Cycling Activists Pitch 4 Cycletracks

A new campaign is building support for protected bike lanes so people feel safer cycling in the city.

Cycling advocates Caroline Smith and Elizabeth Nearing, forces behind May’s Bike Month, hopped on the latest episode of ​“In Transit” on WNHH radio to discuss the campaign, called ​“4 Lanes 4 New Haven,” and the way more cycling infrastructure can change the way people navigates New Haven.

They were joined by Adam Rawlings, of not-forprofit Neighborhood Housing Services, who talked about the way the campaign’s gains would allow neighbors more access to local jobs.

The campaign calls for four protected bike lanes in New Haven by 2020. The city has designed the first planned protected bike lane, connecting the west of the city to downtown.

“We’re really really excited about a future of New Haven where these kinds of bike lanes are able to cross through as many neighborhoods as possible,” Smith said.

Organizers first had specific ideas about where they wanted to see bike lanes.

Smith said she wants to see one on Grand Avenue, which sees many commuting cyclists and passes through at least two neighborhoods.

But they decided instead to see if there was any excitement about the idea of installing the lanes, before making decisions on where they should be located.

“This bike lane campaign gave everyone the opportunity to say yes and to buy into something and to connect,” Nearing said. During Bike Month, people were able to interact with the bike lane projects — helping to build pop-up bike lanes and plan events — and feel as though they had more access to the decision-making process, she said.

This year’s Bike Month organizers hosted bike events in neighborhoods outside the usual bike-activist hubs of Westville, East Rock, Wooster Square and downtown. They asked people who attended the events to finish the statement: ​“I want 4 Lanes 4 New Haven because…”

During events in neighborhoods including Fair Haven and Whalley, Edgewood and Beaver Hills, people were more invested in the campaign’s goals than Smith originally expected. ​“We didn’t even have to get the campaign statement out of our lips for them to say, ​‘I absolutely support this campaign. This is not only something that I understand and I’m excited by, but this is part of my daily livelihood,’” she said.

“There are a lot of people who would either drive or they would bike,” Rawlings said. ​“If you make some subtle change in the environment, where people are likely to do more things that are actually healthier and better for the environment, it’s this little nudge.” People who would otherwise not cycle, might change their habits with better infrastructure, he said.

Organizers collected 185 responses, most of which named safety as a reason to install more protected cycling lanes.

“I do not want the cars tailgating me or harassing me as I try to ride peacefully along the road. I want to arrive safely and without stress,” one woman wrote.

Another wrote that her daughter had been hit twice while cycling in the city.

Another that she wanted to teach her daughter how to ride.

“They will be ​‘traffic calmers’ and allow drivers to see their BEAUTIFUL CITY!” wrote Devil Gear Bike Shop’s Matt Feiner.

City transit chief Doug Hausladen said he understands the intent of the campaign: to have ​“everyone from the age of eight to 80 feel comfortable on their bike path.” The city has been working to find the necessary space on the roadway to install protected cycle lanes.

The controversial proposed project on Edgewood Avenue is the first case in New Haven where officials have designed a lane that removes a travel lane, along with parking. The removal of the travel lane allows enough space for a five-foot two-way protected cycletrack — a catalyst for the campaign.

“We look for our community to find good ideas,” he said. Some of the biggest calls for protected bike lanes have focused on the Tomlinson Bridge. People have called for the upcoming two-way protected cycletrack on Water Street to extend past East Street, over the Tomlinson Bridge, connect to Connecticut Ave and get over to the park system on the East Shore, he said.

The city is also starting to work to redesign the existing bike lanes on Howard Avenue.

“We’re thinking about commutes” instead of just recreation, in an attempt to get lanes going through the city in all directions, Hausladen said, . Recommendations to the city transit and engineering departments for locations for new lanes are welcome.

Click on the above sound file to hear the full conversation on WNHH radio’s ​“In Transit” program.