News

South Main getting bike lane, crosswalk signals, 'road diet'

Engineering drawing shows bike lane and slant parking on South Main Street.

By Bill Moss, Published: April 26, 2024

The city’s plan for a bicycle and pedestrian friendly link from the Ecusta Trail to the Visitors Center puts South Main Street on a “road diet,” narrowing the Caswell-to-Allen blocks from five lanes to two.

The plan, which got under way this week with the repaving of South Main from the railroad tracks to Allen Street, adds a two-way bike lane on the west side of Main, bicycle-pedestrian signals at intersections and slant parking.

“Basically what's driving this is the trail’s coming in about this time next year and we have an opportunity to get folks — bicyclists and pedestrians — safely from the Ecusta Trail to downtown,” city Public Services Director Brett Detwiler told the Hendersonville City Council last month.

The 10-foot two-way bike lane will be separated from vehicle traffic not only by the parked cars but by “lane delineators,” or short posts.

“I know parking’s a hot topic,” Detwiler told the council. “This plan actually shows approximately seven more parking spaces,” raising the total from 33 to 40. Parallel parking on the east side of South Main will remain.

“The road diet is basically getting it down to one lane in each direction specifically in this block and pushing the double yellow so it's lining up with the two lanes” at Allen Street where the Main Street serpentine ends, Detwiler said.

For now, the improvements will make for a safe link from the Ecusta trailhead to Allen Street.

“Eventually we could get some ‘sharrows’ painted up there so folks can feel a little bit safer biking on Main Street,” Detwiler said of the shared-lane arrows like those on Fourth Avenue West. The city also hopes to work with the Blue Ridge Bicycle Club on cost sharing for bicycle racks.