Public meeting to be held about proposal to add more than 8 miles of bike lanes

Bike lovers in El Paso could be on the verge of a big win with the arrival of a plan that would bring more than 8 miles of new bike lanes to the city.

“We’re looking towards incorporating this multimodal by following our bike plan,” said Yvette Hernandez, Director of the Capital Improvement Department Yvette Hernandez. “We want to make sure that if we get a biker using our bike lanes, that they do have that connectivity to get around the city safely.”

Many residents are expected at a Wednesday hearing on a bike lane proposal that would have them installed at locations around the city.

Those locations are as follows:

— Robinson Avenue from west of Oregon Street to Virginia Street.

— Los Angeles Drive from Oregon Street to Rio Grande Avenue.

— Alabama Street from Grant Avenue to north of Atlas Avenue.

— Fort Boulevard from Alabama Street to Dyer Street.

— Viscount Boulevard from Montwood Drive to the Interstate Highway 10 (I-10) westbound

frontage road.

If the proposal is passed, the city will also re-stripe existing roadways to improve bicyclist safety.

This project is being done in part to make the city less reliable on car transportation and to try to make the city go a littler greener.

“We want encourage the citizens to use an alternate of transportation. we really want to encourage the use of our bicycle lanes and that multi modal transportation,” Hernandez said.

The city is looking to start construction of the lanes this winter with the hopes that it will be open to the public by the summer of 2020.