ALBERT LEA, Minn.- A Southern Minnesota city is considering adding bike lanes to one of its streets.
For one Albert Lea cyclist they can't come soon enough.
On Wednesday night Albert Lea City Council members held a public hearing to discuss the possibility of adding lanes along Front Street.
This Monday they will put it to a vote. The project will cost about $47,000 initially and more than $20,000 a year after that to maintain the lanes.
Casey Ciffra uses the route to get to and from his job at the YMCA on his bike. He pedals just about everywhere.
"It's nice cause it keeps me active, make sure I get my exercise every day then that way plus I save a lot of money on car insurance and gas and stuff like that."
On Monday, his ride home came to an abrupt halt.
"It had just gotten dark out and the guy was coming the other way from me and took a left turn in front of me, and didn't really have a chance to get out of the way," he said.
The crash left Ciffra with a good cut on the chin and without a bike. Now he's hoping the city considers adding a bike lane along Front Street. It would connect the 1.5 miles between Highway 69 and the Blazing Star Trail in Albert Lea.
He says it would get more people biking.
"I think it could have the potential to do that, people would realize it's a viable option and we have things set aside for them to do that safely."
Not everyone is certain bike lanes are the right fit for Front Street, with an elementary school so close by, one city council member is concerned they may be two dangerous for kids.
"It's not safe way to get the kids for their transportation on bicycles if you mix em in with the cars especially where there are a lot of buses, a lot of cars," said Council Member Larry Anderson.
He favors a shared user path. He says there is plenty of support for adding bike lanes, but money may be a problem.
"We all want to have the connectivity of bike lanes to paths and trails throughout the city, but what we need to worry about is what it's gonna cost to provide that and is it fiscally responsible to put that on the burden of the taxpayers at this time."
Anderson doesn't think the bike lanes will happen unless the city gets a grant to help pay for the project.
Ciffra is willing to wait.
"I think it's the way of the future, you know cause of our dependency on oil and stuff like that, maybe biking is the better option," he said.
The lanes would also restrict parking along the route.
Anderson says one business owner along Front Street is in support of adding the lanes, because it would encourage his employees to bike to work.
About a dozen people attended Wednesday night's public hearing. Anderson plans on bringing up other options at Monday nights meeting.
