Bicycle Board Members,

We recently cleared all the hurdles to get WVDOH to approve the bicycle climbing lane on Mon Blvd when WVU formally agreed with removing parking from the shoulder there. Meanwhile, the engineering department re-estimated the cost of the bike lane at $20,000. The original estimate about a year ago was $10K. Then it climbed to $13K about 6 months ago for new City labor rates and now it's up to $20K because they now prefer to contract it out.

I met with Dan Boroff last Friday to check on the status. He told me that the bike lane is a good project but the City can't afford it this year. City business and occupation taxes have been lower than expected during the first quarter of the 2010 impacting the City budgets. The project will need to be approved by City Council as a project with Capital Escrow funds at a future time (possibly next spring).

I'm just guessing that $10-15K of the project estimate is labor. How many of you would be willing and able to spend 2 days installing the bike lane if the City provided the paint, equipment and 1 knowledgeable supervisor? If we can raise sufficient volunteer labor, I'll ask the City Manager if we can negotiate.

Frank Gmeindl

Cyclists fare best when they act and are treated as drivers of vehicles