A group of cyclists are trying to send a message to town officials to include bike lanes instead of keeping more parking spots in West Hartford Center.
“I can’t recall the last time I’ve driven my car to the center. It’s too hard to find parking."
Rick Thibodeau is an avid cyclist who uses his bike to get to West Hartford Center. The angled parking in the area is keeping him on his toes.
“When people try to back out, I actually use flashing lights on my bike. Most people don’t. So bikes being small can be kind of invisible to a driver,” he said.
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He hopes bike lanes could be built on Farmington Avenue as part of Option A of the town’s redesign plan for the center. He and other cyclists are pushing for it.
“It’s protected from the traffic by the parked cars and by the fact it’s on sidewalk level,” Sandy Fry, a West Hartford cyclist, said.
However, during a meeting last month, another option was moved forward that didn’t include the bike lanes. This came after a February meeting where businesses brought up concerns about the number of parking spaces being reduced to accommodate bike lanes.
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“I don’t see that much bike traffic,” one business owner said.
In response, the group Bike West Hartford pushed a social media campaign called #BikesMeanBusiness. Thibodeau said this is to show cyclists can help drive traffic if infrastructure like bike lanes are built.
“If you build it properly and make it safe, walkers and cyclists will come down and they spend money,” he said.
They also argue, bike lanes with expanded sidewalks for pedestrians helps the town align with Vision Zero, a plan to reduce traffic deaths after a string of fatal crashes in late 2022.
“If we create that safe infrastructure, it’s safe for drivers. It’s safe for bikes and it’s safe for pedestrians,” Jennifer Boyd, a Bike West Hartford board member, said.
The town said the plans still haven’t been finalized yet and discussions will continue between town staff and town council.
