City Nixes Second Bike Lane

$545,200 may not seem excessive in the world of transportation projects, but Tuesday night it proved too much for the Richfield City Council to swallow.

During Tuesday night's meeting, the council voted to indefinitely postpone the westernmost of two north-south bike lanes planned to make Richfield more bicycle-friendly. 

When the city put the project out to bid, it only got one reply from a construction company, who said they would be able to build both lanes at a cost of $545,200. With only a $269,107 federal grant and limited city funds to spend on the project engineers had estimated to cost $282,000, city staff recommended the council hold off of the so-called West Connection Route in order to devote the full federal grant to completing the East Connection Route this year, before the grant expires. A map of both routes is posted above. According to city staff at Tuesday's presentation, more bicycles use the eastern route than the western route.

The city will now re-bid the eastern bike lane by itself, using funds from the federal grant. The move saves the city from having to find about $276,000 to make up the difference between the federal grant and the $545,200 bid it received. 

A city staffer questioned by the council Tuesday night said that a portion of the cost associated with the bike lanes pays for re-striping the roads with durable thermoplastic, meaning the lanes will not have to be repainted every year, driving down maintenance costs. 

This story was updated at 10:37 a.m. on 8/15/13 to clarify the next steps in building the bike lane

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