Work on Broken Arrow’s first bikeway begins in March
Construction on the Main Street Bikeway project is set to begin the week of March 18, weather and other conditions permitting.
No large scale construction is planned by the City of Broken Arrow for the bikeway. The bulk of the project consists of restriping vehicle lanes and on street parking south of Houston and adding signage and shared lane markers throughout.
Drivers may see some lane closures on Main Street, but the work should not affect access to homes and businesses.
The project should be completed by the end of May, weather permitting.
The Main Street Bikeway project is the first bikeway for Broken Arrow and is administrated by the Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT) as part of the Indian Nations Council of Governments’ (INCOG) GO Plan. The $504,000 project is primarily funded through a $378,000 federal Transportation Alternatives Grant. The remaining funding is from the Parks and Recreation Department’s capital fund.
WHERE DOES THE BIKEWAY GO?
- The bikeway is planned to begin on the south side of Main Street at Washington (91st) Street and lead north past Houston (81st) Street, through the Rose District and turn through the adjoining neighborhood before connecting with Kenosha (71st) Street.
- Between Houston and Washington, Main Street will be reduced to three vehicle traffic lanes – one in each direction plus a center turn lane – and a green-painted bike lane in each direction. Traffic counts done by the City indicate three lanes of traffic is sufficient for the southern half of Main Street.
- Angled parking between Houston and Washington will also be reconfigured to be back-in parking as a safety measure so cyclists will be more visible to drivers about to pull out.
- From Houston to Midway Street, bicycles and vehicle traffic will share the lanes. This portion of the bike path will be indicated by shared lane markers, known as “sharrows,” along the road surface, as well as signage all along the Bikeway.
- The path then turns east at Midway Street. From there, the path turns north again at 4th Street and terminates at Kenosha. Through the neighborhood streets on Midway and 4th, the road will also be shared lanes between bicycles and vehicles.
ALTERNATE ROUTE BYPASSES BUSY PART OF ROSE DISTRICT
An alternate bike route north of Houston will be established along 1st Street between Fort Worth and Midway Streets so cyclists can choose to avoid heavy vehicle and pedestrian traffic through the Rose District.
CONNECTING BROKEN ARROW
As part of the regional GO Plan, the Main Street Bikeway will eventually connect to the popular Liberty Parkway Trail, a nine mile trail that follows the Creek Turnpike in south Broken Arrow. The City of Broken Arrow is currently designing Phase I of the new Broken Arrow Creek Trail. This trail begins at the Elm Place and Liberty Parkway trailhead and travels north for approximately 2.5 miles on S. Ash Avenue and S. First Place.