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BPTC letter of Support for Granby Street Bike Lane

I wanted everyone to see the work the BPTC is doing on our behalf. See letter below.

LETTER OF SUPPORT – GRANBY STREET LANE REPURPOSING PROJECT 

June 22, 2021 

Melissa Seek, MPH 

Chair Bicycle Pedestrian Trails Commission 

Dear Council: 

The Bicycle Pedestrian Trails Commission (BPTC) submits this letter in strong support of the  proposed lane repurposing on Granby Street from Willow Wood Drive to Admiral Taussig  Boulevard. The BPTC first formed out of a need for better bike connectivity in the City.  

Granby Street is the primary North/South route for cyclists that connects downtown Norfolk to Ocean  View. Strava data shows that Granby Street is the most widely used route, and the 2014 Strategic Bike  and Pedestrian Plan showed that this corridor was the number one request for improvements from the  three community meetings. This connection will serve as a critical connection for the Norfolk multimodal network. The proposed project will connect with the Granby Street Bridge infrastructure, as well as the  Llewellyn infrastructure all the way through Park Place, Ghent and into Downtown. To the North, it gets  us within a mile of connecting to the Bayview/Ocean View infrastructure. 

In addition, we support the proposed lane repurposing project because it serves to improve bike and  pedestrian safety for current and future users. Micromobility is on the rise, not just in Norfolk but across  the nation. People in the community not only want to ride their bike, ride a scooter, etc as a means of  transportation, but for some it’s their primary mode of transportation. While there is no way of knowing  exactly how much ridership will increase with bike infrastructure on Granby Street, studies show that  when safe and accessible bike infrastructure is added, ridership does increase (ridership increase). Bike  infrastructure not only makes it safer for those already using it, but it opens up access for many more  users, especially utilitarian, commuters, families, and casual riders. This lane repurposing will also allow access to the shops at Wards Corner for those who felt they couldn’t get to the shops easily and safely  before. Further, adding bike infrastructure will add a calming effect to traffic. According to the U.S.  Department of Transportation, reducing travel lanes adds a calming effect hence making it safer for all  those in the surrounding community (calming effect).  

Repurposing lanes on Llewellyn, Lafayette, and Ocean View Avenue have proven to work. There are bike  counters installed on already established multimodal lanes that show the increase in usage in these  multimodal lanes. Further, the multimodal lane on the Granby Street Bridge is very actively used by riders  and runners who now have much better access to both sides of the bridge. The reason for infrastructure  is not just for fitness cyclists. The primary audience is the average user that would have access to roads  for commuting, running errands, recreation, and general movement in the city. 

The Bicycle Pedestrian Trails Commission offers its full support for the proposed Granby Street lane  repurposing project. We look forward to seeing this long awaited and needed project come to fruition.  

Sincerely, 

Melissa Seek 
Chair Bicycle Pedestrian Trails Commission

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