From the meeting materials from tonight’s Decatur City Commission meeting regarding “approval of revised public way, temporary and permanent easements for proposed development at 160 Clairemont Avenue”…

Paces will be responsible for all costs, including the City’s legal fees, associated with the preparation of the easements. In addition to the required streetscape improvements along Commerce Drive, Paces is building a new sidewalk and providing trees and landscape improvements along Montgomery Street between Commerce and Clairemont, and installing new bike lanes on Commerce between Clairemont and West Ponce de Leon that are recommended by the City’s Community Transportation Plan.

On the agenda for tonight’s Decatur City Commission meeting, adopting an ordinance to “restrict the use of the bicycle lanes by motor vehicles, with certain exceptions to provide for legitimate turning movements and to provide for emergency vehicle usage.”  Asst. City Manager David Junger sums up the reason and result in this letter to the City Manager…

After installation of the new marked bike lanes on West Ponce de Leon Avenue in the spring of 2012,  the Decatur Police Department began receiving complaints that motor vehicles were using the bicycle lanes to pass other vehicles resulting in  an  unsafe condition, particularly  with westbound vehicles use the bicycle lanes and parking stalls to pass  other vehicles waiting to make a left turn  onto a side street or into a driveway. Based upon  our review of existing state and municipal codes, the road is defined as the area from  curb to curb regardless of the markings and vehicles passing on the right  within the curb to curb area is not a moving vehicle violation.  Also, since bicycles have the same rights and responsibilities as motor vehicles in terms of using a road, a marked bicycle lane is considered part of the curb to curb roadway and can  be used by cars to pass on the right.

Based on guidance from City Attorney Bryan Downs, the attached ordinance amendment has been drafted to restrict the use of the bicycle lanes by motor vehicles, with certain exceptions to provide for legitimate turning movements and to provide for emergency vehicle usage.

Any violation of the ordinance would be a City ordinance violation and not a moving vehicle violation, so no points would be assessed and the City’s standard code violation fine, of up to $1,000 or 30 days in jail would be  in  effect. It is recommended that we ask the Municipal Court Judges to set the fine  at $150 which  is the same as the existing fine for improper lane usage,

Decatur City Commissioner Fred Boykin writes in to note that next Thursday, January 12th at 6pm, the city will be hosting a second workshop “to discuss alternative plans for pedestrian safety improvements at Clairemont, Church Street and Commerce intersections and Church Street bicycle lanes.”

According to the note on the city’s website…

The city has retained the services of Development Planning and Engineering, a planning and engineering design firm, to help plan the project. The project will be partially funded through grants from the Georgia Department of Transportation. An initial workshop to outline project goals was held in September.

As part of its capital improvements program, the city is considering options for pedestrian safety improvements to the Clairemont Avenue-Commerce Drive and Church Street-Commerce Drive intersections and for bicycle lane improvements on Church Street in downtown Decatur. The purpose of the work is to improve safety and accessibility for pedestrians, bicyclists and others using these facilities.

Fred also emphasized the particular importance of this meeting…

It is really important that residents (especially cyclists and walkers) attend this workshop as it will be the first one where the consultants present their proposals based on what they heard from community comments at the September workshop and afterwards. These projects will change the ways folks move around in this part of Decatur and will define the character of those areas for years to come. Community input is key to getting a good result – one that benefits Decatur as a healthy, active community.

How did I miss this?  Wait.  How did YOU ALL miss this?!

Though far from being the two-wheelers’ playground it could be, Atlanta’s made some inroads when it comes to cycling. The most welcome addition to the metro region’s disparate bicycle network: Decatur’s new bike lanes along West Ponce de Leon Avenue and West Trinity Place. Wide and well-marked, the lanes clearly show where cyclists are supposed to pedal and motorists are supposed to yield. Designers even threw in a “bike box,” an area that allows cyclists to skip in front of cars at the red light and make a safe turn across traffic when the light changes to green. Decatur could’ve just tossed down a strip of paint on a busy road, but it went one step further and placed West Ponce on a “road diet” — actually reducing the number of automobile lanes in order to discourage drivers from roaring down the street. Sure, it’s one small $550,000 project. But it’s a great step for a city that’s building on its reputation as a paradise for progressives.

Dave writes in…

Have you noticed how the bike lines on Trinity and Ponce de Leon between Trinity and Scott are used as turn lanes or passing lanes? I’ve lost count of the number of times I was turning left off of Ponce onto Drexel and a long line of cars would go around me in the bike lane. My step son rides his bike from DHS home along Trinity and Ponce, and is constantly telling me stories about how there are people using the bike lanes as turn lanes into one of the churches or worse, just parked there while they wait to pick somebody up, depriving him the use of the bike lane.

With the Decatur City Commission’s approval of a $450,000 budget to construct bike lanes along West Trinity Avenue and the very western portion of West Ponce de Leon Avenue Tuesday night, Assistant City Manager Hugh Saxon tells DM that construction should begin in the next 30-45 days, and the project will take up to 120 days to complete.

Mr. Saxon recently summarized the work being done in a letter (page 27) to City Manager Peggy Merriss as such…

Cities are products of the state.  And don’t the cities know it.

Decisions by local municipalities may have the largest impact on our day-to-day lives, but in many cases the state still has the last say.  And sometimes cities have to hold their breath a very long time waiting for the state to say ANYthing.

Especially when that state entity is the Georgia Department of Transportation.

One such Decatur bond project, which has been sitting patiently in the queue since 2006, is the construction of the West Ponce de Leon/West Trinity bike lanes.  It’s original, optimistic construction date was October 2008-March 2009.  But as you may have noticed, when you venture out on Ponce or Trinity, there is no mini-lane for our two-wheeled friends; much to the chagrin of Decatur’s new bike advocacy group.

However, it looks like the city may finally be making some progress.  Amongst the items on the docket for tomorrow’s city commission meeting: a resolution authorizing the mayor to execute an agreement with GDOT for the West Ponce/West Trinity bike lanes.  Under the agreement, the city would provide $65,465 to match the $261,860 in federal transportation enhancement funding to be put up by GDOT.

As for next steps:  according to a note from City Manager Peggy Merriss, “Once the agreement is executed by the Department of Transportation, the city will receive its authorization to advertise for bids and proceed with construction.”

The “hurry up and wait” period for this particular project may almost be over.