Bolder bike trail envisioned

Jeremiah Miller rides his bicycle.

Literally everywhere, he says.

Except on Tubbs Hill, which is prohibited, and that is seemingly surreal, he says.

Miller, of Kona, Hawaii, rode from Stateline to Coeur d’Alene Friday and he plans a jaunt to Harrison, where his friend lives. This whole bicycle trail thing in Coeur d’Alene is an upgrade from what he remembers back when he lived here as a boy, almost two decades ago.

“The last time I was on the (Centennial) trail it was gravel,” Miller said.

Trail upgrades have been forefront on the mind of Monte McCully, the city’s trail coordinator. At this week’s City Council meeting, McCully laid out the latest bicycle trail master plan, an enhancement of a previous 2010 plan. It includes plans for an additional 8 miles of shared-use bicycle routes in Coeur d’Alene, 18 miles of bike lanes on city streets, bike racks, corrals and a fix-it station for the public at McEuen Park. There are plans for a bicycle boulevard, more signs and maps. The accoutrements are necessary to convert the former mill and timber town into a state-of-the-art transportation network where pedal power transcends rigs pushed by fossil fuel.

At least for part of the year.

“Our main goal is to provide a safe network to ride or commute,” McCully said.

The plan was well received by council members who have recognized the merit of alternative means of transportation.

“I do appreciate it,” council member Dan Gookin said. “I ride bike, and used to take side streets because I didn’t want to risk my life on the main streets.”

Since the city has added shared routes, signs and striping to alert motorists to bicyclers on the road, Gookin is less prone to defer.

Although he recognizes a fact:

“Where bikes and cars meet, cars win,” he said.

That’s what the city wants to avoid and why the latest plan is another inroad into the conscience of motorists who are learning to share the road.

“I think people have more of an understanding of bicycles on the streets,” said Chris Bosley, city engineer and an avid cyclist. “There are more people on bicycles out there ... and there seems to be more respect.”

Many motorists use the trails with their families and see their merit.

“They understand the point of view,” Bosley said.

Bicycle sales at local retailers such as Vertical Earth on the 1300 block of Sherman Avenue are rolling along with leisure bikes, the kind with comfortable seats, nudging out others, although sales of all models are steady, said employee Anthony Tutor.

Burgeoning cycle shops are one of the spokes off the hub of the wheel spurred by an increasingly vibrant bicycle community. A local group called the Lake City Bicycle Collective, which refurbishes used bicycles for sale or to give away, is another extension.

Miller said he likes the city’s new bike-friendly look.

In his hometown on the islands, he usually puts 100 miles on his bicycle in a week.

“It’s all bicycles there,” Miller said.

Coeur d’Alene is closing in, he said.

But, it ain’t Kona. Not yet.