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Downtown London Proposed Bike Routes

Our organization is working with the City of London to improve the city street routes to connect the Prairie Grass Trail and Roberts Pass sections of the Ohio to Erie Trail. Currently, the signed route follows Maple Street to Center Street to Midway Street. Recently, we surveyed 82 cyclists and interviewed 66 of these to learn the public's opinion of the current route. Several felt that it was okay, a few said they would not use a street route for any reason, and many said they did not like the Center Street route due to some rough spots and the speed of traffic in some areas. Also, the route did not show many city amenities to the cyclists.

The route is an important issue to the city and to trail users, especially since clearing has started on the Camp Chase Trail section of the Ohio to Erie Trail, which will eventually connect Cincinnati, Dayton, Xenia, and Springfield to Columbus through London.

FMCPT is proposing two routes through London. One is a very low traffic route that does not cross any railroad tracks and goes past two park facilities and is designed to be a simple by-pass around London. The other alternative is a business route that would direct riders through the heart of the London Historical District, past restaurants, the library, ice cream shop, near ATM's, a coffee shop, mini-grocery, the historical county court house, police department, and close to the historical museum.

(Please note that the current industrial leg of the Norfolk Southern Railroad is not available for trail development parallel to their low usage track per their company policy. This would be the desired off-road route if it becomes available sometime in the future.)

Another important aspect of the project would be a relatively short multi-purpose sidewalk along the west side of Midway Street that would connect the current trail to W. High Street on the north and Richardson Avenue on the south. This multi-purpose sidewalk would be intended to be a safe transition from the off-road trail to the street routes through London. It should also be noted that the railroad crossing on W. High Street is in good repair and fairly smooth. However, the Maple Street railroad crossing includes three tracks and needs rehabilitated similar to the High Street crossing.

One of our most controversial issues will be the proposed remarking of W. High Street (US 42) from Midway Street (SR 38) to Madison Road from a four-lane street to a three-lane street with a dedicated left turn lane. In many studies that we have referred to, a three-lane street handles as much traffic as a four-lane (with the current traffic counts in that area) but does so with fewer accidents. Also, this allows enough street surface to include a marked bicycle lane on each side of the street, or just an unmarked wider lane with bicycle route signs. In any case, at this point we are not advocating additional curbed lanes for the bike lanes or changing the physical makeup of the street. We are simply proposing remarking the street to include bike lanes, or just leave the lanes wider so motor vehicles can share the lane with bicycle traffic - depending on feedback from the public, cyclists, ODOT requirements, and City of London recommendations.

Below you will find a map that shows the two routes. (A link to a larger pdf version of the map is also provided so that you can zoom in for more detail, or print out the map if you like.) We also plan to have a map kiosk along the trail on each side of London to show the routes, restaurants, and other amenities that cyclists may be interested in finding in the city.

Even though many of you are not from London, your suggestions are still most appreciated. Since our Chamber of Commerce and London Downtown Association are most interested in accommodating cyclists coming through London, we are interested in hearing from as many folks as possible. Your opinions of pro or con are requested and highly valued. You can direct your comments to any, or all, of the following: