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Study shows people favor bicycle lanes on Syracuse's Euclid Avenue

Ellen Abbott

Bicycle commuters in Syracuse are hoping that the next roadway that’s revamped with bike infrastructure is Euclid Avenue.

Melissa Fierke rides her bike to work at SUNY ESF and says that’s the upshot of a study commissioned by the City of Syracuse.

“The study suggests that the parking should be removed off of Euclid Avenue, and dedicated bicycle lanes be ... installed on Euclid Avenue,” Fierke says. “It is the most cycled street in the city of Syracuse.  It is the gateway to Syracuse University and SUNY ESF.”

Fierke says the survey shows this would affect 70 parking spots on Euclid that are mostly used by commuters and university staff that don't want to pay for parking on campus.

This study comes on the heels of a 2012 study where most of the comments that people made regarding bicycling were that they were afraid, and that they specifically cited Euclid Avenue as the source of their fear.

“If you have dedicated bike lanes and your safe in your space, then bicycling is so much faster than walking,” Fierke says. “So many people walk now because they’re afraid of dying on their bicycles.  And so I think that many of the pedestrians would switch into a bicycle mode of transportation.”

The university neighborhood organization supports the idea. There has been no word on whether the city will go ahead with this plan at this time.

Ellen produces news reports and features related to events that occur in the greater Syracuse area and throughout Onondaga County. Her reports are heard regularly in regional updates in Morning Edition and All Things Considered.