TYLER, Texas — If you’ve been driving around Tyler lately, who might have noticed white lines on the roads.
Those lines are part of an initiative called the Tyler Bike Stripes Project. It aims to make the roadways more accessible to bicyclists, however, these lines also managing to divide residents.
They're a part of an initiative called the Tyler Bike Stripes Project. It aims to make the roadways more accessible to bicyclists but these lines also managing to divide residents.
Azalea District resident, Jody Hartley, said, “We don't, we don't want a driver to have to pick between hitting a car and a biker.”
She feels that there’s not enough space for a bike lane in her neighborhood.
"We need wide roads for bike lanes and Donnybrook is not a wide road. There's nowhere to even possibly expand it, can't do it,” she said.
On the other side of the paint, cyclers like Mike Butler say they’re pretty cautious about where they ride.
"It's not so difficult as long as we do what we're supposed to do. We feel okay. When we ride, we try to avoid major roads because we don't want to compete with the cars. We lose if we hit them or they hit us, whichever way it goes," he said.
He and his partners are excited to have designated space on the roads.
“There are motorists out there that think bicyclists belong, not on the roads anywhere, and don't recognize that for some people it is their form of transportation to and from work to and from school, or doing anything,” he said.
City of Tyler Traffic Engineer, Cameron Williams, says that the City hears everyone's cheers and their concerns.
"The whole goal of this is to provide people more opportunities, give cyclists more presence on the roadway, and make motorists more aware of them," he said.
To answer some common questions, motorists will still be allowed to park in bike lanes. They will also still be allowed to leave their garbage cans out on the curb and they’ll be picked up as normal.
The Tyler Bike Stripes Project will have 11 different routes across 36 miles of the city. It is set to be finished by the end of summer 2021.