Bangor has a new bike lane that runs about 0.7 miles along State Street.
The bike lane runs from the intersection of Broadway and State Street to the intersection of Hancock and State streets, and it was painted last week, City Engineer John Theriault said Friday.
The improvement was part of two larger Maine Department of Transportation projects completed earlier this year, he said. The projects included removing and replacing road pavement, curb adjustments and installing a curb bump-out at the crosswalk at Birch Street.
Bangor has multi-use trails open to bicyclists and paved shoulders on roadways, but painted symbols make this the city’s first marked bike lane, Theriault said. The improvement falls in line with the city council’s vision, which calls for a safer, more accessible downtown for pedestrians and bicyclists, he said.
“We had the width there, so we figured we’d stripe it and see how it worked,” he said. “If this is something the public wants us to keep doing, we’ll do it.”
Developing a bicycle plan, including the implementation of bike lanes, shared roadways, pathways, bicycle parking and secure bicycle storage, is part of the city’s 2022 comprehensive plan.
“When cities create environments where it is safe, convenient and pleasant to walk, bike and take public transit, more people do so, resulting in a healthier, happier and more equitable community,” the plan said.
Striking a balance of roadway width, sidewalks, parking lanes and other elements is important, the city engineer said. This area had about 50 feet of pavement width, which was enough to experiment with the addition of a bike lane, he said.
State Street now has 11-foot travel lanes for vehicles, a 5-foot bike lane and parking varies from 8 to 9 feet, he said.