Downtown streets are confusing, frustrating

To the editor:

The bike lanes and traffic patterns on Cedar Rapids' Third Avenue were not planned well. Bike lanes are not being used enough to justify the expense, confusion and general sense of frustration.

In four weeks I saw 16 bicycles on Third Avenue. Five in bike lanes, 10 on sidewalks and one in the middle of Third Ave. The city spent a lot of money to remove traffic signals and repaint the street. All of this is for very few bikes that will use the lanes for about five months of the year. Businesses lost 15-20 parking spaces on Third Ave. We also wonder happens with snow removal?

Other issues confront two-way Third Avenue: traffic gets backed up clear to the courthouse when trains go through downtown, bridge lanes with diagonally parked pickups and SUV's are too narrow, and the new parallel parking is just weird. The bike lanes and two-way traffic with four-way stops is not friendly to motorists or pedestrians. It is a guessing game as to who stops, if pedestrians can cross safely and watch for bikes.

I pity visitors to downtown who try to understand lane markings and bicycle paint on the streets. Plus, Third Avenue changes six times back and forth from one-way to two-way traffic. I've had an office downtown for 35 years. I came back after the flood but now wonder why. The mayor and council may have been striving for a 'blue zone” project, but it leaves most seeing 'red.”

Martha Quint

Cedar Rapids