Cooper-Young Bike Lanes Slated for Summer
By Miriam Hegner and Idil Issak/ MicroMemphis Reporters
April 29, 2012
“It needs to be soon, it needs to be now.” Tamara Cook, director of the Cooper-Young Business Association (CYBA), would rather have work on Cooper to have started already. The restructuring of South Cooper Street, introducing bike lanes on each side, was originally scheduled for 2011. But still, no bike lanes in sight.
When the bike lanes will come, Tamara Cook couldn’t say. She assumes it is budget problems that keep the city from carrying out the project. Kyle Wagenschutz, the city's bike/pedestrian coordinator, wasn’t available for a statement on the question. (Please see UPDATE below.) But according to the CYBA, the design consultant is still working on the drawings for Cooper-Young. He said he didn’t have a start date yet. He assured the CYBA to include them in the design process and said: “We are working within the confines agreed to in our meeting with Mayor Wharton.”
So although much times has passed, obviously the compromise agreed to between the CYBA and the biking community is still valid. Reaching this compromise was a long and difficult process as to what bike lanes in Cooper-Young should look like, as reported in the Commercial Appeal. On one side of the argument, there was the CYBA, and on the other one, the cycling community.
All parties were agreed on installing bike lanes along Cooper as well as on reducing the number of lanes to one per direction plus a turn lane. The CYBA suggested designated bike lanes on both sides of the street, between traffic lanes and the parallel-parked cars, as well as shared lanes for both motorists and cyclists on the narrower part of cooper between the Cooper-Young intersection and Southern. All of this so as not to lose parking space. Bicycle advocates, however, wanted protected bike lanes, situated between parked cars and the curb, so cyclists would have a physical barrier between them and traffic. For the narrow part between Young and Southern, they suggested a protected bike lane on the east side of Cooper, and a traditional bike lane on the other side. This plan would have meant eliminating several parking spaces, which was the main point of concern to the CYBA, as Cooper-Young is currently dealing with a high demand of parking anyway. |
Then, in November 2010, a compromise was reached, with the cycling community giving up the protected bike lanes concept, and the CYBA giving up several parking spaces between Young and Southern, to make continuous, striped bike lanes possible. The city, in turn, would allow more parking on Young, to even out the loss of parking spaces.
Cook said she liked the compromise. She hadn’t liked the idea of pollards between bike lanes and parked cars, that came with the suggestion of the cyclists.
“One lane per direction will slow down traffic, will reduce speeding problems and will make Cooper-Young more pedestrian-friendly”, she summarizes the benefits of the project.
On Madison, bike lanes have already been installed. Some business owners there had been concerned it would hurt their business, especially in regard to parking spaces. However, not all see the bike lanes negatively.
Jarred Rush from the restaurant “Molly’s La Casita” says he does not have the impression bike lanes affect parking. “They did leave space for parking next to the bike lane.” His only concern is of a different kind: “I thought encouraging cycling in an area where people drink is not such a good idea, it might be dangerous for cyclists.”
Britney, who works at Cooper-Young’s Celtic Crossing, has similar concerns for bikers. Aside from that, she is looking forward to bike lanes. “More cyclists coming to Cooper-Young can never hurt.” She doesn’t think it will affect parking, seeing as restaurants offer valet parking already.
Ashly Snyder from Cooper-Young Glassworks worries that with reducing the driving lanes to two per direction, less people will come through Cooper-Young and stop by his store. “But it’s good to have a safe cycling option to get through the city on bike.”
“Bike lanes are a good thing, but parking around here is rough already”, says Young Avenue Deli’s manager Phillip Stroud. “The parking situation needs to be fixed before anything else is added.” But he thinks cyclists needed to be treated with respect, too. “We need a happy medium.”
His restaurant is in the area that will lose parking spaces - which will happen on Cooper between the Cooper-Young intersection and Southern Avenue. Although Young Avenue Deli has parking in the back of the restaurant, as well as Café Olé and Mulan.
Along that section of Cooper is Beauty Shop and Noodle Doodle Do are two restaurants without dedicated parking. These restaurants might be among those most affected from the loss of parking spaces in that area.
The city had scheduled repaving South Cooper for 2011, together with the creation of the bike lanes. “I just hope the construction work will not coincide with the Cooper-Young Festival”, says Tamara Cook. "We can’t have the street torn open during that time.”
Cook said she liked the compromise. She hadn’t liked the idea of pollards between bike lanes and parked cars, that came with the suggestion of the cyclists.
“One lane per direction will slow down traffic, will reduce speeding problems and will make Cooper-Young more pedestrian-friendly”, she summarizes the benefits of the project.
On Madison, bike lanes have already been installed. Some business owners there had been concerned it would hurt their business, especially in regard to parking spaces. However, not all see the bike lanes negatively.
Jarred Rush from the restaurant “Molly’s La Casita” says he does not have the impression bike lanes affect parking. “They did leave space for parking next to the bike lane.” His only concern is of a different kind: “I thought encouraging cycling in an area where people drink is not such a good idea, it might be dangerous for cyclists.”
Britney, who works at Cooper-Young’s Celtic Crossing, has similar concerns for bikers. Aside from that, she is looking forward to bike lanes. “More cyclists coming to Cooper-Young can never hurt.” She doesn’t think it will affect parking, seeing as restaurants offer valet parking already.
Ashly Snyder from Cooper-Young Glassworks worries that with reducing the driving lanes to two per direction, less people will come through Cooper-Young and stop by his store. “But it’s good to have a safe cycling option to get through the city on bike.”
“Bike lanes are a good thing, but parking around here is rough already”, says Young Avenue Deli’s manager Phillip Stroud. “The parking situation needs to be fixed before anything else is added.” But he thinks cyclists needed to be treated with respect, too. “We need a happy medium.”
His restaurant is in the area that will lose parking spaces - which will happen on Cooper between the Cooper-Young intersection and Southern Avenue. Although Young Avenue Deli has parking in the back of the restaurant, as well as Café Olé and Mulan.
Along that section of Cooper is Beauty Shop and Noodle Doodle Do are two restaurants without dedicated parking. These restaurants might be among those most affected from the loss of parking spaces in that area.
The city had scheduled repaving South Cooper for 2011, together with the creation of the bike lanes. “I just hope the construction work will not coincide with the Cooper-Young Festival”, says Tamara Cook. "We can’t have the street torn open during that time.”
For more about City of Memphis bike lane plans, visit www.bikepedmemphis.com
Miriam Hegner/ MicroMemphis reporter
Miriam Hegner covers Development/ Residential/ Business for Micromemphis.
You can send her story ideas here.
Follow her on twitter ( @MiriamHegner ).
Idil Issak/ MicroMemphis reporter
Idil Issak covers Development/ Residential/ Business for Micromemphis.
You can send her story ideas here.
Floow her on Twitter ( @idilissak ).