By Howard Packowitz

After weeks of public hearings, the Bloomington City Council unanimously agreed Monday night to amend the city’s master plan for bicyclists to include bike lanes on one the city’s busiest roadways.

The council’s vote was nine-to-nothing despite mixed opinions among city residents about more bike riders on Washington St. Some see more accidents, while others believe conditions will be safer because the narrower lanes and influx of new riders will slow down the traffic.

While Alderman Jamie Mathy backed the plan, he said downtown business owners have recently expressed concern that the bike lanes will eliminate 22 parking spots in an around downtown.

“I’ve been getting kind of mailbombed by businesses that, even though we had the public meetings, they said that they were unaware that it involved the loss of the parking spaces,” said Mathy.

The master plan calls for bike lanes on Washington from St. Joseph Dr., near State Farm, to Lee St., just west of the downtown. However, Public Works Director Jim Karch said work will be done this summer only from Veterans Parkway to Mercer Ave. That gives the city more time to study safety concerns near Washington Elementary School and how to deal with the parking downtown.

Howard Packowitz can be reached at [email protected]