The Owensboro-Daviess County Metropolitan Planning Organization’s Technical and Policy Advisory committees heard a proposal Tuesday to create separate bike lanes in different areas of the community.
The idea came from the Young Professionals Chamber, which partnered with Bicycle Owensboro. The two groups began working on the bicycle project in the summer of 2022.
Jared Revlett, president of CYP community development, told committee members, which include Mayor Tom Watson and Judge Executive Charlie Castlen, that a public survey in the county came back with 209 responses.
The survey listed the bike lanes as the first recommendation from the David C. Adkisson Greenbelt to the areas of interest in the center.
“We didn’t want to just go out and start picking bike lanes, saying this is where we want it; we wanted to have some sort of strategy behind it,” Revlett said.
This strategy was reviewing the bicycle-pedestrian master plan of the Green River Area Development District created in 2018, which was made to look at reducing the carbon footprint of the community.
Revlett said five areas, which were mostly part of GRADD’s plan to be completed, were chosen to add painted bike lanes on both sides of the street.
• Cravens Avenue to West 5th Street to Castlen Street/Hanning Lane to complete Greenbelt to English Park
• Hanning Lane to West 1st Street to connect English and Smothers parks
• Kentucky 54 from East Byers to Leitchfield Road to connect the Greenbelt to Chautauqua Park
• CS-1029 at Alsop Lane at East 4th/2nd streets downtown (currently not part of the master plan)
• Old Hartford Road to 22nd Street to Daviess Street to provide eastbound access to downtown
Castlen raised the question of the loss of on-street parking if painted bike lanes were added in those areas.
“I know when we were talking about bike lanes years ago that one of the big concerns we had is the loss of on-street parking,” Castlen said.
That past conversation led to “sharrow” markings painted on city streets indicating that bicyclists and motorists share the same road, according to city officials.
Revlett said separate, wider off-street lanes similar to the Greenbelt would be another option to lose on-street parking.
“It could be creating more of those wide, dark bike lanes like you see on the Greenbelt or going out from Fisher Park along West 5th Street Road to Carter Road,” Revlett said. “These are as cool as the real bike lanes painted on the roads.”
Another part of CYP’s bike project is to add bike service stations in 10 locations throughout the community. The current estimate is $18,575 for Fixit bike service stations.
Suggested locations include:
• Higdon Road Greenbelt access point
• Greenbelt expansions near Owensboro Health
• Brookhill / Heartlands Greenbelt access point
Revlet said the stations had a bicycle repair stand with a built-in air pump and tools to make repairs.
“All of these are embedded in the ground; they are very difficult to destroy and dismantle,” said Revlett. “… We would like to see all of these because they are high-traffic areas where children in our community come and go.”
No decision has been made by the committee, but Castlen asked what other communities have already installed bike service stations.
Revlett said the closest is Evansville.
“Evansville has some, but Louisville has them all,” Revlett said.
