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Committee orders required railroad-crossing marking for Verbunker Avenue, defers broader striping and bike-lane designation
Summary
Public works staff recommended and the committee agreed to install a railroad-crossing marking on Verbunker Avenue now; members deferred wider repainting or formal bike-lane designation because of parking concerns and upcoming chip-seal work.
The Public Works Committee directed staff to order a required railroad-crossing marking for Verbunker Avenue but declined to immediately create or enforce a formal bike lane by repainting both sides of the road.
Public works staff explained the current pavement layout: on a roughly 40-foot-wide street there are 8-foot parking/bike lanes and 12-foot travel lanes; a citizen had requested white-line markings about 18 years earlier. Staff said a prior estimate included $6,000 to repaint lane markings and to add railroad and school-crossing markings.
"We have to do railroad crossing regardless," public works staff said, citing state law requirements for the crossing marking and noting that cost for that element was about $1,500. Staff recommended proceeding with the railroad-crossing marking now and leaving other striping decisions to be addressed later if residents raise concerns.
Committee members debated whether repainting a white fog line or adding bike-lane striping would effectively create a bike trail and whether doing so should be accompanied by parking restrictions. Committee member Joe and others cautioned that designating a lane for bikes could spark resident backlash if it removed on-street parking. "If it is going to be labeled as a bike trail, then we shouldn't allow cars to park there," the chair said; other members favored leaving the lines off and reconsidering when chip-seal work is scheduled in two to three years.
A resident bicyclist, Herb, described several local roads where narrow fog lines work in practice and urged flexibility: "You could either paint a line that's too short for anybody to park, or you could do away with the lines. Either way," he said.
Staff said striping could be revisited at next year's public works meeting and that railroad-crossing markings would be ordered now. The committee agreed to proceed with the crossing marking and to take broader public comment before making changes that would restrict parking.
