Mayor, vice mayor, and city manager say they support keeping the bike lane
HURON – Huron Mayor Sam Artino, Vice Mayor Monty Tapp, and City Manager Matt Lasko spoke to Huron Insider about why they want to keep the bike lane on US6.
Lasko said that the bike lanes are for more than just the safety of bicyclists. He said that the bike lane could create a new downtown experience for the city, that could not happen with four lanes of traffic.
“A four-lane state route going through the middle of and bisecting the main north south commercial spine of the city is a huge defector to create a downtown experience.” Lasko said, “It is very vehicular heavy. It detours bicycle traffic. It detours pedestrian traffic. It mainly tries to get people east to west through town as fast as possible.”
Lasko also said that the green paint, which the final plan shows the bike lane being painted with, will “soften the entire look of the corridor” and that it will be “inviting” and “aesthetically pleasing.” Lasko said, “It’s going to make people want to come to this area.”
Artino says that he believes that the new bike traffic will help future development on not just US6, but also on Main Street and at the former ConAgra property. He also says that he believes that the bike lanes will help “unite” the east and west sides of town.
When asked about people driving vehicles in the bike lane, Lasko says that if council votes to keep the bike lane, then the city will try to educate the community on how to drive a vehicle on US6. He also said that he believes the green paint will prevent people from driving in it, as well. He said that eventually Huron Police will issue tickets for violations.
According to Lasko, about 57% of the feedback that the city has received on the bike lanes in positive. Lasko said that he believes that the final plan fixes many of the complaints that people have. Tapp said, “People who were against this in the beginning are coming forward and saying they like this.”
A vote on approving the final plan is scheduled to take place at Tuesday, August 10’s Huron City Council meeting.
You can view the final plan below.