As a business owner on Truman Road I am extremely concerned about the construction of protected bike lanes in front of my business property. Primarily, the lanes will totally eliminate parking in front of my business, forcing potential customers to search for safe places to park. According to Bailey Waters, a representative of the Public Works Department, parking will be allowed on the newly created outside lane but this is not only overly confusing but potentially dangerous for anyone exiting their vehicle and, if so, takes Truman Road down to one lane each way.

I have so many questions that no one seems to be able to answer- will signs be posted to clarify parking? How will the city be able to plow between the curb and the bike lane poles? What about street sweepers? With traffic down to one lane, how can drivers pull over for emergency vehicles?

As for how this will impact my business, delivery trucks may have trouble finding a place to park or block additional traffic lanes, not to mention tow trucks that need to back in to drop off vehicles for repair.

Just as we’ve seen with the “protected” pedestrian bump outs at 12th and Benton Blvd.it doesn’t take long for drivers to start knocking those poles over- how long will it be before these poles being installed along Truman Road are knocked over, into either the bike lane or the traffic lane, causing more headaches for drivers?

I’ve spoken with several other business owners along Truman Road and we all agree that business owners should have had more say on where these bike lanes are installed.This is a commercial roadway, with lots of businesses that will be impacted in one way or another. Many of us didn’t even know this was happening until they started doing the work and now we’re scrambling to contact city officials that won’t even respond to our concerns.

Sincerely,

Shawn Arcidino
Truman Road
Business Owner