October 14, 2022, Update:
The City of Reno has announced that Virginia Street will reopen sometime Friday afternoon as part of the ongoing Micromobility project.
Virginia Street from 1st Street to 5th Street was closed since October 10 and was expected to reopen on October 21 but crews worked hard to remove the temporary barriers.
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(October 10, 2022) The Micromobility Pilot Project first started in downtown Reno back in June. Now, the project is going into its next phase of collecting data from their micromobility testing lanes.
The City will be closing down Virginia Street from 1st Street to 5th Street in order to restripe for two-way traffic.
Earlier today, they were removing the temporary barriers that were placed during the pilot program.
This closure on Virginia Street is going to last from October 10 to the 21st because the materials to make those lanes were only temporary.
Kerrie Koski, the Director of Public Works & City Engineer explains further why the materials are being removed. “Those particular elements won’t withstand the winter we have here the snow, the ice, it would be very unsafe to have those we never intended to have that."
According to officials the micromobility elements installed as part of the pilot project on Keystone Avenue to Evans Avenue/University of Nevada via 5th Street and south of 1st Street via Virginia Street will stay in place as they will not be impacted by winter weather conditions.
North-to-south bike lanes in the downtown area will remain available on Evans Avenue, North Arlington Avenue, and Ralston Street.
Since launching the project, the city has received over 1,000 survey responses from the public, which according to officials, most responses were neutral or positive. City of Reno Officials say, “The goal of the test phase of the Micromobility Pilot Project were to introduce Reno residents to new micromobility features, gather community input, and collect data to contribute to a future plan as the City of Reno and Regional Transportation Commission (RTC) expand micromobility downtown and around our region.”
In the meantime, some residents who use Virginia Street as their main route say a commute that takes 10 minutes is now 30 because of the closure of one of downtown's main streets.
Mary Clingerman, a University Student says, "Whatever they decide to do they should just stick to it, because I came home one summer and it was one lane and the traffic was bad, and now the traffic is still bad and it's one lane, and now they're changing it back and it just closed."
Overall, the locals we spoke to say they love the idea of having micromobility lanes in the city and they want to see them come back.
Clingerman shares, "I think for the bird scooters it was really good because the sidewalks in that area are pretty populated by pedestrians and what not, so it's good for them to have a spot on the road to drive."
Cruz Kennel, a Downtown Bike Rider says "Going around downtown at night, people typically ride on the sidewalks because they feel unsafe riding in the street, right? So naturally they're going to go to the sidewalk. It does make it more clustered and more inconvenient." Clingerman adds "It's good for them to have that space and to be safe on the bird scooters without worrying about cars, they have the white poles that keep them safe."
From the results of the Micromobility Project Testing, they’re going to compile and analyze all the data they gathered.
"We are thrilled by the amount of public engagement we received during the test phase of the City's Micromobility Pilot Project," said Reno Mayor Hillary Schieve. "We will continue to work with our community stakeholders to analyze the data and input we have received during the pilot project and create the best plan possible for the future of micromobility in the Biggest Little City."
Koski says they’re going to "look for options for connectivity in the downtown to present in the spring of 2023." Officials also say they don’t yet know what micromobility lanes will look like for their future decision in downtown, but they have a lot of options on the table.
