Feasibility Study to be conducted for Lincoln Westside Bike Trail Plan

[July 08, 2017]  LINCOLN - On Wednesday, July 5, the Logan County Regional Planning Commission met. The highlight of their discussion was a Westside Bike Trail Plan.

Kathy Mulvey, Senior Project Engineer for the Farnsworth Group, shared the plans. Mulvey said two years ago, the Farnsworth Group developed a bicycle master plan which "identified a need for an east and west bike trail to provide multi-modal connections to the west side of Lincoln." This area west of Lincoln Parkway contains several key destinations such as the Abraham Lincoln Memorial Hospital, Castle Manor Senior Living facility, Kroger, Walmart Supercenter, Lincoln Soccer Complex, apartments, and multiple restaurants.

At this point, there are limited crossing accommodations on Lincoln Parkway for pedestrians and bicycles. Mulvey said the plan shows an east-west bike trail connection will not only offer multi-modal transportation options to key destinations on the west side, "but also promote bicycling as a healthy leisure activity that enhances the overall quality of life for area residents."

Mulvey said the report of the plan looked at Connolley Road from Fifth Street to Woodlawn Road as part of the path. It looked into connecting Malerich Drive from the Lincoln Soccer Complex property to Castle Manor Drive. The east end of Castle Manor Drive may eventually tie in to Stalhut Drive that provides access to Abraham Lincoln Memorial Hospital.

Mulvey said connections on Postville Drive from Fifth Street to 21st Street are also being considered, though they would have to have agreements with IDOT for signs and pavement markings. The report also looked at 21st Street from Postville Drive to Jefferson Street, with marked shared lanes.

Mulvey said the abandoned Union Pacific Railroad Corridor may work for an off-road path, though it may be necessary to remove some old tracks and ties.

Mulvey said recommendations for the Lincoln Westside Bike Trail Plan include on-street bicycle treatments with marked shared lanes and off-street bicycle facilities with shared use paths.

Mulvey said some areas such as Connolley Road may just need signage indicating "bicycles may use full lane." On Castle Manor and Malerich Drive, sidewalks may need to be widened by ten feet.

Mulvey said at the intersection of Lincoln Parkway and Woodlawn Road, and at Lincoln Parkway and Fifth Street, there would need to be several modifications for bike trail crossings.

Mulvey's report suggests the following modifications:

• Creation of larger right turn lane islands to allow for refuge and staging areas for bicyclists and pedestrians to navigate across the intersection. Pavement would be widened along the right turn lanes to accommodate the larger islands.

• Relocation of traffic signal equipment and adjustments to signal timing.

• Addition of pedestrian push buttons for crossings.

• Modifications to pavement markings such as move stop bar locations, and new painted crosswalks.

• New shared use paths connecting Postville Drive to the intersection crossings.

Mulvey said costs would be approximately $150,000 per intersection.

Logan County Highway Engineer Bret Aukamp said the feasibility study is the first step in looking at what it would take "dollarwise" to "be able to do certain things." Aukamp said the next steps would be environmental studies and design studies to "be able to do preliminary engineering."

Aukamp said the Regional Planning Commission would need to find funding to pursue this project and would need to look at where changes and construction would be needed.

Aukamp said having feasibility studies done helps to provide some direction and shows that the commission is getting organized when they go out for grants for design, engineering, and even construction. He said the study is a good first step.

Commission member Scott Schaffenacker's motion for a feasibility study was unanimously approved.

Commission Chairman Bill Graff said they will need to present the plans to the Lincoln City Council and the Logan County Board and get their approvals.

Commission members present were Bill Graff, Jeff Hoinacki, Ryan Murphy, Scott Schaffenacker, Jim Vipond and Becky Werth. County Highway Engineer Bret Aukamp and Zoning Officer Will D'Andrea were also present.

The next Regional Planning Commission meeting will be Wednesday, September 6, 2017.

[Angela Reiners]