Appleby Road has been a designated on-street bike route since 2007. The street is 30 feet wide and currently has 10-foot driving lanes and two 5-foot bike lanes on each side. Average speeds on this street are 33 MPH with daily traffic volume of 5,446. The existing 5-foot striped bike lanes do not meet current All-Ages-And-Abilities standards for safe bicycle facilities.
Plans and funding have been approved for an:
- 8-foot two-way protected bike facility on the south side of the street from the Goodwill parking lot to Bishop St.
- 7-foot protected eastbound climbing lane and shared downhill lane westbound between the Razorback Regional Greenway and Bob Younkin Dr.
Protection for the bike facilities will consist of a bolt-down modular plastic “Tuff Curb” specifically designed for protected bike lanes. The Tuff Curbs will be spaced every 10 feet include built in reflectors and will be green in color. The Tuff Curbs are 8” wide x 40” long x 2” high and will not negatively impact street sweeping or emergency vehicles. Traffic delineators have not been included the design but could be easily added to Tuff Curbs to increase visibility for drivers and or snow plow operators.
This protected bike lane will be an important connection for future Plainview extension and Rolling Hills Dr. improvements which include side paths. The long-term goal for this bikeway will be to replace the plastic Tuff Curbs with more permanent concrete curbs for better protection and lowered maintenance costs.