What you must understand
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The Saratoga Street Bikeway would create a 0.7-mile protected bike path in Newport
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Four design alternatives were presented, with varying widths, costs, and impacts.
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Tri-State Trails is gathering public input before applying for grants to fund it.
The Saratoga Street Bikeway, a brand-new protected bikeway, may soon be arriving in Newport.
The cycling trail is being proposed by Compass Infrastructure Group, Tri-State Trails, and the city of Newport. The Campbell County Public Library’s Newport Branch hosted a project open house on Wednesday to solicit public input on the three preliminary design options.
According to Wade Johnston, Executive Director of Tri-State Trails, the goal of this project is to construct a 0.7 protected bikeway from 3rd Street to 11th Street, extending the Purple People Bridge—a safe trail experience—into the center of Newport. This will allow anyone, regardless of age or ability level, to feel comfortable walking or riding a bike through Newport.
At a community gathering on June 26, Tri-State Trails presented the preliminary design options to Saratoga Street businesses and residents.
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Alternative 1
: 10.5-foot by 11.5-foot-wide bike path on the west side of Saratoga Street. This is the least expensive option. -
Alternative 2A
: Two-way protected bike lane on west side of Saratoga Street: 10-foot by 11-foot wide from Third Street to 9th Street, 8-foot wide from 9th St to 11th Street. This option narrows the path in some areas to avoid stairs in the route, meaning the path would not be consistent from 3rd to 11th Street. -
Alternative 2B
: 11-foot-wide two-way protected bike lane, with shifted bike lane where stairs encroach into sidewalk to keep consistent width. This would remove two to three parking spaces. This option curves the path around the stairs in the route. -
Alternative 3
: 5.75-foot one-way protected bike lanes on both sides of Saratoga Street. This is the most expensive option and would require parking loss on one whole side of Saratoga Street.
To see the design alternatives, scroll through the slideshow below.
During the input session, Mike Yeager from Compass Infrastructure Group discussed the current state of the route.
Yeager said the existing right-of-way is 65 feet, but when they looked at the usable width, it was about 56 feet.
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The rationale is that we considered which side of the road would make the most sense for a two-way project, and it was evident very rapidly that the west side was the superior choice for two primary reasons, according to Yeager.
One of the reasons is that the Purple People Bridge makes a seamless transition by aligning with the west side sidewalk. On that side of the roadway, between Third and Sixth Streets, utility poles and overhead utilities are already buried.
According to Johnston, the intersection of Third Street and Saratoga Street is being examined for a bicycle-specific traffic signal as part of the proposed changes. This could be the first of its kind in the area.
On its website, the Connect NKY project details how Tri-State Trails conducted a week-long demonstration in 2019 to test temporary bike lanes on Saratoga Street and surrounding corridors. The concept received a lot of support and contributed to the Saratoga Street Bikeway initiative’s foundation.
The Newport Commission unanimously approved the Tri-State Trails bicycle transportation plan in August 2024. The plan is being developed in partnership with Covington. In order to develop a path for a connected and safe bike network that serves all people, regardless of age or ability, the bike plan was formally launched in January 2023 for both Covington and Newport.
The project’s website states that Tri-State Trails obtained financing in early 2025 to move forward with high-priority Covington and Newport Bike Plan portions, beginning with better bike facilities on Saratoga Street.
According to Johnston, many of these projects are developed using grant funds, and there are possibilities for phasing deployment. Yeager believes that the project will cost about $2 million.
“The idea is that we could apply for a grant to build it if there is support for this project going forward, maybe this fall or the spring,” Johnston explained. The awards usually arrive over a period of years. We are just at the beginning of this lengthy process, so it won’t happen right away.
Those who could not attend the public input sessions can fill out the
survey here
until Sept. 2. After the public feedback period, Tri-State Trails will make a recommendation based on the feedback and prepare a final report to hand off to the Newport City Commission.
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