Prescott council nixes bicycle lanes on Sixth Street
Vote splits 4-3 to re-stripe road without bike lanes

By Cindy Barks
The Daily Courier

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

PRESCOTT - In a move that one councilman predicted would upset advocates on both sides of the issue, the Prescott City Council opted this week for three lanes on Sixth Street, without striped bicycle lanes.

By a 4-3 vote on Tuesday, the council approved re-striping the central Prescott street to include one driving lane in each direction and a center left-turn lane.

That will be a change from the current street configuration that includes two driving lanes in each direction, but it falls short of the recommended three lanes with a striped bike path on each side.

For the past two weeks - ever since city engineering staff recommended re-striping a portion of Sixth Street - the matter has generated a heated debate in the community. While a number of Sixth Street business owners have urged the council to retain the four-lane configuration, many biking advocates have pushed for three lanes, with the addition of bicycle lanes.

The debate continued at this week's meeting, which attracted dozens of audience members and involved nearly two hours of discussion.

From the start, several council members pushed for a compromise somewhere between the current four-lane configuration and the three-lane/bike-path option.

Councilman Bob Roecker, for instance, acknowledged that three driving lanes would make traffic safer on Sixth Street. But at the same time, he said he was not comfortable with encouraging more bike traffic along the busy corridor.

"The best solution is one that will probably tick off both the business people and the bicyclists," Roecker said, referring to the change to three lanes, without bike lanes.

Council members Mary Ann Suttles, Jim Lamerson, and Bob Bell all supported Roecker's motion to that effect, while Mayor Jack Wilson and council members Lora Lopas and Robert Luzius opposed it because of the elimination of the bike lanes.

Luzius, who was out of town on Tuesday but participated in the meeting via a telephone conference call, took a strong stand for the addition of bike lanes.

"I believe we owe it to the bicycle people," he said. "They have rights just like anyone else."

And as the majority of the council appeared to be leaning toward just three driving lanes, Luzius said he was "dismayed with the fact that everyone doesn't have the courage to make the right decision."

Members of the audience had equally strong feelings about the matter. Prescott resident Wanda Woodbury said striped bike lanes would help to set boundaries for motorists and cyclists. "I find as a bicyclist I feel a tad safer in a bike lane," she said.

And beyond that, Woodbury said, "Bike lanes are green; bike lanes are what you should be encouraging. It goes backwards to go otherwise."

But area business owner John Stelmach maintained that the four-lane configuration had worked well for about 20 years. He added: "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."

Concerns also arose about the traffic confusion that could result from having a narrow center turning lane, with two wide driving lanes in each direction.

To help offset that, Traffic Engineer Ian Mattingly said the city likely would increase the width of the center turn lane slightly, and make the two driving lanes narrower.

After the meeting, Engineering Services Director Mark Nietupski said the striping change would occur next week.

In addition to the lane reconfiguration, the council also supported creating a crosswalk near the Granite Creek Park.

Contact the reporter at cbarks@prescottaz.com