Progress continues on the reconstruction of Leonor K Sullivan Blvd. Major construction has been completed on the southern half of the street from the Arch to Chouteau Ave. Flooding over the summer stopped construction on the northern half to Cole St for about 2 months and the project is now slated for completion by the end of the year.
Included as part of the reconstruction of Leonor K Sullivan Blvd is a two-way bike path on the east side of the street. The path will extend 1.5 miles end to end and will serve as excellent way to visit the riverfront or bypass downtown.
The best part of the new path is that it’s not another bike lane, rather it’s physically separated from the road by about 5 ft. And thanks to the fact that it parallels the riverfront, there’s no need to stop along the entire length of the path as there are no cross streets, traffic lights, or stop signs along the way. In short, the path is close to ideal.
The only aspect of the bike path that is imperfect are the crossings across the access roads to the riverfront parking. As indicated by signs on the side of the road, cars are supposed to yield to bicyclists and pedestrians. However, there are no pavement markings for cars—yield triangles or zebra stripes—only sidewalk curb ramps and a continuation of the concrete road surface that visually imply pedestrians must yield to cars.
Below: How access could have looked with better prioritization for bicyclists and pedestrians.
Ideally, the bike path and sidewalk would be continous, raised, and visually distinct across the parking lot access road. Almost as good would be zebra striping for the sidewalk and green paint for the bike path.
