Dedicated bicycle lanes to remain

Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2003 | 9:48 a.m.

Dozens of Henderson residents living along Warm Springs Road clapped and cheered as the Henderson City Council agreed to keep four traffic lanes and dedicated bike lanes intact on a busy stretch of the street in their neighborhood.

The city Traffic Division had recommended replacing the dedicated bicycle lanes on a two-mile stretch of Warm Springs with shared bicycle-automobile lanes.

After two public meetings with residents, and hundreds of e-mails and petitions protesting the move, city staff reversed the proposal.

Instead, city staff recommended that a piece of Warm Springs between Pecos Road and Arroyo Grande Boulevard stay a four-lane road with dedicated bicycle lanes.

"I suspect that is something that is welcome," Henderson Mayor Jim Gibson said after a short public hearing Tuesday night.

The original proposal ran into stiff opposition from parents and pedestrians as well as bicyclists. The dedicated bicycle lanes offer a buffer space between sidewalk and traffic.

Opponents also didn't want heavier traffic, like Green Valley Parkway experienced when it went from two lanes to six lanes.

City Councilman Steve Kirk said that continued growth should not hurt residents already living in the neighborhood. "I don't think we want to turn Warm Springs into that kind of thoroughfare," Kirk said.

A month ago most City Council members, when asked, said they agreed with the neighbors and wouldn't support eliminating the dedicated bicycle lanes if the neighbors were so opposed to it.

Gibbons, Kirk and Councilwoman Amanda Cyphers voted Tuesday to preserve the status quo on Warm Springs and to repave and stripe it in the same vote.

Kathy Cooper thanked Gale Husney, a neighbor who spearheaded the opposition to the change originally proposed. "I'm up and down that street six times a day, and we don't need more traffic," Cooper said.

Husney noted that the traffic on Warm Springs affected three school zones and that preserving the bike lanes would protect children walking to and from their classes.

Laura McBride, who lives on Valle Verde, asked that the council keep four lanes of traffic and dedicated bicycle lanes along the north-south route in Green Valley. "It is the logical north-south route for bikers and walkers in Green Valley," she said.