Bike Lane Battle Moves Forward In Urbandale

A contentious plan to add bike lanes to two Urbandale streets has advanced, but the debate is far from over.

The Plan

The City of Urbandale wants to convert stretches of Aurora Ave. and 70^th St. into what’s known as “complete streets” – which have the goal of improving streets for vehicles, bicyclists and pedestrians.

Aurora Ave. currently has four lanes for vehicles between 70^th and 86^th streets. The city plans to turn that section of Aurora into a two-lane road, with a turning lane in some sections. Bike lanes would be added along this entire stretch. The city said the bike lanes will also be a place for vehicles to temporarily stop during school pick-up and drop-off hours for students at Urbandale High School and Urbandale Middle School.

For 70^th St., the city wants to add pavement markings, known as sharrows, to designate a bikeway from Hickman Rd. to Urbandale Ave. Between Urbandale Ave. and Meredith Dr., the city hopes to reduce the four-lane road into two lanes and add shared bike lanes. The city said parking restrictions will be extended for safety purposes at 70^th and Aurora, and there would be no other changes to parking along the street.

Committee Caution

Monday night, Urbandale’s Capital Improvements Program (CIP) Committee voted unanimously to advance the plans for both streets to the City Council for its consideration. But some members voted with caution.

“I think I can be comfortable with that 70^th St. project, specifically,” said committee member Matthew Butler. “The Aurora Ave. project, I’m a little torn. And I’m just a little torn because as some of you yourselves have mentioned, I’m just not educated enough about what that project is and everything that is going on and how it’s making things safer, versus not.”

Committee member Rob Hilbert shared his own mixed feelings.

“70^th St. actually is the part that concerns me the most because it feels the narrowest,” Hilbert said. “I don’t know how I feel about adding bike lanes to that.”

Committee co-chair Patricia Boddy said she served on the city’s complete streets committee and has worked as a consultant on complete streets projects in the past. She came out in support of the changes proposed to both streets.

“The research on these projects is really pretty clear, that they do improve safety, and that they even improve driving outcomes for those under age 35 and those over age 65,” Boddy said.

She added that if the projects are completed and do not improve safety, they can be reversed.

“If we get surprised, and it proves not to be as an amenity as we anticipate it will prove to be, it’s a paint job,” Boddy said.

Hilbert said that while he voted to advance the plans to the City Council, he wanted to emphasize that the projects need fine tuning from the experts. He said the CIP committee simply approves money for projects, not their specific designs.

City’s Perspective

The purpose of the complete street conversions is to improve safety for all users, according to Derek Zarn, City of Urbandale Marketing and Communications director.

On the project’s webpage, the city wrote that both Aurora and 70^th have more room than they need for current traffic. Zarn told DSM Bike Notes that if Aurora Ave. were built today, it would be constructed with the proposed two or three lanes, instead of four.

“This would represent the standard configuration for similar roadways, as modern traffic management technologies and design principles have improved our understanding of how to build safer roads,” Zarn wrote.

The plans for Aurora and 70^th are part of the city’s complete streets master plan. It was adopted in 2019 and several projects have been completed since then.

Public Division

Four members of the public spoke at Monday’s meeting. Two supported the plans and two were opposed.

Larry Loss spoke on behalf of the Iowa Bicycle Coalition Board of Directors, and said the organization supports the complete street conversions.

“The addition of bike lanes in the community is about enhancing safety for cyclists and drivers alike. Well-defined areas for autos and bicycles on shared roadways lead to clear, predictable environments for all users,” Loss said.

The complete street conversion would allow vehicles to park in the bike lanes. Melissa Hopfar said she worries how young drivers from the nearby high school would navigate sharing space with people on bikes.

“I feel like it’s very unsafe for the cyclists. I was parked on Aurora today, I’m trying to imagine how a cyclist can weave in and out of traffic and this can somehow increase safety,” Hopfar said.

DSM Bike Notes asked Zarn when vehicles would be allowed to park in the bike lanes. He wrote that those specifics would be reviewed as part of the final plan.

Monday’s public input follows two other public meetings earlier this year, where people shared similar mixed opinions.

What’s Next

The Urbandale City Council will discuss the plans for Aurora Ave. and 70^th St. and host a public hearing at its January 21 meeting. If the council ultimately approves the projects, the complete street conversions would happen in 2025.

Thanks For The Tip!

I have to give credit to one of my subscribers for alerting me to the bike lane debate in Urbandale. It wasn’t on my radar at all, but it turned out to be a very worthy topic, and one that is still developing. I’ll definitely keep an eye on it and see if the City Council decides to give it a go.

I’ve been really happy to receive a lot of tips and questions from readers, but I’m greedy and I always want more! Please send me your questions and tips about cycling issues in your community: [email protected].