Metro Councilwoman forms two committees in attempt to resolve Baton Rouge bike lane dispute

In an effort to resolve the simmering dispute over bike lanes on Glenmore and Hundred Oaks avenues, Metro Council member C. Denise Marcelle has formed two committees—one comprising bike lane supporters, the other bike lane opponents—tasked with meeting and coming up with a solution to the controversy.

Each committee has six members and will meet with the city-parish’s chief traffic engineer Ingolf Partenheimer and a representative of the parish attorney’s office in the weeks to come to discuss potential solutions.

Until the dispute is resolved, Marcelle has also asked cyclists not to call the Baton Rouge Police Department if someone is parked in a bike lane.

“I asked the cyclists not to call the police, and they said they want to reach a resolution,” Marcelle says. “I didn’t want the cyclists to put residents to the point where they don’t have any choice but to kill the bike lanes.”

Bike lanes have been in place on Glenmore and Hundred Oaks avenues for nine years, but they only recently became a source of controversy, after cycling enthusiasts insisted police crack down on violators parked in bike lanes. Though the move was intended to protect cyclists, it caused a backlash among many Glenmore and Hundred Oaks residents, angered that they were being told they couldn’t park in front of their homes.

Last Monday, residents from throughout the neighborhood met and clashed in heated exchanges, not only over the Glenmore and Hundred Oaks lanes but over bike lanes in general. Since then, tensions have eased and Marcelle is hoping the two sides will begin to discuss potential solutions. It was the second such meeting at which tempers flared, but no solutions were found.

Partenheimer believes a solution can be found, though cost will be an issue. Among the ideas on the table are to allow parking in bike lanes at night and to narrow the existing median on both streets and add a travel lane on each side.

“We’ll either find a compromise or we’ll have to figure something out because the bike lanes are an amenity,” Partenheimer says. “I have a really hard time pulling them without some sort of substitute plan.”

—Stephanie Riegel