Committee tables Pine Street lane-reduction plan, orders stakeholder working group

The Manchester Board of Mayor & Aldermen’s Committee on Public Safety, Health and Traffic on an unspecified date tabled a proposal that would reduce a travel lane and add a dedicated bike lane on Pine Street between Bridge Street and Webster Street and directed staff to form a working group to study bike-lane planning across the city.

The motion to table, made by Alderman Morgan, was adopted after an extended discussion in which city staff and several aldermen debated safety trade-offs, prior studies and the timing of upcoming paving on Pine Street.

Why it matters: Committee members said they want a broader, citywide plan before approving piecemeal bike-lane conversions. The timing matters because Pine Street is scheduled for resurfacing in the coming months; restriping decisions normally occur after paving and before final striping.

Committee discussion and key points

Alderman Morgan said the city appears to be “piecemealing” bike lanes and asked that a working group be formed with city stakeholders including the Department of Public Works, the highway chief engineer (Caleb Dobbins), the planning department and economic development to present a consolidated plan and community outreach results. Morgan noted the last board action to add bike lanes on several streets was in 2019 and urged a broader study before committing to further lane reductions.

Caleb Dobbins, identified in the meeting as the highway chief engineer, described three types of bicycle infrastructure: fully separated multiuse trails, dedicated bike lanes with the bicycle having the right of way, and shared-road facilities where motorists and bicyclists coexist with heightened awareness. Dobbins said Pine Street carries less traffic than some other streets where bike lanes were previously added and that the additional striping cost would be “negligible” if done at the time of scheduled resurfacing because the work requires striping whether or not a bike lane is added.

Safety and community concerns

Alderman Berry asked whether the existing bike lanes have led to injuries; Dobbins said he was not aware of serious incidents tied to the lanes and cited traffic counts and regional studies showing usage on other streets such as Elm Street. Some aldermen raised concerns that residents do not see many bicyclists and worry about traffic flow and parking. Alderman Cantor (spelled in the meeting transcript as “Cantor”) and others emphasized winter conditions and snowplow operations as reasons to consider a full plan rather than isolated changes.

Timing and implementation details

Committee members noted the practical window for changing lane configuration on Pine Street is tied to the paving schedule: if the city paves and stripes Pine before the working group finishes its work, adding a bike lane later could add incremental striping cost. Dobbins said staff would need to verify lane widths and signal limitations before any lane reduction.

Outcome and next steps

The committee voted to table the item and form a working group that will conduct community outreach (including a proposed survey), coordinate with DPW and planning, and return with recommendations. The committee also discussed inviting concerned citizens to participate in the working group.

Quotes

"Let's vet this out and let's let the city, the people decide on whether we want to become a bike community," Alderman Morgan said during the discussion.

"The additional cost for it is going to be negligible because we need to stripe it anyway," Caleb Dobbins said, referring to the planned resurfacing of Pine Street.

Ending

The committee did not adopt the striping change for Pine Street and asked staff to convene stakeholders and produce a report for the committee and the full Board of Mayor & Aldermen. A timeline was discussed ("one to three months" mentioned as a working window), but no final deadline was specified.