Position Statement on Lorain Avenue Streetscape Plan

RE: Bike Cleveland Position Statement- Lorain Avenue Streetscape Plan

Bike Cleveland’s board of directors reviewed the Living Lorain Streetscape plans presented at the May 28th public meeting (which can be viewed online here) and approved the following position statement regarding the project on June 4th at our monthly meeting of the board of directors:

The goals of Living Lorain, the streetscape planning process for Lorain Avenue between W. 20th and W. 85th, are to balance the safety of all users and to create a space that is memorable and “great.” To accomplish these goals Bike Cleveland is supportive of a plan for Lorain Avenue that accommodates cyclists within the right-of-way of the existing roadway, with a strong preference for protected bikeways. Bike Cleveland supports a plan that balances the needs of all users in order to accommodate both parking for area businesses and dedicated bicycle facilities for cyclists. All cyclists begin and end their trips as pedestrians and as such Bike Cleveland supports a plan that provides excellent amenities for pedestrians such as signalized crossings, raised crosswalks, mid-block crossings, pedestrian refuge islands, and bump outs.

Bike Cleveland would like to work with the consultant and the local Community Development Corporations to further explore and advocate for the the idea of creating a two-way protected bike lane on the north-side of Lorain Ave. We believe this lane configuration should be included in the potential options and presented to the community at an additional public meeting.

As the city of Cleveland continues to become a friendly place for cyclists of all ages and abilities, it is important to balance the needs of all users during planning processes. By creating a dedicated facility on Lorain Avenue for bicycles the project will make riding a bicycle on Lorain more attractive to a wider range of bicyclists and improve comfort and safety of all road users (a New York study found that protected bike lanes made a street 40% safer for all road users, not just people on bicycles).