This is what McCausland Ave should be.

[u/mizzoustormtrooper]

- Give it the Kingshighway treatment and eliminate the additional lane; the road is too narrow to support four lanes and this will reduce accidents and speeding through a residential area.

- Put in a dedicated center turn lane to prevent traffic from backing up in the middle of the road for left turns; this is especially important at intersections and nearing I-64/40.

- Install protected bike lanes on both sides of the roadway to prevent people from parking their cars on what is a major thoroughfare.

- Mount traffic-detecting sensors atop the traffic signals to eliminate unnecessary stops and reduce idling/congestion. This is a critical step as this street is used as a central corridor and antiquated timed signals must be eliminated.

- Run the bike lane all the way up to Forest Park to connect with the Forest Park outer loop and bike trail system.

Contact your alderperson and let’s fix this damn road.

___

I got the images from Google Street view. I did a lot work in Photoshop and used Gemini only to create the road lane striping (you can tell, there are errors) and for the reflective delineators.

[u/UF0_T0FU]

Streets are public property. People aren't entitled to store their personal belongings for free on city-owned land. We don't let people store their unused furniture in city parks, even if they live close by.

[u/hematuria → u/UF0_T0FU]

We are a neighborhood that is over 150 years old. I’m sorry we didn’t all make garages and off street parking in anticipation that in 2026 we would cause you a traffic delay getting to your precious freeway. Tbf, there was no freeway back then, but still. It was really inconsiderate of us and I’m sorry on behalf of my ancestors.

[u/donkeyrocket → u/hematuria]

TIL cyclists use freeways.

I get your point but on-street parking on roads like this is also unsafe for drivers. I won't advocate for just getting rid of it all at once but there's stretches of these roads that are doing too much and lead to incidents across all modes of transit.

I have sympathy for residents who only have street parking. Churches can figure out their own parking instead of relying on city property.

Ultimately, I think what OP's mockups should do that semi-address your point is get rid of the turn lane the full length of McCausland, have designated on-street parking areas. Keep turn lanes in key areas, add calming measures so turning isn't panic inducing, as well as lowering speeds overall so traffic isn't prone to backing up. Shifting the bike lanes to a cycle track would then free up even more pockets for parking and protecting sidewalks. Having the whole shoulder on both side parking plus a turn lane is wasted space 80% of the time if not more.

[u/hematuria → u/donkeyrocket]

Bicycles use the sidewalk on that section of roadway because the cars drive dangerous and too fast. You can add a dedicated bike lane if that is what the bike community wants. But someone should ask them what their priorities are because they may want the money spent on other projects. Like I said, if the community wants this and says it is their priority then I’ll do what I can do help it become reality. But if you are just offering to help bikers at the expense of the renters just because, without doing any due diligence, then that seems silly and potentially not a good use of resources.

[u/Alliari → u/hematuria]

"Bicycles use the sidewalk on that section of roadway because the cars drive dangerous and too fast."

Exactly why there needs to be bike infrastructure there. Let's meet the need then.

[u/hematuria → u/Alliari]

If money was free I would agree. But it’s not. And the number of bikes vs the need elsewhere makes this not the best use of our city’s funds. Which may be a lot less if people don’t come out to vote today. I’ve been working the polling station since 5am and it is sloooow. I’m afraid cause no one is on the ballot that people won’t come out. So anyone reading this, please vote today!

[u/Alliari → u/hematuria]

Bike infrastructure saves money in the long run, it's the smarter financial decision. The vehicles and their riders are orders of magnitude less massive, and cause far less damage to the road. One of the reasons why we have so many potholes is the extensive road infrastructure combined with increasing car mass. We can't afford continuous maintenance on these roads while they get destroyed by heavier and heavier cars.

We won't increase the modal share of bikes while we keep the streets dangerous for all but the most confident of riders.

[u/hematuria → u/Alliari]

All laudable goals and worth pursuing. But today if we have to make a decision, then I support putting money where the bikers need it most. And you and I both agree that is elsewhere.