Downtown Anchorage is getting a protected bike lane for the summer

City crews began installation of nan protected motorcycle lane successful downtown Anchorage early Tuesday, May 28, 2024. (Kenny Friendly/Municipality of Anchorage)

Most of Anchorage’s iconic Sixth Avenue is simply a three-lane, one-way roadworthy lined pinch sidewalks connected some sides. Pedestrians, metropolis buses and regular cars each usage it. Cyclists? Not truthful much.

“If I’m biking downtown, I don’t motorcycle connected Sixth Avenue,” said Emily Weiser, president of nan nonprofit Bike Anchorage. “Because it’s measurement excessively big, afloat of postulation and you’re not allowed to motorcycle connected sidewalks.”

A impermanent research this summertime intends to make biking downtown safer, and mightiness boost business, too. This week, metropolis workers are converting 1 of nan conveyance lanes of Sixth Avenue into a two-way, protected motorcycle lane successful nan latest shape of a federally funded transportation investigation experiment. 

The nonprofit Weiser leads has been moving pinch authorities and metropolis proscription officials connected nan project. She doesn’t ain a car and biking is nan main measurement she gets around. Some downtown routes already person unprotected motorcycle lanes painted connected nan road, but Weiser says it’s a bad experience. 

“It’s conscionable a matter of changeless vigilance, perpetually emotion stressed, honestly,” Weiser said. “It’s beautiful scary.”

She scans for stray rocks aliases potholes that could propulsion her into traffic, and for drivers who mightiness rear extremity her aliases clip her erstwhile they move right. 

This week, metropolis workers are putting up immoderate vertical dividers connected nan roadworthy to abstracted retired nan near lane. They’ll restripe it and adhd impermanent signage to make it a two-way motorcycle lane. 

The westbound extremity of nan protected motorcycle lane will link to nan Tony Knowles Coastal Trail, and nan eastbound extremity will trim southbound connected A Street to link to existing motorcycle paths that provender into nan Chester Creek Trail. 

This representation of downtown Anchorage highlights nan way of a temporary, protected motorcycle lane that proscription officials are piloting and studying complete nan summertime of 2024.

It will only tally for astir a mile done downtown, and it will beryllium undone successful nan fall, earlier it snows. But while nan protected motorcycle lane is successful place, proscription officials will cod a batch of information to comparison earlier and aft conditions, successful position of vehicle, bike, and pedestrian counts and speed. Plus feedback done organization councils, businesses and personification surveys.

This downtown aviator is nan city’s second. A shape 1 protected bike lane experiment was done successful a residential area of East Anchorage last September. 

Anna Bosin is an Alaska Department of Transportation postulation information technologist moving connected nan project. She said children – including her ain girl – were comfortable and assured riding connected nan roadworthy successful that lane past fall. 

“It was really a testament to what nan nationalist investigation is showing connected this type of protected motorcycle lane accommodation nationwide is that it really does amended information and comfortableness for each users of each abilities and ages,” Bosin said. 

Zak Hartman useful successful nan city’s postulation section connected Vision Zero, a metropolis inaugural to destruct postulation deaths and superior injuries for each roadworthy users. Here’s one of his takeaways from past fall’s protected motorcycle lane experiment: 

“Extreme speeders going 20-plus mph complete nan limit connected Pine Street went from 1 retired of each 60 drivers successful nan earlier information … to 1 retired of each 6,000,” he said. “So a beautiful compelling information point.”

Besides information and postulation data, they’re besides measuring sound this clip around. Past investigation suggests louder roads are bad for business. 

“It does effect personification comfort, and truthful group are little willing successful mingling successful nan area, little willing successful possibly model shopping aliases they’ll debar definite routes because of noise,” Bosin said.

While there’s a batch of excitement astir this motorcycle lane from proscription nerds, Assembly personnel Meg Zaletel is wary.

“So I’m nan bedewed broad connected this thing,” she said astatine a caller argumentation committee gathering of AMATS, Anchorage area’s metropolitan proscription readying organization. “So I dream you each beryllium maine wrong. I’m very tense astir nan location of this motorcycle lane. We went from Pine and McCarrey to a motortruck route, essentially. And that is, I think, rather a sweep. And my interest is thing will spell incorrect and we’ll ne'er do it again, because that’s really things spell successful this town.” 

Bosin, pinch DOT, told her that nan way was cautiously picked, and that aggregate trucking companies were consulted successful beforehand for feedback that went into nan design. 

Right now, she said there’s thing planned beyond this phase. But if protected motorcycle lanes ever go permanent, they’ll person to fig retired wintertime snowfall maintenance. 

“That’s nan existent large mobility for each agencies really crossed nan state, is plowing,” Bosin said. “So we’re successful talks astir it. But, you know, correct now, I deliberation it’s excessively early to say. We want to make judge that nan summertime exertion is successful earlier we commencement jumping to conclusions for winter.”

Weiser, pinch Bike Anchorage, says a batch of wintertime cities person figured it out. She hopes that comes next. 

“It does work, it’s conscionable a matter of demonstrating that locally, and getting our section attraction unit to fig retired what useful for them,”she said. 

Eventually, she’d for illustration Anchorage to build retired a year-round web of protected motorcycle lanes, and said there’s room for it connected immoderate of nan city’s overbuilt roads. 

Officials will clasp a ribbon cutting ceremony for nan caller motorcycle lane astatine 5 p.m. Thursday astatine Town Square Park, coinciding pinch nan Anchorage Downtown Partnership’s Live After Five free performance bid and nan City Nerd Nite: Transportation Talk event nearby.