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Pilot program attempts to make Western New York more bike-friendly

GObike Buffalo is talking with towns and villages across the region about doing more pilot projects and working together on bicycle and pedestrian safety.

BUFFALO, N.Y. — There's an effort to make Western New York more bike-friendly, and not just in the City of Buffalo.

Last week 2 On Your Side showed you work happening along Forest Avenue in the city to install a separate bike lane, while narrowing the lanes for cars, to slow down traffic.

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This is a pilot project from GObike Buffalo, and the organization says if the city likes what it sees when this is done in a few months, the updates can be made more permanent.

The goal would then be to replicate that out in the suburbs and beyond.

GObike Buffalo has had a lot of conversations with leaders in towns and villages throughout the region, and there's a lot of interest in doing more pilot projects and working together on bicycle and pedestrian safety.

"We've got projects coming up in the city, but we have them in the suburbs and rural Western New York, and protect them as well," GObike spokesman Kevin Heffernan told 2 On Your Side.

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The GObike projects are just in the testing phase right now. That enables the group to gather data on traffic speeds, usage stats, and to keep track of accidents.

All that information can go into reports to give to municipalities, to help guide their construction projects and see if changes are needed in terms of speed limits, adding bike lanes, or other bike and pedestrian-friendly modifications.

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