Can you imagine a Spenard corridor like this?

Send an email using our template by clicking here. Let your voice be heard. 

What’s this about?

Spenard Road (between Minnesota and Benson) will be rebuilt soon to better fit the businesses, residents, and wider Anchorage community. Unfortunately, the project's current design features unsafe and high-stress bike facility designs that will not be usable for most people. 
*If you want to get involved send an email using our template. 

This DOT project proposes:
Option 1. 8-foot sidewalk, 4-feet bicycle lane (unprotected), 2-feet of curb and gutter.

Option 2. 12-foot multi-use pathway made up of a 6-foot sidewalk and a 6-foot bike lane (it's unclear if there will be a separation of each section).

Option 3. 7 ½ foot sidewalk, 4 1/2 feet bicycle lane (unprotected), and 2-feet of curb and gutter.
*Note: all design options have two 11-foot travel lanes (for vehicles) and a 13-foot center turn lane.

The Bike Anchorage Advocacy Committee opposes unprotected bike lanes on this core community corridor that should be accessible to everyone. Spenard road will not see a redesign like this for another 20 to 30 years. So, let's make Spenard a route for all the people in Anchorage!

This petition calls on DOT to provide protected bike lanes all along the Spenard Rd project (Benson Blvd to Minnesota Dr). If you want to get involved send an email using our template. 

What are "Protected Bike Lanes"?

Protected bike lanes offer physical protection to people on bikes and increase driver sightline to people biking at driveways and intersections. They are what most cities are using to enable more people to go by bike.

Protected bike lanes are safe and functional for people of all abilities (that means YOU and your family). In contrast, unprotected bike lanes (meaning bike lanes marked only with paint) will be considered usable to only ~3% of people.

*Examples of urban protected bike lanes in the United States

Is there enough room on Spenard for protected bike lanes?

Yes! 65-feet of right-of-way space provides the necessary room for traffic levels while also offering these modern bikes and walking amenities. It is possible and will take community members like you to speak up and encourage our city planners for the much-needed change. As currently proposed by DOT, the new Spenard redesign proposes the highest level of stress bike facilities and is considered usable only by the elite “strong and fearless” riders. 

Does the Community want protected bike lanes? 

The Spenard Corridor plan and project review meetings recorded overwhelming business and community support for modern bike and walkability. As a result, we were surprised that the Alaska DOT project team released roadway diagrams that go so strongly against the planning and community input years by omitting working bike facilities. 

Here 7 important reasons to build protected bike lanes on Spenard:

1) Safety and Usability. Protected bike lanes will make the street much safer for people riding bikes or other rolling options by physically protecting them from the dangers of cars and trucks along the roadway.

Rather than expecting bicyclists and other moderate-speed users to travel on the sidewalk, providing a dedicated bicycle facility will provide a better experience for pedestrians and people with disabilities. It will also make bicyclists more visible when crossing the many side streets and business pullouts of Spenard.

The street will be safer and less congested for everyone—including people driving.

2) Business and Midtown community success. Protected bike lanes mean business and are hugely beneficial for local businesses, the nearby residential livability, and property values. Protected bike lanes will help businesses recover from the hits they've taken during COVID by bringing an entirely new stream of foot and bike traffic.

Protected bike lanes allow "all-ability" use by the community by making this corridor a welcoming area to spend time... not just to drive through. When a street is bike and foot-accessible to all community members, local commerce and neighborhoods thrive!

3) Equity. Protected bike lanes on Spenard will provide people in outer Midtown a faster, more affordable alternative to driving. A city's ability to provide its community safe and practical transportation options beyond owning a vehicle is the number one factor for ensuring at-risk community members can stay and move above the poverty line.

4) Climate goals. By encouraging people to bike rather than drive, we'll get closer to achieving our city's goal of reducing carbon emissions by 80% by 2050. In addition to helping us achieve long-term goals, protected bike lanes will immediately make the neighborhood's air cleaner and reduce noise pollution.

5) Accessibility. Protected bike lanes benefit younger, elder, and people with physical disabilities by giving them a safe, fast, and comfortable way to get around on bikes and other mobility devices. In addition, they allow them to be more independent by not relying on cars and other people for every trip.

6) Winter City Infrastructure and maintenance budgets. Many winter cities in North America and around the Arctic Circle have experienced increases in bike usage after implementing an urban network of protected and low-stress bike lanes.  The rise in the use of bikes for transportation reduces the cost of construction and maintenance. Every additional percentage of trips made by bicycle will save our state's budget millions with reduced wear, tear, and collision damage on our roads.

Protected bike lanes are also what winter cities have moved to because they are a better option to allow easy, cost-effective year-round maintenance (including winters). In contrast, painted bike lanes, which are not feasible to maintain during winter and spring.

7) Building for the future. Now is our opportunity to ask for the Spenard that we want to experience for the coming decades.

If you support this vision for Spenard, please join our community movement.
Send your petition using our email template and share it with others.