Pueblo will remove bike lanes from a busy one-way street

The City of Pueblo plans to remove bike lanes from a busy one-way street, just a year after they were painted.

The lines on Fifth Street are unique, they run in both directions. Those who want the lanes gone call them dangerous for cyclists and confusing for drivers, but cyclists say the city is making a mistake.

“Kind of devastating to hear the news,” cyclist Katy Johnson said.

Johnson and her family use the bike lanes on Fifth Street all the time.

“At least once a week if not more,” Johnson said.

But the markings on the street will be gone by mid-November.

“It makes a huge difference riding on the lanes, the cars aren’t nearly as close to us,” Johnson said.

The lanes were installed with a $100,000 grant from Kaiser Permanente a little more than a year ago.

The grant was to fund experimental bike lanes for two years, ending in June 2017.

But city manager, Sam Azad says the experiment will have to end early at a cost to the city.

“It’s going to cost the city some money, I’m not exactly sure how much,” Azad said.

One of the biggest reasons for having the lane removed is it’s confusing for drivers.

“It’s confusing, it hindered parking for their businesses and deliveries for their businesses,” Pueblo City Council member Lori Winner said.

Winner says her constituents aren’t happy with the design, and the experimental lanes need to go.

“This particular design is just a disaster waiting to happen,” Winner said. “We’re all about bike lanes, just not this one.”

Johnson claims the opposite, arguing the road is easy to navigate.

“Everything is well marked,” Johnson said. “I don’t know how they would get confused.”

Right now, there are no plans in the works to add a different style of bike lane on Fifth Street.