You might have noticed a different road design if you’ve lately driven along one of Covington’s main thoroughfares.
Instead of three car lanes, there are now two, and each is a little bit smaller than it was before. The modifications create room for the newly painted bike lane, which is five feet wide.
Between Garrard and Johnson streets, it traces a half-mile section of West Fourth Street. It is the first bike-only lane in Covington’s history.
Having your own lane makes it considerably safer to ride a bicycle in traffic. “Man,” Alan Pickett remarked, “just so much smoother and faster.”
For over ten years, Pickett, a bike enthusiast, was the executive director of Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Covington. He became the head of his own ministry, Pickett’s Corner, which fixes and gives out bicycles to people in need after he retired in 2023.
“I’ve always had a passion for cycling,” Pickett remarked. We have distributed 1,100 bicycles to individuals in need of mobility in Covington, Northern Kentucky, and the Cincinnati area during the past two and a half years. The majority of homeless persons and those with other means of transportation travel countless blocks to go to work and shops.
Pickett was one of dozens of cyclists who pedaled to Tuesday s ribbon-cutting ceremony. They joined community leaders in celebrating the new path to improving public safety in the area.
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The stakes are raised for everyone’s safety once the vehicles and everyone realize that there will be bikes in this lane. Mayor Ron Washington remarked, “You know, safety is not guaranteed.” We want to make our city more bikeable, but we also need to acknowledge that we are an older city, so as we increase access for bicycles and pedestrians, changes will need to be made throughout our community.
Beginning in 2023, the city, Tri-State Trails, and the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) District 6 worked together to create the bike lane and modified road.
The three organizations collaborated to develop an action plan to make areas safer for cyclists after the passing of local rider Gloria San Miguel, who resided in Newport and worked in Covington.
In response, the Covington and Newport city commissions formally endorsed the Covington-Newport Bicycle Transportation Plan in August 2024. In both communities, the plan now acts as a long-term vision and a framework for planning bicycle transportation.
According to Wade Johnston, executive director of Tri-State Trails, his group surveyed traffic on all Covington roads before deciding that West Fourth Street was the most suitable route to accommodate both bike and car traffic.
Additionally, a Northern Kentucky Urban Bike Loop was suggested in the proposal, with 4th Street acting as a crucial link between Covington and Newport.
Fourth Street is important because it connects the east and west and is surrounded by two significant infrastructure projects: the Brent Spence Bridge project, which is expected to have a number of shared-use pathways constructed alongside it, and the new Fourth Street Bridge, which spans the Licking River between Covington and Newport, according to Johnston. In addition, there should be a bike lane path on the Clay Wade Bailey Bridge that leads to Cincinnati.
Tri-State Trails monitors trail use throughout the area. In 2022, the Purple People Bridge averaged around 1,900 daily trips, making it the most popular route in Greater Cincinnati. According to Brad Bowers, project manager for Tri-State Trails, the Riverfront Commons Trail in Covington and Newport averages around 285 daily trips, which is similar to the regional average. However, when more connections are built, the trail is expected to grow dramatically.
Although this could be the city’s first bike lane, Washington said the city has always been bike-friendly and is determined to collaborating with local partners to grow its network of bike lanes and trails.
Our budget places some limitations on us. According to Washington, our city is seeing several positive developments. However, as an older city grows more rich and more people move there, one of the things that happens is that people continue to bring their automobiles, so we need to build space for both bike lanes and cars.
The majority of Covington’s roads are narrow due to the city’s outdated infrastructure, and any available space is usually used for street parking.
Because individuals are accustomed to parking in front of their homes, many bike lanes are filled with vehicles that have been parked in front of other vehicles for a very long time. Therefore, we must seek out chances. It made sense to locate it here, according to Washington, since it is an opportunity just in front of the Covington Central Riverfront, where we have 23 acres of development.
Tri-State Trails is trying to find another section of road that will give cyclists a safe, designated route to travel from east to west because West Fourth Street is a one-way street that moves traffic from west to east.
Pickett stated, “We would love to see more bike lanes.” Since there are already many in the Cincinnati metropolitan area, adding more in Northern Kentucky simply strengthens the network, allowing people to ride their bikes across the river and back to wherever they need to go without risk.
This story originally appeared at WCPO.com.
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