Next week the City Council will remove bicycle riding restrictions on portions of the K Street Pedestrian Mall from 12th Street to 7th Street. This will allow bicycle traffic throughout K Street with the exception of Westfield Downtown Plaza. Allowing bicycles on K Street will provide a safer environment for slower, more casual riders than the faster J and L Streets.
A stakeholder group was assembled who discussed at length the safety concerns associated with this project. The stakeholder group consisted of representatives from Regional Transit, the Police Department, a representative from the Disabilities Advisory Commission (DAC), Sacramento Area Bicycle Advocates and Economic Development. The stakeholder group identified several safety concerns when mixing light rail, bicycle and pedestrian traffic.
• The light rail tracks are a potential fall hazard for cyclists.
• Potential pedestrian/bicycle conflicts.
• Lack of signalized intersections for bicycle crossing.
Of course, once the "test section" allowing cars on K Street opens up, you can pretty much forget about bikes on K Street, since they will only be allowed in between the yellow "truncated cone" areas, which will be taken over by cars.
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