Local pro-cycling efforts making progress

Spokane and Coeur d’Alene aren’t quite Portland when it comes to bike lanes, trails and parking, but they are making progress on the road to making bike travel more feasible and friendly. “We’ve go a ways to go to catch up with Portland,” said Grant Wencel, bike-pedestrian coordinator for the City of Spokane. “But we have good progress this past year, thanks largely to a grant from the state that allowed us to do some things.” The $619,000 grant from WSDOT Highway Safety and Improvement Projects enabled the city to implement new bike lanes and a shared use path, as well as a small collection of locally designed and built racks in the downtown core. Some 90 percent of the grant-related construction was completed in 2010, with a few small projects to come in 2011. As for bike parking similar to Portland’s corral network, Spokane has been slow to the punch. However, one Spokane business owner has actively courted the city about using on-street space for bike parking. “The owner of Elk Public House has asked us to help him with on-street bike parking,” Wencel said. “The cycling community heavily supports it and the owner believes more parking for bikes will be good for business. He’s so sure of it he’s paying for the project.” Coeur d’Alene recently added a number of bike racks in the downtown area and at North Idaho College. It also constructed bike lanes on 15th Avenue that connect the north and south ends of town. On-street bike parking is under consideration. “We are looking at on-street bike parking as a possibility.” said Monte McCully, Trails Coordinator at the City of Coeur d’Alene. “Businesses may be able to get around the required number of car parking spaces by having more bike parking. It’s definitely on our list of things to evaluate.” The fact is, Coeur d’Alene has become a sort of destination for cyclists, McCully noted. This includes a growing number of locals, as well as people who travel to the area to ride the trails either for the scenic experience or as part of various competitions. “I realize we are making baby steps compared to what they have going on in Portland,” McCully said. “When you look at the population difference, I think we’re making good progress on becoming more bike-friendly.”