Parts of Aurora Avenue and 70th Street in Urbandale will be updated this summer with new safety features for bicyclists and motorists.
The Urbandale City Council on Tuesday, May 20 approved plans and a more than $555,000 bid from a Des Moines paving contractor to make modifications on Aurora and 70th that are supported by Iowa bike advocates. Residents have had concerns about the changes, but the city said it has incorporated some of their recommendations shared at public information meetings last fall.
Construction is expected to start after June 2 and be finished by Aug. 15, including:
- On Aurora Avenue, four lanes will be reduced to two, or sometimes three with a center left turn lane, and bike lanes will be added from 70th Street to 86th Street.
- On 70th, painted pavement signs will notify drivers that bicyclists can share the road from Hickman Road to Urbandale Avenue. Lanes from Urbandale Avenue to Meredith Drive will be reduced to two lanes from four, allowing for bike lanes shared with on-street parking.
- The speed limit on 70th Street north of Aurora Avenue also will be decreased to 25 mph from 35 mph. Areas where parking is currently prohibited around the intersection of Aurora and 70th will be extended. And a new no parking area will be added on the northbound lane of 70th near the intersection with Meredith Drive.
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Larry Loss and Luke Hoffman of the Iowa Bicycle Coalition and Scott Sumpter of Bike Iowa all spoke in favor of the project.
Hoffman, the Iowa Bicycle Coalition's executive director, said in an emailed statement to the Des Moines Register that his organization counts Urbandale's project as "a major local win" in addition to recent legislation approved by Gov. Kim Reynolds including cell phones being banned for use by drivers unless in hands-free mode.