Salisbury to create protected bike lane on Waverly

Waverly Drive, a street designated as one of Salisbury’s first bicycle routes, is slated for work to make a protected two-way bike lane.

First, the City Council must vote to eliminate two parking spaces in front of houses near South Boulevard, said Amanda Pollack, the city’s director of infrastructure and development.

“The only on-street parking on the entire street are those two spaces,” she told City Council members.

An ordinance to remove parking on Waverly Drive between Carroll Street and South Boulevard will be introduced at a City Council meeting on Tuesday night.

The spaces were created to force southbound traffic away from the curb to give residents there a better sight line while backing out of their driveways because shrubbery was obstructing their view, Pollack said. 

Trimming the vegetation is a better way to improve the sight line, she said. Additionally, the work will narrow the traffic lanes which is expected to reduce the speed of cars driving by.

A city employee talked to nearby residents about eliminating the spaces, and none objected, she said.

A bicycle route on Waverly Drive was created by ordinance six years ago.

“It was one of the first bike routes we did back in 2012,” Pollack said.

The city now plans to rebuild the bike route to increase safety for cyclists by creating a protected lane on the east side of the street for bicycles only using paint striping and permanent concrete planter with crape myrtle, dogwood, Eastern redbud and other species.

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Similar cycle tracks are planned for Carroll Street and Fitzwater Street, Pollack said.

The cycle track planned for Waverly Drive is consistent with the Salisbury Bicycle Network Plan that was adopted in 2016 to offer an alternative mode of transportation, improve public health and to promote Salisbury as a cycling destination.

The city’s plan creates a network of bicycle routes and facilities to safely and easily link residential neighborhoods to shopping and recreation areas, and to link up with areas outside city limits.

When the bike share program SPIN moved to town, it proved to be wildly popular in Salisbury with more 15,000 rides, 6,000 unique riders and 16,000 miles ridden in the less than five months of operations. 

But in July, SPIN pulled its bicycles off the streets as the company shifts to electric motorized scooters.
Mayor Jake Day has said that two bike share companies were putting in bids, and the city and Salisbury University, which are partners in the bike share operation, were jointly reviewing proposals from other operators, he said. 

The city also hosts Salisbury Bike Party events that open to anyone with a bicycle. It meets at 6:30 p.m. typically on the second Friday of each month at the Government Office Building.

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