Petaluma residents in 2 camps over D Street bike lane proposal

A city proposal to build better bike lanes on D Street has emerged as a contentious issue between two camps: those who say the lanes will take away parking and make the road more dangerous for seniors and other residents, and those who say improved bike lanes are much needed for a safer transportation alternative on the heavily trafficked road.

All agree that safety is a priority. But opinions differ on how to achieve it.

While D Street serves as a historic gateway through Petaluma’s west side, it is also considered part of the county’s “high injury network,“ where collisions occur more frequently for pedestrians and autos than on other roads. In response to that problem, the city has proposed plans to redesign the road with improved bike lanes as well as new curb extensions, new crosswalks and median refuge islands.

The proposal was originally slated to reach the City Council in March, but has been postponed to April, said Mayor Kevin McDonnell at Monday night’s City Council meeting.

“We are aggressively looking at ways to continue to improve safety around town, so stay with us on that,” he said.

D Street already has narrow bike lanes on either side, which share space with street parking. Running parallel with D Street is B Street, a wider road with separate, unprotected, three-foot-wide bike lanes – and many of the people opposed to a new D Street bike lane point to B Street as a safer alternative.

In an upcoming meeting now tentatively scheduled for April 8, city staff plan to present two bike lane options for the City Council to consider: 1) new bike lanes in both directions, with limited parking on one side of D Street between 4th and 8th streets and between 8th Street and Laurel Avenue, and 2) no changes to the current bike lanes.

Both proposals otherwise include traffic calming, bike and pedestrian improvements, said Bjorn Griepenburg, project manager with the city’s Public Works and Utilities Department.

The proposal to remove parking on D Street came about after a city-led study showed that street parking is underutilized there, with an average parking utilization rate of 14%, according to the city’s community workshop from April 2023. Street parking would remain on the stretches of road that had higher utilization rates, according to workshop presentation slides.

Meanwhile, results from a city-led survey conducted in May 2023 found that out of 261 respondents, D Street residents strongly opposed the idea of improved bike lanes with less parking, while those not living on D Street strongly supported it.

Though the council will need to provide direction on whether or not the proposal moves forward, “We are targeting installation of the pilot project this summer,” Griepenburg said, noting that the public will have opportunities to provide feedback on the project.

Residents weigh in

Many local residents have submitted letters to City Council, as well as to the Argus-Courier, expressing opinions both for and against the bike lane proposal.

“Please do not install bike lanes on either side of D Street. This is a very busy street, and we all want it to be safe. However, parking is a big issue that needs to be remembered,” wrote Gwen Petro in a letter to the council.

Petro noted that as a member of the United Methodist Church, she believes reduced parking could affect the many seniors in the congregation “who cannot walk several blocks to find parking.”

Others voiced similar concerns.

“I am all for safer biking but believe D Street is not the best choice,” wrote Pamela Couch to council members. “I walk on D Street every day with my dog and people drive fast and trucks roar by. I prefer measures that would slow traffic down.”

But she added, “I believe a bike lane would offer a sense of false security to the bikers.”

Some conversely said that improved bike lanes would in fact reduce traffic speeds and facilitate safer bike and pedestrian travel.

“We believe the bike lanes are essential for traffic calming to work on D Street,” said one resident who lives off the D Street extension and asked to remain anonymous because it has become a “hot-button issue” with neighbors.

New bike lanes “will be necessary to transform D Street from a high speed rural arterial that functions as the third lane of the 101 into a complete street that will encourage more non-automotive use,” the resident said.

The resident hoped the added lanes could help his children to safely bike or walk downtown, and would connect people to the forthcoming extension of Helen Putnam Park.

"My dream is to have safe bike lanes, crosswalks, and sidewalks all the way from the SMART train up D Street to what will be the new trailhead entering Helen Putnam Park at the red barns,” said Greg Colvin, a Petaluma resident who for several years was involved with the Scott Ranch development project eventually approved for a 58-acre lot abutting the 47-acre extension of Helen Putnam Regional Park.

While the main entrance to Petaluma’s neighboring county park is on Chileno Valley Road, which is mostly only accessible by car, a new entrance planned for D Street would add an access point that is walking distance for many west side residents.

“We’re bringing the park down to the people, now we need to bring the people safely to the park,” Colvin said.

Given the so-called Red Barn Complex at that location, Colvin believes the forthcoming D Street entrance could be a crucial new center for Helen Putnam Park, underscoring the importance of bike access.

Roger McErlane, a member of the Planning Commission, said he is concerned that new bike lanes will alter the street’s essence.

McErlane said he considers D Street a “very high-image road” for the city due to being an attractive boulevard with large houses, large lots, and beautifully landscaped front yards.

“It’s really a classic high-image boulevard, an important boulevard for the identity of the city. It has been since the late 1800s,” he said.

But McErlane said he’s concerned the study is being done by traffic engineers and bike advocates and doesn’t invoke community planning to contemplate “How to respect D Street, how to honor D Street, how to make sure you retain the high street,” he said.

“There already are bike lanes on B Street so they don’t have to move anything. They link up in the same location either end, so B Street is a perfectly safe, much slower street than D Street, much safer for bicycles and much more effective. Trying to put bicycles in a very tight dimension on D street, you're asking for trouble. You’re asking for problems,” he said.

For more information on the D Street project, go to cityofpetaluma.org/d-street-quick-build.

You can reach Staff Writer Jennifer Sawhney at 707-521-5346 or jennifer.sawhney@pressdemocrat.com. On X (Twitter) @sawhney_media.