, and the city’s Complete Street Policy was approved in 2014.

“It makes us look, as a community, at all of our roads to see if we can provide multi-modal transportation for all: transit, like buses, bike lanes, trails, sidewalks, anything for you to be able to get from one destination to another. When we’re repaving, or looking to improve, we have to take into account how we can do that and provide transportation for all.”

The Complete Streets Committee includes stakeholders from various entities like economic development, tourism, the hospital, schools, city council, redevelopment commission, parks and planning.

Shaver says that while there will be a right turn only lane at 6th and Broadway, at the other intersections, there will be a shared lane that people turning right will be able to use.

“When you’re turning, like at any other intersection, you have to pay attention to what’s behind you,” she says.

And, Shaver hopes an educational event, like a bike rodeo, can be organized to help people learn to use the bike lanes once they’re completed.

She says for now, the bike lanes are a trial.

“Just like the trial transit bus, you have to determine what’s appropriate for the community. After a year, we’ll have some statistics to study and analyze.”

Shaver says Broadway actually began as a two-way street, with a street car lane, and angled parking.

In addition to the $279,075 allocated to extend the bike lanes beyond the downtown district, Brugh says relinquishment money, which has to be used for road projects, was allocated to several other projects:

$545,000 for 18th and Main
$2,010,000 for Market Street from Heath to Front Street
$510,925 for converting 4th and 5th Streets from one-way to two-way streets
$155,000 for adding decorative rails and lights to the Market Street Bridge, which is an INDOT project

Brugh says the previous administration had allocated $78,500 for a street inventory, but the current administration determined it would be cheaper to complete that themselves. Brugh says Logansport Street Commissioner Tony Shanks was able to work with Jodi Coblentz to complete the pavement inventory for about $38,000 from the Logansport Street Department’s budget. She says that enabled them to apply for and receive a $1 million matching grant that was announced last week.

Brugh says the bidding process for the rest of the bike lanes is scheduled to begin in January 2017. If they choose to proceed with converting 4th and 5th to two-way streets, that bidding process would begin in August 2017.

Cass County Online