Since my family does all three: drive, ride and walk, I'd like to see improvements across the board. Perhaps encouraging cyclists to ride on particular streets with bike lanes (but paying special attention to cyclist heavy routs such as leading to the middle schools and highschool). Additionally, it's unsafe to walk on streets where there is no sidewalk and we are thrilled with the improvements made on east Argonne.
Do we have studies to establish the true volume of bike traffic on Kirkwood streets today? And, projected bike traffic? Seems like hardly any bikes use the bike lanes today and are we sure we are not headed into overkill with additions?
I have ridden my bike in Kirkwood for years. While bike lanes are a lovely idea, I think a much bigger concern is rough pavement and potholes all over town. Harrison and Clay used to be great, smooth rides. Not anymore. Nor is Peeke, Geyer, and the list goes on. Probably the worst street? Quan Avenue. We also could use a sidewalk down Longview, which gets a high volume of pedestrian and kids on bikes AND a high volume of cars as a cut through.
One of the most hazardous places in Kirkwood is Kirkwood Road from Woodbine north to downtown. Nipher students walk right next to speeding traffic with no protection...mostly northbound on the east side of the street. Groups of 15 -30 kids could be wiped out by one car veering onto the sidewalk. Erect protective bollards, or close off the lane closest to the sidewalk during an hour or so after school dismisses. There's only one lane for northbound / southbound traffic in downtown, one land is often blocked for concerts / special events at Station Plaza. Could be done to save the lives of middle school students. Citizens make too many concessions for "thru traffic" on Kirkwood Rd. Drivers stack up on Kirkwood Rd as they avoid congestion on I - 270.
There is HUGE amounts of bike traffic on Geyer road. I definitely think there should be bike lanes added to the road. The road should be widened, as it is already a narrow street.
The few roads that have been resurfaced in town are GREAT, but there are side roads and STILL main roads that are in desperate need of repair, I.e., Woodlawn and Dixon to name a few. The condition of the roads in Kirkwood is embarrassing, and frankly before you start screwing around with “yuppie” bike lanes and “designer coffee” roads, just fix the streets the taxpayers ALL use, OK?
I am an avid bike rider, runner, and walk often with my young children. I find the streets in Kirkwood to be extremely dangerous for pedestrians. Lowering speed limits will not help but enforcement of the current speeds would. I also live on a street without sidewalks and my kids walk home from school while cars speed past. I would suggest that current streets without sidewalks be given a pedestrian/bike lane. Although we would definitely prefer actual sidewalks. Finally for the sanity and safety of all cyclists please give us a designated bike lane on Holmes going to Grants Trail!
I think sidewalks are more important than bike lanes. We walk to the bus stop for Kirkwood schools and none of our roads have sidewalks - it feels dangerous some mornings/afternoons.
An accident is waiting to happen at the Jewel crossing at Keysor. More needs to be done by the city as the PHB has been delayed for a year without much notice or communication to the Keysor community. There had been talk of narrowing lanes to slow traffic. A proactive approach by the city prioritizing the safety of the children is needed - including an interim plan while waiting for the PHB. There is always a new population of 1/6 of the students at Keysor and many are the youngest. It's lovely to see the new traffic light posts but feel the safety of that crossing has been punted to the back burner without any proactive communication or constructive thoughts.
Big bend should be reduced to 1 lane each direction from Holmes east to rock hill.
I don't know how to fix this, but too many drivers roll through or don't stop at stop signs regardless if there are pedestrians around. And while I appreciate people riding bikes, too many of them do not adhere to the traffic signals as vehicles do. As far the bike lanes, it seems to me that if there is more than one rider, only one is in the bike lane and the rest are in the car lane.
on narrow streets with poor sight lines - like West Adams Sugar Creek Valley area, I feel that bikes are just too dangerous unless there can be a bike lane added. Also, closing this area to the residents while allowing bike races is more than an annoyance.
Bicyclists need to be made to adhere to the rules of the road-stopping at stop signs, not riding down the middle of the lane unless at speed, signaling
I’m not sure what other things could be done. I have seen cars almost hit pedestrians who are in the crosswalk or have myself almost been hit. Bikes do need their own lane because most of them do not obey the road rules. They want to be on the road and have rights but then don’t stop when they should or signal when they should. They want to be treated like a vehicle but act like a pedestrian. They tend to be the issue around here.
The bike lanes & crosswalks on Woodbine have done absolutely nothing to slow cars down. People continue to ignore the speed limit & crosswalks from Geyer to Couch! Please do something about lowering the speed limit from Geyer to the Woodbine/Craig intersection.
Geyer should be 30 mph, just like similar streets in Glendale, Frontenac, ets sidewalks are a mess, designated bike lanes are the safest. If the road isn't wide, such as Woodlawn, put designated bike lanes on side streets and keep them off busy roads
bicyclist who are on busy roads such as ballas/adams, can be very dangerous especially when they are riding side by side. If motorists can't pass, it backs traffic up and it forces cars into oncoming traffic. if it gets bicyclists out of motor traffic, then build more bike lanes. At the same time, it's also not fair to take away street parking for houses. Maybe widen roads? Also suggest ticketing bicyclists who aren't obeying traffic laws like riding side by side and not stopping at stop signs. If they want the same rights as motorist, then they also need to obey the rules. They actually put themselves at more risk by not.
Get the streets paved first. Add more side-walks and then worry about bike lanes.
