City of Sioux City issued the following announcement on Sept. 17.
A ribbon cutting celebrating the completion of the Leech Avenue Reconstruction Project and opening of the city’s first bicycle lanes between Fairmount and Rustin St. was held today. City leaders were joined by community stakeholders including the Sioux City Active Transportation Advisory Committee, Siouxland Cyclists, Siouxland Trails Foundation, SIMPCO Bicycle/Pedestrian Roundtable and Siouxland Chamber of Commerce.
Bicycle lanes are painted and marked on the street to allow bicyclists to travel near the curb. Motor vehicles are not allowed to drive or park in designated bicycle lanes. They may only cross bike lanes where the lanes are marked with dashed lines to facilitate turns. Similarly, bicycles may enter the motorized traffic lanes to facilitate turns.
Council adopted plans for the Leech Reconstruction Project on November 4, 2019 and awarded the project contract to Bainbridge Construction, LLC in the amount of $1,339,814.06. The project included the replacement of all street paving, sidewalks, driveway entrances, water mains, sanitary sewers, and storm sewers from S. Fairmount Street to S. Rustin Street.
The next phase for this area will continue these reconstructions along S. Rustin Street from Leech Avenue to Dodge Avenue in FY2023, followed by Dodge Avenue from S. Rustin Street to S. Cecelia Street in FY2024, and finally S. Cecelia Street from Dodge Avenue to Morningside Avenue in FY2025. These projects are expected to continue the addition of bicycle lanes, along with the other reconstruction improvements.
Based on research by local bicycle advocates, Sioux City has been by far the largest community in Iowa, without any bicycle lanes. A second bicycle lane project is anticipated to open later this fall as part of the resurfacing of Riverside Boulevard.
All motorists are urged to drive carefully and share the road with people on bicycles. The addition of bike lanes on City streets is another building block in providing travel options that accommodate active transportation in our community.
Original source can be found here.
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