During the flurry of street paving activity that we are seeing right now in the city, some BRO readers have been wondering about bike lanes and sharrows for Kenmore Avenue and Hertel Avenue.
First off, there is a huge street paving project underway on Kenmore Avenue – a commercial thoroughfare that desperately needs a spruce up and maybe even a new identity (it’s currently part urban, part sprawl, part new, part old, part commercial, part residential, and has no real uniformity or long term direction). Currently Phase 2 of the Kenmore Avenue construction project is underway (mill and overlay work on both sides of Kenmore Avenue between Colvin and Elmwood Avenue), and readers are inquiring whether bike lanes or sharrows are being incorporated into the project.
I asked GOBike Buffalo’s Justin Booth if he was privy to whether bike amenities were being added to the joint City-County project, and he shared that a section of the street is slated to have bike facilities. It is interesting to note that the County owns and maintains the westbound lane, and the City owns and maintains the eastbound lane. The County completed mill and overlay work between Fairfield and Colvin in 2013.
At the same time that Kenmore Avenue is being fixed up, another reader is wondering if the street work on Hertel Avenue (around the North Park Theatre) will provide any bike-friendly features. When I asked Justin about that project, he was not aware of any bike facilities scheduled to come to the street. He then provided me with the most recent Complete Streets map to pass along to those who are inquiring about enhanced bike lanes, sharrows, etc, being implemented throughout the city.
According to the map, there is a small section on Kenmore, around the University District, that is getting bike facilities (I am assuming sharrows) and nothing planned for Hertel. It’s unfortunate that Kenmore is not the recipient of more bike measures. As for Hertel, without complete mill and overlay, the City may not warrant Complete Street measures to take effect.