Tri State Trails recommends two-way protected bikeway on Saratoga Street to link Purple People Bridge to 11th Street
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Summary
Tri State Trails recommended a two-way, protected bikeway on Saratoga Street to bring Purple People Bridge users into Newport, preserve tree canopy and minimize parking loss; the city received public input and will pursue grant funding, with no formal approval required tonight.
Tri State Trails told the City of Newport Board of Commissioners on Feb. 9 that a two-way, protected bikeway running about seven-tenths of a mile from the Purple People Bridge at 3rd Street to 11th Street would improve pedestrian and bicyclist safety while preserving parking and the tree canopy.
The proposal, presented by Wade Johnston, executive director of Tri State Trails, grew from a feasibility study the group carried out with Compass Infrastructure and the city. Johnston said the project aims to provide a “safe and protected facility” that separates bicycles from pedestrians and motor vehicles while maintaining on-street parking where possible. “Our goal here is to have a 7 tenths of a mile, bikeway or trail that comes off the Purple People Bridge at 3rd Street and goes all the way down to 11th Street,” he said.
Johnston and Compass engineer Mike Yeager outlined three design approaches: a shared-use multiuse path, protected on-road bike lanes (two variations, 2a and 2b), and two one-way bike lanes (one per side). Yeager said the corridor has roughly 54 feet of usable width and is constrained by utility poles and existing stairs that encroach into the sidewalk; those constraints shaped how lanes and buffers would be configured. “We had 54 feet of usable space,” Yeager said, describing how the design preserves curb lines on one side and uses the existing right-of-way on the other.
The consulting team reported two rounds of public input: a residents/property-owners meeting and an open survey that received 107 responses, about 24 percent of which were from Newport stakeholders. The ranked-choice survey showed alternative 3 received the most first-choice votes but alternative 1 rose to the top when second choices were counted; when residents and property owners were isolated, they favored alternative 2a (an on-road protected lane that preserves parking). The consultants recommended alternative 2b, a two-way protected on-road bike lane that would maintain separation from pedestrians while accepting limited parking impacts near 11th Street.
The presentation included a tree-canopy analysis conducted with the city arborist and Urban Canopy Works; presenters said about 40 percent of existing trees on the corridor are the wrong species or near the end of their biological lifespan and recommended replanting more than 100 appropriate trees as part of any reconstruction.
Commissioners focused questions on whether the recommended bike facility would be elevated, how the curb and median provide separation from traffic, and whether Saratoga Street is already sufficiently safe for riders. Johnston and Yeager said the recommended option would place the bike lane at roadway elevation with a curb taper and tree buffers to separate users from motor traffic, arguing that a designated route would encourage riders to use a facility built for them and reduce conflicts on other, less-suitable streets.
On funding, the presenters described packaging options for competitive grants through the Ohio–Kentucky–Indiana Regional Council of Governments (OKI). Johnston noted OKI awards have a maximum of $5,000,000 and suggested phasing to fit maximum grant tranches and reduce repeat local match requests; commissioners asked about the city’s ability to provide required local matches and about alternative local or philanthropic funding.
Public commenters generally supported the concept. Jason Reeser of Reeser Bicycling Outfitters urged the commission to prioritize the Purple People Bridge connection, saying a safe tie-in would extend the region’s highest-used trail into Newport’s commercial areas. A representative of Urban Canopy Works asked whether the city has data on where bridge users travel upon crossing; presenters said prior demonstrations and outreach showed commuting and local trips but acknowledged some uncertainty in travel patterns since 2019.
No formal vote was taken on the bikeway recommendation at the Feb. 9 meeting; staff and the consultant asked for commissioner feedback and said they will finalize their report and pursue funding options with the city. The next steps identified were refining the design, clarifying phasing and costs for segments (especially around 3rd Street), and pursuing grant packaging with an eye to OKI requirements.
