NORFOLK, Va. — Everyday, Jeremy Petersen bikes to and from work at Siren Skate and Bike Shop on Tidewater Drive in Norfolk.
Over the years of biking around the community, he's learned how to keep himself safe.
"I'm just constantly monitoring my path, what's coming up behind me and lights on," Petersen told News 3 reporter Jay Greene.
Most of his route to work includes Granby Street which isn't the friendliest road for cyclists, but that could change soon as the city continues to develop plans to add bike lanes.
The project area extends two miles, between Willow Wood Drive to just south of the I-564 underpass near Wards Corner. It would remove a lane of traffic in each direction and turn them into bike lanes.
In January 2022, city council approved using $822,000 from SMART Scale Funding to pay for the project. The city began the design face in 2023 with construction slated to being in 2024.
"In 2015, the Norfolk City Council adopted the City of Norfolk Bicycle and Pedestrian Strategic Plan," according to the details on the city's website. "The plan identified twelve road corridors that residents ranked as the highest priority corridors for bike facilities, and Granby Street between Willow Wood [Drive] and Admiral Taussig Boulevard. was among those priority corridors. In fact, the Granby Street corridor received the most requests for bicycle facilities in the plan. It is also part of a potential 22.5 mile citywide recreational loop for cyclists."
According to the plans, there would be a barrier between the bike lanes and vehicle traffic.
Petersen said there are other sections of Norfolk that could use bike lanes.
"Tidewater Drive. I'm terrified." he said. "It's like the one road in Norfolk that I just won't even touch tires to, I'm on the sidewalk the whole way up."
The city said the bike lanes would not impact current traffic.
"The Traffic Study for this project shows that the proposed lane repurposing would not impact current travel times for vehicles through the project corridor," according to the city's fact sheet. "Delay for lower-volume minor street movements would increase by less than 30 seconds as a result of lane repurposing."
A meeting on Thursday will allow residents to provide additional feedback to the city about the plan. It runs from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Tabernacle Church of Norfolk.
