Dubuque Considering Testing Out Bike Lanes in City Limits

Like many industries, the cycling industry saw an explosion in popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic. The continued rise of gas prices has gotten people ditching their vehicles at least for shorter trips in favor of a healthier, more active mode of transportation.

As of this writing, Dubuque doesn't have any bike lanes in city limits, but new developments suggest that could change sooner rather than later.

A growing push from the local cycling community has the City of Dubuque considering adding a potential bike lane. The first decision, however, is where exactly it will be placed. Presently, the city has four streets in mind for potential routes:

• 5th Street
• 9th Street
• 10th Street
• 11th Street

All the listed streets run north to south. Whichever street chosen for the bike lane would likely see it stretch from Jackson to Bluff Street. If the implementation of the bike lane is successful, it could bring more to the city in the coming years, per Telegraph Herald.

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Paul Wiedemann, President of Dubuque Bicycle Club, a group that hosts social activities for cyclists and pushes for cycling advocacy, says Dubuque would benefit greatly from a bike lane:

They [bike lanes] are needed in a lot of places. It just helps identify that there will be bicycles that ride there - per Telegraph Herald

As cities grow and look to accommodate more people and more needs, bike lanes are a logical step for a city like Dubuque. Earlier this year, President Joe Biden's U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg visited Dubuque to assess the city's layout and accommodations for motorists and walkers.

While he didn't specifically say anything about bike lanes, Buttigieg noted that urban and suburban developments, such as roundabouts and road-widening, are generally met with criticism until construction is completed and they are operational. It is then that residents realize what was missing/lacking.

Buttigieg commented how some of the infrastructure improvements he pushed forward in South Bend were met with criticisms in the development stage. Dubuque Mayor Brad Cavanagh stated that the same went for improvements to Dubuque, such as the Grandview Avenue roundabout, which has kept traffic flowing through the congested intersection:

We put one of our first roundabouts on a busy street, Grandview [Avenue]. And at the time, there were a lot of people against it, thinking it wasn’t going to be safe. As we’ve done it, though, traffic moves through there so smoothly. It’s designed for pedestrians to get across easily. Now we hear almost nothing against it. - per Telegraph Herald

While it might still be a long way off, a bike lane could be coming to Dubuque sooner rather than later. Read more about the developments on KWWL and Telegraph Herald.