People in Searcy, Arkansas are getting excited about the idea of expanding their community’s bike trail:
Momentum is growing in Searcy like an old-fashioned bike rider going down a hill with his foot on the coaster brakes, with citizens talking about more places to ride bicycles without competing with cars and trucks, and for more parking spaces and entry points on the existing bike trail.
Overlooking the fact that using coaster brakes would decrease, rather than increase, momentum, there does seem to be growing enthusiasm for the idea of improving bicycling opportunities in Searcy, with talk of expanding the trail around the western and southern part of the city and connecting it to new housing, parks, and medical facilities.
They’re also looking to improve a very dangerous road crossing:
Another idea to improve the current bike trail is to reroute it under the Beebe-Capps Expressway, providing a way for trail users to go from Market Street to the sports complex without crossing Searcy’s busiest thoroughfare. Traffic at that point on the expressway goes 50 miles per hour. Although some cyclists using the trail cross by going down the expressway’s shoulder to the traffic light at the Benton Street intersection, then coming back on the expressway’s opposite shoulder to the other trailhead, some use a “Frogger” technique to dodge dangerous traffic and cross the highway — action not recommended by safety officers.
Yikes, that sounds like it was poor design to begin with!
There are also discussions of improving on-street bicycling facilities, with bike lanes and expanding bike route signage. Hmmm, could Searcy have designs on becoming the state’s first Bicycle Friendly Community?
Read more from The Daily Citizen: Bike trail expansion ideas keep rolling along
