Ridge Road Protected Bike Lane

Building a 1.4-Mile Protected Bike Lane

Working with the City of Lackawanna, GObike is building a 1.4-mile temporary two-way protected bicycle lane on the north side of Ridge Road between the new Erie County Industrial Heritage Trail along Fuhrmann Boulevard to Electric Avenue, connecting to Nason Parkway. 

The two-way protected bicycle lane will use hardscape elements to protect cyclists from motor vehicles. To create the buffer, we’ll be using a curbing system from Rubber Form, a Lockport-based eco-industrial manufacturer, as well as flexible vertical delineators posts and special pavement markings. 

Separated and protected bike lanes are the most reliable indicator of lower death and injury rates for all road users, whether they’re walking, riding a bike, and driving cars. Additionally, this connection represents the first leg of the proposed Southern Tier Trail

 

Happy, Healthy City

At GObike, we envision a happy, healthy, and connected city where every person is able to get safely and easily where they need and want to go—no matter how they choose to get there. 

Pop-up projects allow a community to test out strategies to make more equitable transportation decisions before sinking a lot of time, money, and effort on untested capital projects which typically only benefit vehicular traffic.

Through this pop-up pilot project, expected to be in place for one to two years, the City of Lackawanna hopes to determine the effectiveness of installing a two-way protected bicycle lane to improve the safety, health, connectivity, economic vibrancy and quality of life for residents, businesses, and visitors alike. 

The primary goals of this project are to provide safer bicycle facilities,  slow traffic down, and improve pedestrian access.

Project Elements

Planned streetscape elements are outlined below. View the visual project plan here.

The total cost of materials is ~$20,000, paid for by the New York State Department of Health’s Creating Healthy Schools and Communities grant. 

 

The City of Lackawanna and GObike Buffalo have partnered to install temporary bicycle facilities on Ridge Road as a demonstration prior to committing significant capital expenditures. National trends, data, research, and testimony indicate streets that are redesigned to slow traffic and improved mobility options yield significant benefits such as improved personal health, safety, and welfare as well as bolstering community vibrancy.

 

A lane just for bicycles that uses separation, hardscaping, and vertical delineation to buffer people on bikes from people in motor vehicles.

No, you cannot drive in the protected bike lane. You may drive through it as you cross through an intersection or driveway. When passing through the bike lane, you must yield to a bicyclist in the lane or a pedestrian in the crosswalk.

Because sidewalks are for pedestrians, not bicyclists. An average pedestrian moves at about 3 mph while a cyclist moves at an average 12 mph. In order to keep people safe regardless of their transportation mode, it is important to provide dedicated facilities to each group. In many municipalities in New York State, biking on the sidewalk is illegal due to the risks it presents to the cyclist and pedestrians.

You are correct; narrow travel lanes slow down vehicles to encourage travel speeds at the posted speed limit. We believe this to be a benefit to our community as we have more eyes on our businesses, it creates a safer environment for children and families, and encourages visitors to travel to our community.

From a national perspective,  WNY has little congestion. The traffic analysis suggests it will not vary significantly from current conditions. This “road diet” project is a temporary pilot project so we’ll be able to determine a definite answer. National studies show bicycle infrastructure does not increase travel times and, in fact, may often reduce them. We’ve seen this locally as well on streets such as Delaware Avenue in the City of Buffalo- the traffic diet allowed more cars to travel through the corridor and improved safety for all modes. In conjunction with this project,  the City of Lackawanna will be upgrading the traffic signals on Ridge Road at Electric Avenue and South Park Avenue to a high-resolution state of the art detection and control system.

Bicycles are legal on the streets, however, historically the street has primarily been designed to only accommodate automobiles and large trucks. Bike lanes provide opportunities for healthy, fun recreation (biking), support the local economy, calm traffic, and improve street safety for all road users.

As noted above, the older street designs do not properly support safe and comfortable bicycling which discourages proper and safe bicycle use. While we don’t have bicycle counts for Ridge Road, neighboring corridors have an estimated 200 bicyclists per day.

For protected bike lanes, this allows us more efficient use of the pavement width by building one system of protection rather than two and enables a safer bicycling environment.

On-street parking on both sides of the street can be an inefficient use of the public street benefiting only a small minority of street users per linear foot. Being a public street, we believe it should support the highest number of people needing it for mobility. Greater access to businesses is provided by increased visibility from pedestrians,  bicyclists, and slower moving traffic versus just pass-through traffic. Greater health outcomes are also improved by increasing personal mobility.

Connections to Existing and Planned Bike Infrastructure

Project Benefits

Connectivity

The Ridge Road two-way protected bicycle lane will connect the outer harbor, Lackawanna businesses and residents, and cultural institutions like the Buffalo and Erie Botanical Gardens, Our Lady of Victory Basilica, and the Olmsted-designed South Park. If made permanent, Ridge Road would provide a safe connection to the proposed 80-mile Southern Tier Trail. 

The bicycle lanes on South Park Avenue will connect to those existing to the north in the City of Buffalo.

Economy

Protected bike lanes spur sales at street-front businesses due to increased accessibility and visibility for those riding bicycles. 

Traffic calming measures such as narrower travel lanes and bicycle facilities encourage greater pedestrian and bicycle activity and more walk-in traffic to local businesses. Read more here.

Health

Erie County is one of the worst performing counties in New York State on personal health condition, ranking 59 out of 62 New York counties. Increased access to safe bicycle facilities allows residents more opportunity to recreate and engage in physical fitness.

Well-Being

Park visits have increased 74% in Erie County since the beginning of the pandemic, according to Google’s COVID-19 Community Mobility Reports, as residents turn towards the outdoors for recreation and play. 

Biking  supports physical health and has demonstrated positive effects on mental health as well (see information here).

Environment

The number one source of carbon emissions in New York State is from the transportation sector with small vehicles (cars, SUVs, and small trucks) being the largest source within the sector. Even small changes in transportation habits such as switching one or two trips per week from car to bike can have big effects on reducing air, water, noise, and land pollution locally. Nationally, 76% of trips are by single-occupancy vehicles.

Transportation

Protected bike lanes provide transportation alternatives to those who choose not to drive or those who do not have access to a car. The Ridge Road protected bike lane will increase local mobility options and provide accessibility to nearby parks, playgrounds, and sports fields, increasing access to additional recreational opportunities in neighborhoods along the corridor.

Project Schedule

Project Partners