The Devou Good Foundation is spearheading an effort to quickly establish a two-way protected bike lane on the 11th Street Bridge.
Jodi Robinson of the Devou Good Foundation, and Wade Johnson of Tri-State Trails, spoke at a recent Newport City Council meeting to explain what they have seen on the Brent Spence and their plans to resolve it.
Robinson said the foundation was already speaking with the cities about creating bike paths for cyclists when Gloria San Miguel was killed in a hit-and-run on the 11th Street Bridge between Newport and Covington, also known as the Girl Scout Bridge. San Miguel’s death sparked outrage from the cycling community and all the lives she touched, and has expedited solutions to make the two cities more accessible by bike.
Robinson and Johnson said they originally thought they could do a raised curb to protect the bike lane, but the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet informed them they cannot insert pins into the bridge required to secure the curb. Now, Robinson said they are looking at protecting the 10-foot-wide bike lane with a Jersey barrier, a concrete barrier typically seen at construction sites to block cars and redirect traffic.
Robinson said this is probably a safer solution, too, given the speeds recently seen along the 11th Street Bridge. She said cars are regularly clocked going 60 and 70 mph on the bridge.
“What we see is the bridge is built like a highway, so people drive on it like a highway,” Robinson said.
The northmost lane on the bridge is the target for establishing the two-way bike lane, and Robinson imagined pedestrians may also use the protected lane.
Robinson said “as a pedestrian and a cyclist,” she said she would not walk on the Bridge as it is. “It’s very uncomfortable.”
Typically, this project would get off the ground in six to 12 months, but given the immediate need, officials want to establish these barriers within six to eight weeks before creating a permanent barrier. The group is aiming to establish the permanent barrier by late summer, early fall of 2023.
Johnson said this bike lane won’t be the end of the line for the two cities. KYTC advised they focus on the 11th Street Bridge first, and then build out bike infrastructure from there.