Support Protected Bike Lanes for North Lake Ave
North Lake Ave Can Work For Everyone. It Can Be A Safe Street!
Pasadena City Council and Pasadena Department of Transportation (DOT) need to hear from you! Tell them safe streets are complete streets.
The 3rd Community Workshop for the North Lake Avenue Traffic and Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Plan is now open. A live, virtual Zoom Webinar is planned for Tuesday, August 31 from 6:00 pm - 7:30pm.
We need your support! Please attend the Zoom meeting (link above), and email City Council and send comments directly to DOT (buttons below) by September 21, 2021.
Background Info
Because of community support and volunteer efforts, DOT has examined options that include protected bike lanes for N. Lake Ave. Even though there is community support, DOT has confirmed that they will NOT be recommending either design options that include protected bike lanes that connect Northwest Pasadena to the Metro L (Gold) Line Lake Station.
The two design options that include protected bike lanes are:
Option 2, Buffered Bike Lanes: This option includes street level bollard protected bike lanes, with shared bike-bus stop zones but does not include CA native landscaping
Option 3, Raised Cycle Track: This option includes sidewalk level bike lanes, the bus stops will be separated from the bike lane. This option does not include CA native landscaping.
Why Pasadena DOT is not supporting a complete street design for N. Lake Ave.
DOT still maintains that the loss of on-street parking spaces (only 50 spaces out of 1,813) is a major concern
DOT has also raised concerns about loading zones and ADA/paratransit accessibility.
Why you should support protected bike lanes for N. Lake Ave.
Safety
Research consistently shows that adding protected bicycle lanes to a corridor reduces collisions for all road users, including drivers and pedestrians, by around 35%. North Lake Avenue currently sees 47 car crashes per year - almost one per week! Adding protected bike lanes will prevent over 160 collisions, saving 90 injuries and two million dollars in damages over the next 10 years.
Riding a bike on the sidewalk is dangerous but sometimes it’s necessary if the street is designed badly like N. Lake Ave. By creating a safe travel lane for people on bikes we can help reduce the conflict on sidewalks between people on bikes and people walking!
Access for all users
Adding protected bicycle lanes on N. Lake can be done while maintaining access for all road users.
Driver Access and Parking
Adding protected bike lanes will preserve all four lanes of traffic, along with 97% of the over 1800 available parking spaces. This will maintain traffic flow and allow more than enough parking.
Bicycle and Mobility Scooter Access
Travel by bike, e-bike, or mobility scooters already occurs on N. lake Ave. These modes of transportation are fast, clean, affordable and essential to some community members. We should be encouraging active and alternative modes of transportation in Pasadena to increase equity, reduce pollution, and make a cleaner, more modern city. Safe access to transit and businesses along North Lake Avenue is an essential component to a healthy and thriving Northwest Pasadena.
Loading / Unloading
Every property on N. Lake Ave is adjacent to a parking lot. In most cases, these lots, the driveways that access them, and nearby side-streets may be used to make deliveries or pick up products from businesses. In addition, other cities have designed bike lanes that include loading locations, which could be added to the design if needed.
ADA Access
Cities all over the country have found engineering solutions to make streets with protected bike lanes accessible for people with disabilities. This can certainly be done on N. Lake Ave! See this guide for a number of possible solutions. In addition, N. Lake Ave includes parking with every property, providing even more safe options for easy, safe access.
Join us in supporting protected bike lanes for N. Lake Ave
Please use the link below to email Mayor Gordo, Councilmember Rivas, and Councilmember Williams that you support protected bike lanes for N. Lake Ave.