HUNTINGTON BEACH : City Pursues Funds for PCH Bike Lanes

City officials are making a new effort to try to get bike lanes included in the widening of Pacific Coast Highway.

The state Department of Transportation is working on widening Pacific Coast Highway to six lanes through the city. That widening does not leave room for bike lanes, Caltrans has said.

Bicycle riders have for months protested the widening plans, arguing that they will be at risk on the busy highway without bike paths. The city has sympathized with the bike riders but noted that the state has control over the highway project.

Last week, however, the city took action that might lead to a funding source for bike lanes and thus encourage Caltrans to agree to put in the lanes.

Proposition 116, approved by voters in 1990, has a $20-million fund to finance commuter bicycle projects throughout the state. The City Council on Monday night voted unanimously to apply for $750,000 from the Proposition 116 fund. If the city gets the grant, it would be used to pay for the cost of building bike lanes on Pacific Coast Highway between Golden West Street and Beach Boulevard.

“We think we have a good chance of getting the grant because Pacific Coast Highway is such a major transportation link,” said City Engineer Bob Eichblatt.

Eichblatt noted, however, that Caltrans still must agree to narrower car-lane widths on the widened Pacific Coast Highway before the bike lanes could be built. “We’re asking for 10-foot-wide lanes, and Caltrans doesn’t want any lanes less than 11 feet,” he said.

Eichblatt said that if the state yielded on the lane-width issue, Pacific Coast Highway could still have six traffic lanes and two bike lanes. “We would need to narrow the (highway) median in some places and eliminate it other places, and that’s where the $750,000 would be spent,” he said.

The city engineer said that bicycle commuters need Pacific Coast Highway for their daily ride to and from work. “We’re still negotiating with Caltrans, and we’re hoping we can get their agreement,” he said.