Are Mendell and Cox Anti-Bike?
By Brent Woodcox
At this week's city council meeting, a minor controversy erupted over where bike lanes would be added to roads that are part of the city's BikeRaleigh plan this year.
You can check out the discussion here...
It includes one speaker bemoaning the construction of circular driveways as "destroying the character of the neighborhood." Yes, really.
So Councilors Mendell and Cox blocked bike lanes to prevent anyone the indignity of having to walk across the street after parking their cars. And to protect people who are worried about their lawn and gardening service not being inconvenienced when they visit their very expensive homes.
From the News & Observer...
“More than a dozen Raleigh streets will get bicycle lanes and markings this year, but some residents have complained about losing on-street parking.
Some people who live on Glen Eden Drive in west Raleigh pushed back against a plan to add bike lanes between Glenwood Avenue and Ridge Road. The original plan would have restricted parking on the north side of Glen Eden.
As a compromise, the city offered allowing parking in the bike lane on the north side except from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays — similar to existing restrictions on Ridge Road.
The compromise is appreciated but won’t fully address residents’ concerns, said City Council member Stef Mendell, who voted Tuesday to accept the plan but leave this section of Glen Eden Drive as it was. The council ultimately approved the plan, including leaving that portion of Glen Eden as it is.
Three other streets originally included in the BikeRaleigh Plan were either altered or removed.
The original plan would have eliminated parking on one side of Spruce Tree Way from Falls of Neuse Road to Wakefield Pines Drive in North Raleigh. But council member David Cox asked for sharrows, shared-lane markings for vehicles and bikes, instead of a bike lane to allow drivers to continue parking there.
“I think I will have an uprising if we do that,” he said of removing parking. ...”
The YIMBY movement is a visionary movement focused on advocating for policies that will transform our city into a dense, affordable pedestrian and cyclist's paradise.
The NIMBY movement is a reactionary movement that looks to block progress to protect the preferences of localized powerful populations instead of what is best for the city as a whole.
When it comes to these bike lanes, Councilors Mendell and Cox helped NIMBYs win the day.