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Mayfield Bikeway Project Sees Changes From Original Plan, To Include “Share Roads”

Bjarne Hanson
/
Provided

  A grant-funded project launched in 2017 to build a paved bike path through Mayfield is being changed to have bikes share lanes on some city roads along segments of the bikeway.

 

Purchase Area Development District Community Specialist Bjarne Hanson this week presented the new bikeway to the city council. He says the bikeway will consist of painted markers on some road lanes, along with signage, asking motorists to share the space with bikes.

 

“It’s what they call ‘share roads’,” Hanson said. “It’s a sign that’s painted on the ground that has chevrons and a bike. Essentially, if it’s one-way, two-way, that type of thing,” Hanson said.

 

The original plan called for an eight-foot-wide bike path -- separate from the road -- that would connect schools, banks, the library and more. Hanson said the plan was changed because of citizen complaints that the bike path would take away some residential parking space. The new bikeway would still connect spots throughout Mayfield, but that many segments would now be shared road space.

 

Mayfield Mayor Kathy O’Nan said the new plan may not be ideal for every citizen, but the fact the bikeway will still span across the city will provide people a much-needed alternative to get around.

 

“There may be some parts of it that people aren’t comfortable using. I’m an amateur biker. But there’s some parts of it that I would prefer going through the library, parks and those parts,” O’Nan said. “We have to take into consideration that some of the citizens would lose their parking [with the old plan]. So I think what is being presented by the engineers now is a really good compromise.”

 

The project is being funded by a $632,000 federal grant. Project developers don’t expect the new plan will use all of that funding. Developers expect the bikeway to be completed by the end of the year.

 

"Liam Niemeyer is a reporter for the Ohio Valley Resource covering agriculture and infrastructure in Ohio, Kentucky and West Virginia and also serves Assistant News Director at WKMS. He has reported for public radio stations across the country from Appalachia to Alaska, most recently as a reporter for WOUB Public Media in Athens, Ohio. He is a recent alumnus of Ohio University and enjoys playing tenor saxophone in various jazz groups."
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