Later this year, TDOT will be paving Main Street from Broad Street to Dodds Avenue in Chattanooga, Tennessee.  Through that effort, the state is also slated to remove an existing bike lane between Market and Broad, instead replacing it with wider lanes for vehicles directly against an elementary school and where multiple crashes have occurred.  The state's decision has impacts far beyond the short 1/4-mile segment of the bike lane itself.

Click here for the full set of TDOT's approved Main Street striping plans. (It begins on sheet 15.)

Here's why that matters:

• Safety context is critical.  This segment of Main Street receives heavy foot and bicycle traffic, and it is the home to an elementary school where children attend Battle Academy.  The segment also witnessed a well-documented 2021 crash where four Georgia planners were struck and one of them - a Vision Zero Planner from ATLDOT - tragically died several months later from injuries she sustained.  The cruel irony in this crash is that the group was in Chattanooga attending a joint TN-GA Planning Conference.  The impacted individuals quite literally spend their careers dedicated to safer streets and enhanced mobility options, as well as a higher quality of life in the built environment.  
• Design is a determinant for safety.  Bicycle lanes are one of the a federally-recognized proven safety countermeasures by the USDOT - Federal Highway Administration (FHWA).  Along urban 2-lane roads like Main Street, bicycle lanes are shown to reduce 30% of total crashes.  Conversely, the removal of safer facilities creates space for more driver error and higher speeds.
• Narrower lanes are proven to calm traffic and increase driver awareness.  Studies and other accepted transportation resources indicate that narrow lanes can help calm traffic and enhance safety for all road users (Johns Hopkins 2023 Report).  The National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO) indicates that reducing lane widths to 10 feet can reduce speeding and improve pedestrian crossing safety. Moreover, bike lanes are crucial for offering cyclists a secure space, encouraging other travel options and reducing traffic congestion for drivers where space is finite in urban settings.
• Decisions on Main Street indicate a broader TDOT precedent.  This segment of Main Street is short in length - only 0.25-miles across a few blocks, and it has a less than ideal bike lane design.  Unprotected.  Faded paint.  It is lacking in comfort.  However, its removal is not the solution and unfortunately reflects a broader direction for TDOT on several other urban state routes that stand to be negatively impacted by TDOT's decision:  Dodson Avenue, S Willow Street, Glass Street, W 40th Street.  These are all examples of other state routes which have 10' travel lanes and 5-6' bike lanes.  The direction on Main Street shows us these other state route bike facilities are on the chopping block when those routes are paved and travel lanes widened.  It will undoubtedly compromise safety for even more Chattanoogans who live and work in neighborhoods where vehicle ownership is lower.
• TDOT and the City both have adopted policies to address multimodal needs and context-sensitive safety solutions.  Chattanooga City Council passed an ordinance establishing a Complete Streets policy and putting it into City Code in 2014 (see Ordinance 12822).  That was followed by TDOT's 2015 "Multimodal Access Policy".  In 2022, our regionally-focused Metropolitan Planning Organization (the CHCNGA-MPO) also worked vigorously to adopt a resolution that commits to a "Safe System Approach" partly in response to the aforementioned tragedy.  This approach is intended to work toward a national goal of zero traffic deaths.

Bike Walk Chattanooga contends that wide lanes have no place on our urban streets, particularly where they compel the removal of existing safety countermeasures such as bicycle lanes.  The context tells us that safer measures are needed, instead of counterproductive measures that escalate the risk for everyone who travels this corridor.  The most vulnerable travel modes - trips made by foot and on bicycle - stand to be impacted most.  

We are asking TDOT to act swiftly to prepare a contract change order that retains safety measures in key locations.  Instead of widening all lanes to 11' regardless of urban setting, we urge TDOT to consider the context and retain 10' lanes and keep parking widths as-is.  We ask the state to implement Complete Street principles - an approach known for its efficacy in enhancing the safety and accessibility of all users, whether by foot, bicycle, or car. Specifically, this would involve maintaining and enhancing the bicycle infrastructure, optimizing pedestrian crossings, and narrowing vehicle lanes to calm traffic.

Through this petition, we aim to demonstrate to TDOT the community's demand for prioritizing safety for all users in their redesign efforts.  Safety for TDOT should not exclude a travel mode that's already using the street today.  Creating a safer roadway environment on Main Street is not just a necessity for those who live and travel along the street every day - safer street designs also pay a respectful tribute to the lives we have tragically lost from reckless driver behavior.  

Please sign this petition to advocate for safer lanes on Main Street.