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Residents urge city to preserve parking while keeping Brookside bike lanes plan
Summary
Multiple Brookside Drive residents told council during public comment that they support bike lanes but want the two-way cycletrack compromise previously presented preserved to avoid removing all on-street parking.
Olivia Cisneros, a resident of Brookside Drive, told the Raleigh City Council during public comment that she and six neighboring households support safe bike facilities but want the compromise plan presented by the Transportation Department on March 18 reconsidered so it preserves parking for residents while providing a protected cycletrack for Conn Elementary students.
The appeal came as speakers described differing views among neighbors. Cisneros said removing all on-street parking would “create a hardship for many residents, especially those who do not have extended driveways.” She asked council to “take another look at this option” that balances parking and cyclist safety.
Other Brookside residents offered contrasting perspectives. Alex Brissett, who identified himself as a Brookside Drive resident, thanked council for the approved plan for two-way bike lanes and expressed relief, saying the plan “is the best thing for Brookside Drive and the best thing for Raleigh” for multimodal infrastructure and public safety. Athena Wallen, also of Brookside Drive, described the bike lane decision as part of a larger shift away from car-centric street design and urged council to consider how small projects connect into broader bicycle and pedestrian networks.
No council action or vote was recorded in the public-comment segment; speakers were responding to a previously announced plan. The record shows neighborhood disagreement about the implementation details: some residents requested retention of certain parking spaces alongside a protected cycletrack, while others supported the approved two-way bike lane plan as consistent with the city’s multimodal goals.
The public-comment period included 20 sign-ups for the evening. Speakers asking for reconsideration emphasized the local impacts of parking loss; proponents emphasized safety and climate and health benefits of the approved lanes. No formal motion, direction to staff, or vote on Brookside-specific revisions was recorded during the segment.
