Council connects Townline for cyclists

This summer, cyclists will have greater access through town now that Creston City Council approved bike lanes on the north and south side of West Townline Street during its meeting Tuesday.

Public Works Director Greg Maggard presented two bike lane options. One option is a single bike lane on the north side of the street. A second, which Maggard recommended, features a 6-foot bike lane on each side of the roadway with the addition of a crosswalk at North Division and West Townline streets, where there is a trail entrance to Creston Community High School’s ball fields.

Both plans would utilize an existing crosswalk at North Sycamore and West Townline streets and have at least one bike lane spanning from the car wash near North Cherry Street to the entrance of the high school.

“If we ever want to make that connection all the way down (further west on West Townline Street), it’s going to take a little bit more, probably some changes to the roads,” said Maggard.

According to state engineering design criteria, it’s not preferred to have a shared bike lane for west and eastbound cyclists.

“The recommendation is that bicycles travel in the same direction as cars,” Maggard said. “So what they recommended is basically two bike lanes.”

Single direction bike lanes can range from 4 to 6 feet. A shared lane is a minimum of 10 feet, with the state preference at 14 feet.

“I think to make this as safe as possible ... I think bike lanes on both sides is the most logical,” Maggard said.

When the roadway is striped for the new lanes, the bike lane will have arrows and bike stencils directing the flow of traffic. With both plans, which show the lanes at 6-feet, the width of the roadway does not change.

With the addition of bike lanes on both sides of the street, “no parking” signs would be eliminated. The addition of bike lanes will not change the width of vehicle lanes.

After the meeting, Mayor Gabe Carroll said Townline is a street that has recieved many complaints about speeding.

“Those bike lanes will make the road appear visually smaller which will naturally slow down traffic,” Carroll said. “People tend to drive as fast as they feel safe on the road and obviously the more narrow the road the less safe it feels to them so they slow down.”

In other council news, the council

• approved fund transfers totaling $22,685.31.

• held a public hearing and approved the sale of city-owned property at 105 S. Jarvis St. to Greater Regional Hospital for $1. No members attended the meeting to speak in opposition of the sale nor did the city recieve any written correspondences.

• approved a letter requesting a three-month extension for the Creston Facade Grant 18-DTR-001. The letter from Carroll to the Iowa Economic Development Authority requests an extension to Oct. 31 as contractors are having difficulty acquiring construction material and retaining labor.

• approved the following temporary street closures 6:30 to 10:30 a.m. July 3 for the Great 8 and 5K event: Adams and McKinley, Lake and Kirby at McKinley, on McKinley past Stone, Stone and Lake Shore Drive, Adams and Lake Shore Drive at Spillway Road, Highway 25 and Prairie Street at Country Club Drive.

• approved MPAC’s request for a temporary street closure on Adams Street from Mckinley Street to Lake Shore Drive 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. July 3 for food trucks.

• waived a peddler permit fee for potential food trucks in McKinley Park for a Jeep Show & Shine 10 to 2 p.m. July 10.