“The existing bike lanes on Smallman Street appear to be under utilized so it is not clear why Penn Avenue needs this. This is also creating animosity between a biking community and a non-biking community, In addition to threatening the vibrant activity and commerce in the strip district. It is already difficult to drive down Penn Ave., find parking, ensure the safety of pedestrians, etc. Limiting traffic to one lane will only harm the rest of the strip district and increase bottlenecks on every other street. Valuable infrastructure in this part of town should include parking, not biking.”

“Stupid ideas”

“We love coming here. We come at least 8 times a year. Stop destroying the Strip”

“Restricting Penn Ave to a single lane in The Strip will make an already congested, over-developed mess into an untenable disaster. Right now, the *only* easily navigable part of The Strip is Penn Ave. Restricting it to one lane will make restocking the businesses along it unnecessarily difficult, cause massive backups in already over-trafficked areas (like the intersection of 21st & Smallman), and turn a historically rich and culturally relevant neighborhood into a parking lot. The Strip is already losing its identity to rising property costs and an influx of outside wealth. Breaking it up further with this stupid idea is a death sentence.”

“Traffic is already bad enough, why reduce to a 1 lane road? I’ve also heard a Trader Joe’s is opening in the strip (seems odd given that there are plenty of grocery options here), but would increase traffic even further.

Also, having more paid parking lots (at insanely high rates) isn’t a solution to increased traffic either. I’m not sure what the purpose of the single lane road is, but if it is pedestrian safety I think there are more innovative options in 2025 than reducing lanes.”

“This project will reduce access and cause congestion. There are other ways to accomplish traffic calming that will not impact the Strip on Penn.”

“Please do not add bike lanes to Penn Avenue. There is already limited parking and traffic and this will just add to it and will make our valued strip businesses suffer tremendously. We need those businesses in our city!”

“Moving Penn Avenue to one lane will disrupt the deliveries to our wonderful Strip District merchants. We only have four streets to start with – Liberty Avenue, Penn Avenue, Smallman street and Railroad Street. We can’t afford to lose any of our merchants on Penn Avenue because of lane restrictions or visitors due to a lack of parking. That is also in short supply with our growing neighborhood. Maybe bikers and pedestrians could consider using the Alley Ways. I think they could be upgraded with plantings and even be an option for restaurant outdoor spaces. Just a thought. Glad to discuss these issues further.”

“Negative impact on businesses, including a lot of small businesses, which may not be able to survive with this. Does not make sense as when I am in the Strip there are not many bikers, especially so much that they should get their own lane. Though there are many trucks and emergency vehicles that have to stop in one of the lanes, and making it a single lane will just not work. I think the person who came up with this idea is a lunatic, and should actually look into things before they change such a historic part of our city.”