Council hears PennDOT-driven redesign for Walnut Street project; engineer recommends moving bike lane to south side

The borough’s engineer, Derek, told Columbia Borough Council that PennDOT raised a concern with the proposed Walnut Street (100 block) design during the final signal-permit review: the proposed bike lane on the north side would push vehicular traffic into the opposite lane near the Route 441 intersection, producing atypical opposing lanes and potential headlight conflicts.

"They just said it's just not normal," Derek said, summarizing PennDOT’s feedback. He recommended relocating the bike lane to the south side of Walnut Street; the change would be limited to pavement markings and signage and would not alter major engineering elements.

Derek said the south-side configuration would restore nearly all on-street parking that the earlier design had removed, maintain existing turning radii, and improve operations for cyclists traveling with vehicular traffic. He acknowledged tradeoffs: moving the lane would create some intersections where bikes and turning vehicles interact, and it would not provide an ideal separated path into Riverpark, but it avoids terminating the bike lane at a confusing spot where it would have had no connection to Riverpark.

Council members raised parking impacts, the loss of parking spaces under prior alternatives, and the timing implications for bid schedules. Derek said the change is largely paint and signage and should not materially increase construction cost in a roughly $1.5 million project; it may require a PennDOT pavement-marking safety review and could delay the start by a month or two — a delay Derek characterized as acceptable because it might push construction into spring rather than a winter start. "At this point, we're talking about paint," he told the council.

PennDOT district manager Eric Kynard had suggested switching sides to avoid the signal conflict; Derek credited Kynard with the recommendation. Council members supported further study and asked Derek to meet PennDOT and confirm any pavement-marking review steps; staff said Derek would meet PennDOT the following day and return with schedule implications. No formal vote was required that evening; the council discussed the change as a staff-directed design modification.