By JAN McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
Bowling Green citizen Rose Drain offered city leaders a carrot, quickly followed by the stick during Monday’s City Council meeting.
Drain praised Bowling Green for securing a $500,000 Safe Routes to School grant from the state – and commended Mayor Mike Aspacher for commitment to long-term steps toward multimodal/pedestrian improvements in the city.
Then she challenged city officials to work harder to add bike lanes and street trees where they are lacking during street projects.
While she was pleased to see plans for a multi-use path along South Main Street from Gypsy Lane Road to Napoleon Road, she asked why it was stopping there, since the project continues to Ordway Avenue.
“Why not have all of that safe for cyclists?” Drain asked.
“I hope the city is planning to put bike lanes along West Wooster Street, on South Maple, along Pearl (where it’s wide enough) and along Sand Ridge Road from South Main to the Slippery Elm Trail,” Drain said.
“Haskins Road and Conneaut Avenue should also be considered,” she said. “Since there are no edge lines on the repaved stretch of Wooster yet, it could still be implemented rather easily.”
Gypsy Lane and Pearl would be good streets for shared use paths, since there is no street parking along those, Drain added.
An engineering/design study of Main Street, from Napoleon Road to Newton Road, is underway – looking at a combination of protected on-street bicycle lanes and shared use paths, plus other infrastructure to improve pedestrian and bicycle safety.
Aspacher said the Main Street study, being conducted by Mannik & Smith, should be completed by the end of August. It will then be presented to council, he said.
Bowling Green officials have talked about a variety of bicycle accommodations in the city at least as far back as 2016. But it’s not as easy as painting lanes on roadways. https://bgindependentmedia.org/nothing-simple-about-creating-city-bike-lanes/ and https://bgindependentmedia.org/bicyclists-feel-they-are-spinning-their-wheels-in-bg/
A report presented to City Council in 2019, suggested a combination of bike sharrows and bike lanes might work best. https://bgindependentmedia.org/bg-peddles-plan-for-more-sharrows-and-some-bike-lanes/
On Monday, Drain also asked that city officials add street trees to the “tree-less entryway” on South Main Street into Bowling Green.
“That’s currently the ugly way into our lovely town,” she said. “Certainly the city has an interest in beautification, in improved air quality and in making its contribution to combating climate change by planting trees.”
The South Main project began last month. Water line improvement work will be completed this year, with paving along South Main Street, from Ordway to the southern corporation line, to follow in 2025.
This project also includes ADA ramp improvements, a separated shared use path along the west side of South Main (from Gypsy Lane to Napoleon Road), traffic signal replacement and road widening at the South Main/Napoleon Road intersection, and the installation of two pedestrian hybrid beacons between Gypsy Lane and Napoleon roads.
In other business at Monday’s meeting, former city council member Sandy Rowland was recognized for being Bowling Green’s beacon of compassion and tireless advocate for the voiceless.
Rowland died on April 17 following a car crash.
Mayor Mike Aspacher and Lindsay Jo Dunham, of the BG Human Relations Commission, presented an Honor Roll Award to Rowland’s daughter Heidi Pearce.
“I hope her memory is a cause for inspiration” for years to come, Pearce said.
A celebration of Rowland’s life will be held Saturday, Aug. 10, in the Veterans Memorial Building in Bowling Green City Park. Doors open at 11:30 a.m. with the celebration of life starting at 1 p.m. followed by a reception from 2-4 p.m.
Also at the meeting, Council President Mark Hollenbaugh said the city’s Climate Action Plan proposal will be presented to council during a Committee of the Whole meeting on Aug. 5, at 6 p.m.
Aspacher said the final report on the plan has been presented to city staff, and input is being sought.
