Recently La Verne added new medians and repaved a section of Wheeler from Foothill Boulevard to Arrow Highway. Multiple people have contacted the City asking if bike lanes will be included in the improved road. Here is a response from the City.
“The scope of Wheeler median/repaving project is the section of Wheeler between Arrow and Foothill. The median and road width is designed to accommodate future bike lanes.
Concurrent with the planning of this project, the city has been finalizing approval from the state for a grant which will result in bicycle-related improvements across the city. These improvements include enhancements along a broader section of Wheeler from Arrow to Baseline.
Because of the limited scope of the median/repaving project, any bike lanes painted at this time would end at the southern side of the Foothill intersection, with no further improvements on the north side. Once the grant funding is finalized, we plan to install a traffic signal/enhancement crossing at Paseo Drive, upgrade the Wheeler Class 1 trail, add bike lanes through the Foothill intersection and continue them northward to Baseline. We feel this approach will result in a more connected / comprehensive / safer solution. We expect to do this work in 2019.”
Does “upgrade the Wheeler class 1 bike lane” mean that any future bike lane will remain on the sidewalk? Will we have opportunity to engage in dialogue and be given opportunity to discuss options to the sidewalk where most of us do not ride?