Ok, this is a subject that I swore I would never talk about on the Newburyport Political Blog. Those of you who know me, know that I like the bike lanes. I’m really tired of people backing me into corners at various stores in town and telling me just how much they hate the bike lanes. It’s gotten really, really old.

But, even I’m wondering what the new mayor is going to do about the bike lanes. I’m sure he doesn’t like being backed into corners and lectured about the subject any more than I do. However, I think I remember in his campaign literature, something about finishing the bike lanes. To be exact it said:

“Newburyport has initiated a number of potentially beneficial projects that have not been successful due, in part, to the lack of effective communication by the city. An example of this is the High Street Bike lane project.”

And we are definitely still in “bike lane no man’s land,” “bike lane limbo.” And even I’m beginning to think we need to do something one way or another.

Now, it will cost a whole lot of money to remove those bike lanes properly, like grinding them down, black paint is just not going to do it. And with that scenario, it’s not exactly going to help the surface of the road which is only 2 inches thick (I’m not sure of the exact depth, but basically it’s a resurfacing job, not a full depth reconstruction.)

Of course the other thing to do would be to properly finish the job, putting in the rest of the signage (the previous Newburyport City Council voted for this) so that people know what to do. I think putting in the textured crosswalks that look like brick and planting a few trees, part of the High Street Master Plan, would be a good thing too. (And starting to put in the brick sidewalks, if we ever get more funding for the High Street Master Plan, would be great.)

It’s time for Mayor John Moak to do something about the bike lanes. And I’ll be interested in what he decides to do.

Mary Eaton, Newburyport