Bike event shows how lanes would work

Dozens of bicyclists tested out what a bike lane would be like if a proposed project is designated on Pipestone Avenue.
The event May 14 to kick off Bike Week included children who hadn’t learned to pedal yet to parents and grandparents who like to bike for exercise. In addition to a three-block long bike lane for riders, there was a bicycle rodeo for kids, a bike safety check and a lesson on proper hand signals.
“My family is pretty big into biking,” said Shelby Kampmann. “We really like this idea.” She brought her son, Finnley Lacek, 2, to ride around the cones for the bike rodeo on a bike without pedals. He started using it last summer.
Ashley Headrick, whose son, Ryker, was enjoying the bike activities, said other towns have bike lanes and she hopes Flandreau will, too. “We like to ride bike as a family. I think that would be a great idea.”

Her sister, Bethany Thielsen, is a fan of the idea, too, and likes riding with her four children. “I think it would be wonderful. It would help give us a place to go from the park all the way through town,” she said. “Without my kids, I like to use it for exercise, too.”
Misty Lehn likes the idea for her family, but the lane felt less safe than she liked.
“This is too narrow for the drivers and the bicycles,” she said. “The shoulder of the road is best for cyclists and drivers but it needs to be shared with those who park there.”
 She said maybe there could be some other options. “We as cyclists just need to share the road with cars.”
The bike lane was set up to go both directions for three blocks, meeting the federal guidelines, said Jeff Pederson, city administrator. Parking lanes are eight-feet wide, the bike lane is five-feet wide, leaving 11 to 12 feet for cars in each direction.
There also are options for configuring the lanes differently, including having limited parking, he said. “It doesn’t have to be the same way on both sides,” he said.
The event was designed in part to get feedback from people, Pederson said. The city and proponents of the bike lane still would have to work with the state Department of Transportation, too.
A request with the state is new territory because he doesn’t know of other bike lanes on state highways, but in Flandreau, the road is just a wide city street, he said. There’s a good chance it could be considered because of the character of the road, he said.