Columbus working to keep bike lanes clear in winter

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- Supporting safe cycling all year round, including in the dead of winter, is something the Columbus Department of Public Service is striving to achieve. To make it happen, they’ve been testing out new strategies.  

Whether you drive a car or ride a bike, the city wants to make sure everyone is safe every season. This is why, for the first time, Columbus has emphasized keeping bike lanes clear in the winter.

If you’re driving along East Broad Street, you’ll notice some protected bike lanes. The public service department said this is really the first time the city has had protected bike lanes in this fashion, so the department is focused on clearing them in a timely manner, just like roads.  

“There’s a few different bikeway types around the city, this one being a protected bikeway so there are products between the vehicular travel lane and the bicycle travel lane,” Brian Ashworth, the transportation planning manager for the Department of Public Service, said.  

During and after snow events in the city, plows often push snow into the bike lanes. The Department of Public Service is now going in with specialized equipment to keep those lanes clear for people who ride their bikes year-round.   

“We're trying out some bobcats and putting them into a dump truck to take the snow away,” Ashworth said. “In other cases where it's a larger roadway, maybe we can get in a smaller pick-up truck and a plow.”

The department has also been spraying some different brine solutions to help with the ice. Ashworth said bikeway maintenance hasn’t always been a top priority in years past, but as Columbus continues to grow and more people choose to ride a bike, officials are working on a more specific and rigorous operation.  

“I'm really happy with what the city of Columbus is working towards,” Grandview Cycle owner and avid bicyclist Jack Becker said. 

Becker often commutes to and from work on a bike, no matter the weather. 

“I get to hop on my bike and go have some fun and, you know, ride around,” he said. “You get to see the city in a different perspective.” 

Becker said there’s been quite a few times, especially during the winter, where he’s had to go around a bike lane because it wasn’t clear. He’s happy the city is making this more of a priority.

“It can be extremely dangerous for bicycle commuters,” he said, “It really all just needs to come down to visibility where we can make it easier for us to not only see the cyclists on the road, but then for the cyclists to also be aware of what is going on around them. I think we're on the right track for sure.” 

This project is part of the city’s new Bike Plus plan. Bike Plus is about improving the transportation opportunities within the city by creating a safe and connected network.