
Project to Complete Bikeways from Mentone to Loma Linda
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By: Carl Baker
Community Writer
Photo Courtesy of:
Pexels
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Once completed, the project will complete continuous bike infrastructure from Mentone to Loma Linda via Citrus Avenue, Brookside Avenue and Barton Road.
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Installation of new distinctive green Class II Bikeways has begun on portions of Citrus Avenue.
Contractors for the City will begin striping dedicated 5-foot bike lanes, include clear designations indicating the lanes are for cyclists. Minor lane closures have been put in place while thermoplastic paint is applied and sets. Contractors are making every effort to provide access to residents or businesses in a timely manner.
Work began the last week of January and will take place from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Improvements are expected to be completed in early April.
The City Council awarded a contract for $264,998 to Cat Tracking Inc., of Riverside, Dec. 5, 2017. The majority funding for the Project is from a Highway Safety Improvement Grant through the California Department of Transportation.
The project will install a green bike lane on eastbound and westbound Citrus Avenue from University Street to Wabash Avenue.
Once completed, the project will complete continuous bike infrastructure from Mentone to Loma Linda via Citrus Avenue, Brookside Avenue and Barton Road.
In order to complete the project, temporary no parking signs will be posted in front of residences along the route that will indicate the days no parking will be allowed on Citrus Avenue. Parking restrictions will be limited to two to three days between the hours of 7 a.m. and 4 p.m. Driveway access will be impacted as the bike lane is placed in front of it, but should not last more than 30 minutes.
A Class II Bikeway, according to the State of California Department of Transportation, provides a striped lane for one-way bike travel on a street or highway.
The City, which hosts the annual Redlands Bicycle Classic and is home to thousands of amateur and recreational cyclists, first installed dedicated Class II and Class III Bikeways in 2011. Since that time, the City has installed 52.1 lane miles of bicycle infrastructure.
In 2015, the City adopted a Bike Master Plan developed through extensive community outreach. The plan laid out a vision of active transportation that provides a greater range of transportation options to all City residents and visitors. As the plan is implemented, residents are increasingly able to select healthier and less costly transportation options. Cyclists will soon be able to travel from within any of the adjacent cities such as Grand Terrace, Colton, Loma Linda, through Redlands, and onto the Santa Ana River Trail which runs all the way to the California coast. HSIP, MSRC and future projects are investments in active transportation and system connectivity.
No General Fund money will be used for construction of the projects, which were designed and will be managed by the City’s Municipal Utilities and Engineering Department.