Bike lanes are beginning to outline way to go in Geneva

Geneva bicyclists are starting to see the first fruits of the city's bikeway plan, with the designation of bike lanes on several west-side streets.

"The idea is that with the onset of many streets in town that are busy and high-traffic, we wanted to expand the safety and convenience of biking around the city," said Dick Untch, the city's planner.

The bikeway plan, adopted in late 2005, also aims to make it easier for bicyclists to connect to the regional Fox River Trail system and to points of interest around town such as parks, the library, shopping areas, forest preserves, government offices and the Metra station.

Freshly painted lines set aside bike lanes on Bent Tree Drive, parts of Fargo Boulevard and parts of Lewis Road this year.

However, they have to share the lanes with cars in some cases. On Lewis between Kaneville Road and the Nicor natural gas utility right of way, cars may also parallel park in the 8-foot lanes. The same is true on Fargo between Western Avenue and Randall Road, where the lanes are 9 feet wide.

But on Bent Tree, the city marked off a separate 7-foot-wide lane on one side for parallel parking, as well as the 5-foot and 6-foot-wide bicycle lanes.

Untch said each segment of the bikeway plan is studied individually, taking into consideration the width of the pavement, the land uses along the street and the frequency of on-street parking. Not many people park on Lewis and Fargo, Untch said, so sharing the bike lane shouldn't be a problem.

The lane on Bent Tree is marked on the pavement with stencils of bicycles. On the other two, signs indicate there is a bike lane.

The lanes on Bent Tree make the passage for two-way car traffic narrower. The city sees that as a benefit, because it should make drivers slow down. Neighbors in the area complained to the city council in 2004 that drivers speed on Bent Tree, using it to avoid traffic on Randall Road.

Bent Tree, a curvy designated collector street, connects Fargo Boulevard on the north to Fabyan Parkway on the south. City workers found that 54 percent of drivers were speeding, and that the accident rate was well below what the state would consider necessary for lowering the speed limit, which is 30 mph.

Traffic engineers believe that when roads are narrower, drivers are more cautious and drive more slowly.

A 10-person advisory subcommittee on the bikeway plan, which is mapped out through 2017, is deciding what areas should be done next year. It has until Nov. 1 to recommend to the city council what projects to put into next year's city budget.

It is seeking volunteers. Contact Michael Cramer at mike.cramer@us.mcd.com.