Providence coalition plans demonstration bike lane on Hope Street

PROVIDENCE – A group of cycling advocates is taking the wheel on efforts to win over naysayers to the city’s ambitious bike lane network.

The Providence Streets Coalition plans to install a temporary, two-way bike lane along a one-mile section of Hope Street running directly through the business district. The project, funded by e-bike and scooter company Spin, seeks to offer a preview of the permanent bike lane included in Mayor Jorge O. Elorza’s Great Streets Initiative master plan, according to Liza Burkin, coalition organizer.

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The coalition and Councilwoman Nirva LaFortune hosted a community meeting on Monday laying out details for their demonstration project. As proposed, one side of dedicated parking between Lauriston and Olney streets would be replaced with a dedicated cycle-walk-roll-jog lane for several days next spring.

The city has yet to dedicate funding or establish a timeline for the permanent Hope Street urban trail, despite the fact that Elorza’s 100-page plan calls for a 1.8-mile bike lane along Hope Street.

Martina Haggerty, the director of special projects for the city planning department, said Tuesday that the Hope Street trail is among the top 15 priority projects after 2022. It was also one of the most requested segments in the public comment period during which the plan was developed.

The projects have not been without critics, however. A recently added bike lane along South Water Street – also in the Great Streets plan – drew staunch opposition from some area businesses, property owners and even state transportation officials who threatened legal action that was later retracted. 

The Hope Street bike lane is very different from South Water Street in location, design and potential impact on traffic and parking. The South Water Street project replaced one lane of traffic but did not infringe on parking, while the Hope Street counterpart – both the temporary and permanent versions – would replace one side of parking with a protected lane for cycling, walking, and other transportation modes.

It hasn’t been decided which side of the street will have the bike lane.

Burkin noted the complexity and difficulty of the Hope Street project because of the geography, which includes an already-narrow road and small but concentrated business presence. 

“If this is ever going to happen it’s going to take a lot of community engagement,” she said. “We’re really trying to be proactive.”

Burkin described the demonstration project serves as a unique way to “get out ahead” of potential criticism, Burkin said.

Of the South Water Street lane, she said, “we thought that was going to be easy because there was no parking loss. That was a big lesson for me.”

Installing a temporary bike lane now, well before the city embarks on its own longer and more comprehensive version, also offers an opportunity to gather feedback that can influence the details of how a more permanent version is implemented, Burkin said. 

Volunteers will conduct on-the-spot surveys asking visitors how long it took them to park and comparing that information to current parking data. Cyclists, pedestrians and business owners will also be asked to weigh in, while radar guns will record the speed of passing vehicles to measure potential safety benefits, Burkin said.

The Monday meeting drew about a dozen area residents and business owners who asked questions and expressed some concerns, though none were staunchly against the idea. Eric Bilodeau, president of the Hope Streets Merchant Association, said he supported the demonstration project but emphasized that he still had “deep hesitation” over a permanent one.

“We know merchants that are taking both sides on this,” Bilodeau said. “We [as an association] are not taking a position. We think dialogue is the best thing to have happen.”

The Streets Coalition also has an online survey on its website available until the end of the year asking for feedback on the Hope Street bike lane.

(SUBS 5th paragraph to correct Martina Haggerty’s job title to director of special projects for the Providence planning department.)

Nancy Lavin is a PBN staff writer. You may reach her at Lavin@PBN.com.