A Medford proposal will be good news for two-wheel commuters, but some on-street parking will disappear

Pushed by transportation system goals, Medford wants to add more bike lanes to city streets, which is a welcome change for bicycle commuters.

But for some residents, the change will eliminate the convenience of on-street parking.

"Bike lanes, although very useful, they should be on very narrow streets, like Spring Street, or on very wide streets that would allow on-street parking," said Bob Burger, who lives on a portion of Royal Avenue that is on the city’s newly proposed bike lane list.

Burger said the loss of on-street parking on Royal would cause a hardship for the neighborhood because of the numerous apartment complexes that provide one parking space per unit.

"Some (apartment dwellers) have multiple cars," he said.

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At the same time, he said he likes the bike lane striping done on nearby Spring Street between Crater Lake and Royal avenues in August.

"As a driver I find it much better because it’s wider," he said.

The city of Medford wants to grab its white paint and take it to the streets, painting bike lanes in 15 street segments in Medford in the next two to three years to connect existing bike routes.

The projects are part of an effort to improve the citywide bicycle transportation system as required by state, regional and local goals.

The Bicycle Transportation Alliance, a cycling advocacy group in Portland, gave Medford a D-minus in 2002 in a statewide assessment of local infrastructure and policies that support bicycle transportation.

The Medford City Council formed a temporary Bicycle Task Force in July 2003 to refine and prioritize bicycle routes.

The council during its study session last week gave the thumbs up to pursue the projects. It also gave a nod to the creation of a permanent bicycle and pedestrian committee to help with the safety of all non-motorized transportation on existing city streets.

Edgar Hee, chairman of the temporary task force, said viewing the new map can be misleading, because it looks like East Medford is getting all the attention.

"That’s where the real deficiencies were," he said, adding that the west side has a reasonable amount of bike lanes. "It was basically filling in the holes."

For Virginia Jenks, who lives on a section of North Keene Way Drive (identified for new bike lanes over much of its length), the idea sounds like a good one. She said her street is a popular route for bicyclists, especially North Medford High School students.

"You know, we’re so close to the school," she said.

And the loss of on-street parking wouldn’t affect her, she said.

"I don’t park on the street," she said. "I park in the garage."

In addition to Hee, the task force is made up of John Fertig, Dan Thorndike, Chris Haynes, Eileen Adee, Becky Brooks and Robert Grant.

After two and a half years of monthly meetings and pedaling around city streets, the ad hoc bicycle group has identified 15 street sections in greatest need of bike lanes.

Cory Crebbin, public works director, said because they’re all experienced bicycle commuters, their report is probably more on target than what public works crews might produce.

Crebbin told the council during Thursday’s study session that a lot of people don’t realize that in the absence of bike lanes, bicyclists are legally entitled to the whole travel lane.

Alex Georgevitch, public works transportation manager, told the council that education is a "key component" to a permanent committees’ duties.

"One of the things we’re looking at is education and enforcement," he said.

Thorndike told the council that while a painted line does not prevent a cyclist from getting squished by a truck, it does have a psychological effect on drivers, who then tend to give bicyclists more room.

Crebbin said for most of the listed projects, residents are not actually losing private parking spaces. He said a lot of these streets are classified as collector streets, and people are parking in the public right-of-way. He admits there’s a parking shortage, especially for some apartment complexes.

"Part of the problem is people own more cars per capita than they did 20 years ago," he said. "Our lifestyle today wasn’t anticipated back then."

Georgevitch said that in the event on-street parking is crucial to an area, alternatives could be adopted to preserve the needed parking.

The bike lane recommendations will come before the council in a future regular meeting, possibly in a series of public hearings.

Reach reporter Meg Landers at 776-4481 or e-mail mlanders@mailtribune.com.

A list of the proposed additions

East-west routes