Representatives for local cyclists met with Yavapai County District 3 Supervisor Chip Davis for more than an hour Thursday, April 28, to discuss ways the $3 million Cornville Road reconstruction project could be revised to make the road safer for bikes.
“It was a very positive meeting,” Verde Valley Cyclists Coalition Board President Daniel Paduchowski said. “He reassured us every effort would be made to make the road as safe as possible for cyclists.”
County public works Director Byron Jaspers joined Davis, Paduchowski and Verde Valley Cyclists Coalition Board Vice President Dr. Bob Richards to review the steps that could be taken to improve safety.
The reconstruction project is scheduled to widen a section of Cornville Road between Tissaw to Aspaas roads and add a left-turn lane to accommodate a number of Cornville businesses and residents situated west of Windmill Park.
Cornville road narrows in several sections, nearly eliminating any shoulder for bikes or pedestrians to navigate. As currently drawn, reconstruction will not widen the shoulder areas beyond two feet on either side, a space that does not provide enough buffer between bicyclists and motorists, Paduchowski said.
Coalition members objected to the project at the Yavapai County Board of Supervisors meeting April 14, but the supervisors voted unanimously to move forward anyway.
Jaspers and Davis told cyclists April 28 shoulders on either side of Cornville Road could be widened to four feet without adding any cost to the reconstruction project, Paduchowski said.
