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New strategy to ease bike backlash BY NANCY LAVIN | Lavin@PBN.com
HOPING TO CURB some of the resistance to bike lanes, street safety and cycling advocates are trying a different approach by offering a preview of what is to come in a busy commercial district on the East Side. But so far, the 1-mile stretch along Hope Street is the only area that will get temporary “demonstration” bike lanes next spring, even though the city is forging ahead with plans to add another 20 miles of permanent “urban trails” in 2022. Property owners affected by the ongoing and upcoming bike infrastructure projects – along Manton Avenue, Broad Street and several sections of downtown, for example – were given notice primarily through city mailers, online documents and community forums. That was the same outreach the city used for the controversial bike lanes along South Water Street, which many businesses, two colleges and even state transportation officials claimed had caught them off guard. Along Hope Street, even skeptics seem to appreciate the chance to see how the urban trail project would work long before it is scheduled to be installed permanently.
In fact, while the Hope Street lanes are included in Mayor Jorge O. Elorza’s 2020 Great Streets Initiative, there are no immediate plans to build it or money to pay for it. The city only has enough funding to cover the projects planned through the end of 2022, and Hope Street is not on that list, according to Martina Haggerty, director of special projects for the city planning department. Should the city be doing more to avoid backlash against the bike lanes before they are installed? “There’s always more we can be doing in terms of community engagement,” Haggerty said.
Elorza pointed to door-to-door conversations with Broad Street businesses, including the food trucks that frequent the area, as an example of nontraditional engagement. But realistically, city officials say, they don’t have the funds or the manpower to put on a demonstration project in every neighborhood where it wants to add a bike lane. Even the Hope Street project, which is being organized by Providence Streets Coalition, not the city, using funding from e-scooter company Spin, will take months of planning and volunteers, said Liza Burkin, coalition organizer. And no matter how many test projects are done, there will always be detractors. “Regardless of how much outreach you do, right before any major project launches, there are always folks who come out and say they’ve never heard of it,” Elorza said. “At some point you
‘[We need] to make sure we’re hearing all voices.’ NIRVA LAFORTUNE, Providence city councilwoman
just have to balance outreach with getting the work done.” Still, there could be ways to win over the business community more effectively. Asher Schofield, co-owner of Frog & Toad LLC on Hope Street, said he thought more emphasis on the many studies showing how bikefriendly cities boost area businesses would help. A better argument might be the economic growth that a walkable, cycle-friendly city can create, Schofield said. “For me, the potential for increased economic activity stemming from a fluid bike corridor on the East Side is very appealing,” he said. “At the end of the day, I have to ask, ‘Is my business offering a product that my customer might park and walk an extra block for?’ If the answer is no, I have much bigger problems than a bike lane.” City Councilwoman Nirva LaFortune, a mayoral candidate, stressed the strategy is not a one-size-fits-all approach. Not everybody can attend a weeknight meeting, or they might miss a mailer sent to their business. “The important thing is to make sure we’re hearing all voices,” she said. “They’re not all going to agree. But at least then, no one can say we didn’t engage.” n
www.pbn.com | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | NOVEMBER 26-DECEMBER 9, 2021 | 7
