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North Main safety corridor plan draws resident criticism over parking, traffic and bike lanes
Summary
A long-time North Main Street resident urged Akron City Council to reconsider the planned safety corridor, saying bike lanes and curb changes will worsen traffic and threaten parking for homeowners and businesses.
Mark Wagner, a North Main Street resident who said he has lived on the street more than 35 years, told Akron City Council he opposes the current North Main safety corridor plan.
"I think that by putting bike lanes in, it's actually gonna make things more dangerous," Wagner said. He described current morning congestion and said adding bike lanes plus parking lanes would reduce travel lanes and make it harder for drivers to back out of driveways.
Wagner suggested removing parking lanes on the residential side if the city wants bike lanes and expressed concerns about impacts to businesses and access. He said traffic studies reflected reduced travel during the COVID period and argued those results were not representative of current conditions.
Council did not take action on the safety corridor at the meeting. Wagner's three-minute public comment ended when the presiding officer noted his time had expired.
Clarifying details from Wagner's remarks: he has lived on North Main more than 35 years and estimated about 87 homeowners in the area; he criticized traffic studies conducted during the COVID period as unrepresentative.