The left turn lane onto Kirkwood rd/Lindbergh from Manchester was shortened to create a turn lane into CVS. It has made traffic on Manchester and getting to highway 40 much much worse. Please lengthen the turn lane onto Kirkwood road. I refuse to patronize any of the businesses in that strip (CVS, the bank, the car wash) until that area is improved.
I’d like to see Kirkwood use the unused rr right if way from Holmes to the Monroe and filmore for a bike lane to get to Grants Trail without having to bike on Holmes. Also, connect Cragwold to Marshall along I-270 right of way to link bike trails across new planned Meramec River bike bridge.
If you're going to add bike lanes, do them in a way that makes them usable for bicyclists (no parked cars in the lane, lanes that go continuously from one destination to another rather than stopping and starting wherever there was extra space on the street, lanes with even pavement rather than gutters for rain run-off or recessed sewer grates).
Bicyclists SHOULD OBEY the same traffic laws as cars. Stop at stop signs and wait their turn, stop at lights. I have seen bicyclists zoom straight through, putting themselves in harms ways, putting car and bicycle in peril. They should stay in their lanes and pay a fee, as a car license, to use the roads. They should travel in a single line when there is traffic and not block my flow of traffic.
Bicycle lanes should be placed on some roads. Your examples were too broad. Pedestrian cross walks must be improved.
Let’s be flexible. Bikes need to give up lane privileges when community needs take priority
Need to prioritize repairing sidewalks, traffic signals and bike lanes near the elementary, middle and high schools. Repairing/repaving high traffic roads near the schools would help too especially on Woodgate Dr from Manchester Rd to Westchester Elementary.
Make bike lanes runner friendly also
I am a runner walker and cyclist, and the streets are very dangerous now. The state of disrepair the roads are in is very dangerous for cycling and the narrow lanes for running walking or cycling or dangerous alongside car traffic. Thank you for listening to us, hopefully we will be a walkable and cycling city again soon
We need to actively encourage walking and biking to school, and make sure there are safe lanes for biking. For example, bus service to Nipher is very limited (radius 1.5 miles), and there are too many cars converging on the school in the morning. My daughter rides her bike, and I try not to think about the scary intersections around Fillmore/Scott/Monroe. Thanks!
It's almost impossible to get all together. Need to get bicyclists to obey traffic laws and to use the existing bike lanes--stay in them.
Bike lanes need to be protected. Just painting arrows down the middle of the street isn't doing anything.
As a bicyclist and a driver I don't see the need to add much more in terms of dedicated biking lanes. The current lanes don't get a lot of use already, and unless there are sections of roads where accidents or near-accidents are frequent, I would not add more dedicate biking lanes. On the other hand, drivers and bicyclists alike would benefit significantly by having better roads. Geyer Rd., for example, is in very poor condition and needs a complete makeover rather than band-aid fixes.
When you added the bike lane on Dougherty Ferry you decreased the lane width for traffic. That would be fine on most parts of the road but not by the high school. Kids (inexperienced drivers). Park on Dougherty Ferry and have to pull out in traffic in the afternoon. The narrower lanes put traffic closer to the parked cars. People picking up kids in the afternoon block traffic on D Ferry waiting to turn in to school. Through traffic use to be able to get by but now they can’t because of bike lane. If they cut into the bike lane to go around and an accident would happen to occur, they would be at fault. So now traffic is more congested than it use to be.
Please please add a bike lane or on-street parking on both sides of Kirkwood Rd, South of Argonne. The merging that takes place north of Argonne causes more traffic than the extra lane prevents.
Get off the bicycles. Bikes have been ridden on roadways ever since the both have been invented. Stop reducing parking, driving lanes and painting symbols of bikes on the streets. Use the money to repair streets. My street has 4 -5 layers of seal coat and/or asphalt over the original concrete. Concrete curbs have disappeared or been covered with asphalt curbs. Potholes aren't repaired or done so poorly if at all. The multiple layers of seal coat and asphalt have raised the street level above driveways in some cases and the residential driveways are deteriorating as a result. The city refuses to redo the street even though we've been told we should be returned to a concrete street, like the other half of our little subdivision. Streets with big fancy expensive homes get new concrete streets. Those with small frame home suffer with poor streets, curbs and water flow. A pattern of discrimination seems to be developing.
I am a bicycle rider. I avoid busy streets unlike many of my "brethren" who seem to revel in obstructing traffic. There are plenty of roads in Kirkwood designated full lane for bikes. Please, no more privileges for bike riders. Again, I ride my bike all over Kirkwood.
Reduce Kirkwood Road to two lanes South of Argonne.
Our street look like we live in a foreign country! They are embarrassing! For all the taxes we pay, something is very wrong here. Also Manchester road by North Kirkwood middle school needs wider lanes. Not safe for travelers at all!
Bicycle lanes on Dougherty Ferry & Essex are unsafe because they have so many young drivers due to Kirkwood High School, especially in the morning & after school.
A few years ago you created a bike lane on Adams. This caused more traffic in the 600 block of E Essex where I live. The cars on Essex gas tripled and the speeding is out of control. No more bike lanes please. It only pushes cars into smaller streets so drivers can avoid slow traffic on through fares that are meant to be used for high traffic areas. I might only see a handful of bikers on Adams at any given time so a dedicated lane was not the best idea. I am even a biker.