The city council will decide on tomorrow night whether to keep the bike lane or not in the process of widening sidewalks on H Street.  In a split vote, the Arcata Transportation Safety Committee recommended eliminating the bike lane and maintianing parking on both sides of the street, as well as the two motor-vehicle through lanes.  A motion to instead keep the bike lane and eliminate parking on one side of the street failed by one vote.

The committee's mistake (and I have been a part of it) has been to see it as coming down to a choice between a bicycle lane and parking, rather than looking at the larger picture.  True, keeping the bike lane is more consistent with our general plan's goals to develop a balanced transportation system, and our climate action plan goals of reducing our emissions to 80% below 1990 levels by 2050.

But there are more universal issues at work.  If fewer people bike downtown, there is going to be less parking, Those fifteen parking spaces that would be "lost" are regained if 15 people bike downtown instead of driving.  Once everyone gets there, the option that keeps the bike lane provides us with wider sidewalks, because car parking takes up more room than a bike lane.  That means a better pedestrian experience for everyone downtown, whether they walk, bike, ride the bus or drive to get there.  Studies have shown that the quality of the pedestrian experience has a greater impact on shopping than parking availability.