Cleveland planners narrow search to three streets for pilot version of bicycle Midway (photos)

CLEVELAND, Ohio - The city may choose Superior, Community College or Lakeside avenues - for a pilot version of a Midway Cycle Track, a new type of two-way bike path running down the center lanes, separate from traffic.

After a painstaking selection process that included surveying more than 500 Clevelanders, consultants have focused on segments of the three avenues as places to build a pilot version of a Midway.

The sections are:

-      A three-block, 1,400-foot section of Superior Avenue from West Ninth Street to West Roadway on Public Square.

-      A two-block, 2,050-foot section of Community College Avenue from East 22nd to East 30th Street.

-      A three-block, 2,250-foot section of Lakeside Avenue from West Third to East Ninth Street.

No schedule has been set for funding or implementation.

City Planning Director Freddy Collier and the consultants, from the Cleveland office of Parsons Brinckerhoff and SmithGroup JJR of Ann Arbor, Michigan, on Tuesday unveiled the latest refinements to a six-month feasibility study for the project.

Two meetings at the Cleveland Public Library's Main Branch on Superior Avenue downtown - just east of one of the potential Midway sections - drew more than 70 people at midday and in the early evening.

Attendees at the evening session, including a couple dozen bike enthusiasts, warmly supported the city's efforts, but also pushed Collier to be more aggressive in planning a network, not just small pilot sections.

And they wanted to know when a Midway Cycle Track might become a reality.

Collier balanced support and realism in his responses.

"The timeline is not determined at this point, period," Collier said in response to a questioner who wanted to know when the city would actually build a Midway section.

But Collier also said: "I think that the culture is changing in Cleveland, and this [planning process] is another step in that direction. Everyone is working on the goal of making this a bike-friendly city."

Collier said the finished proposals would be presented to the administration of Mayor Frank Jackson in the near future.

"We will determine collectively the next steps with the administration," Collier said in an interview following the meeting.

During the presentation, Nancy Lyon-Stadler, a senior engineer at Parsons Brinckerhoff, described the Midway Cycle Track concept as a bicycle thoroughfare that would function like the city's bus rapid transit HealthLine on Euclid Avenue.

Buses generally use dedicated lanes in the center of the avenue along the HealthLine and have priority movement at intersections. Left turn lanes for cars are limited to prevent conflicts at intersections.

Lyon-Stadler said the Midway concept goes a step beyond bicycle paths such as the Cultural Trail in Indianapolis, a two-way, eight-foot-wide route separated from traffic, which operates on one side of city roadways.

A Midway is intended to entice beginning and tentative riders to make bikes a regular part of their routine for commuting, shopping and recreation.

Midways look and feel safer than other types of bike routes, including a "sharrow," in which cars and bikes share the same lanes, Lyon-Stadler said.

Collier cited benefits to public health and economic development among the reasons for the city's consideration of building a Midway.

Maps prepared by the planners showed that each section of the avenues under consideration for a pilot version of a Midway could be part of a larger future network of bike amenities.

"I think this is an awesome idea," bike enthusiast John Eckerle said after hearing the presentation. "It's a matter of, can we sell it to political leaders, to businesses?"

Lyon-Stadler said in an interview that future city investments in road improvements could theoretically be paired with federal or state grants to provide funding for a Midway segment to get things started in Cleveland.

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