City Project Aims to Add Bike Lanes and Reduce Traffic Lanes to East Village

Source: <a id="MainContent_MainColumnContentPlaceHolder_hlSource" href="http://whotv.com/2017/03/06/city-project-aims-to-add-bike-lanes-and-reduce-traffic-lanes-to-east-village/" target="_blank">WHO TV
Author: Jodi Whitworth
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Jodi Whitworth
Mon March 06 2017
Posted Mar 6, 2017
10,063

Driving through Des Moines' East Village is about to get more congested. City leaders want to improve pedestrian safety by reducing traffic lanes.

It’s all part of a plan to add bike lanes along the seven-block stretch of East Grand Avenue through the East Village.

“This project is going to have a lot of pavement markings so it will be really clear where the bike lanes are at. There is going to be a buffer area between the bike lane and where cars will park,” says senior traffic engineer Brian Willham.

The pilot Complete Street Project is the first of its kind in central Iowa. The project would remove a westbound traffic lane and add protected bike lanes in both directions. Willham adds the bike lanes will be painted green in an effort to help draw attention to them and plastic poles will separate the bike lane from the others.

Despite the metro’s countless bike trails, according to a 2015 study Des Moines is one of the least bike-friendly cities in the country when it comes to the number of bike lanes versus commuters.