Tom Charlier

USA TODAY NETWORK – Tennessee

Two years after they were removed amid criticism from motorists and Downtown residents, bicycle lanes will be installed again on Riverside Drive, although this time along a different stretch, Memphis officials have announced.

The plans for bike lanes on Riverside, between Jefferson and Beale, and on nine other streets will be discussed during a public meeting set for 5:30 p.m. Monday at the Benjamin L. Hooks Central Library at 3030 Poplar.

City officials said the lanes will be installed during upcoming repaving projects. In addition to Riverside, bike lanes will be in place on Airways from Shelby Drive to the Mississippi state line, on Cooper between Washington and Central, on Getwell from Park to Interstate 240, on Hickory Hill from Mt. Moriah to Winchester, on North Highland from Summer to Walnut Grove, on Knight Arnold from Hickory Hill to Ridgeway, on Mendenhall from Knight Arnold to Mt. Moriah, on North Perkins from Summer to Walnut Grove, and on Riverdale from Winchester to Shelby.

Depending on the feedback received from the public, the city could begin construction this fall. No cost estimate was provided, but the project is 80 percent federally funded, with the city paying the remainder.

Under a pilot, or test, project launched in 2014, Memphis officials reconfigured Riverside between Beale and Carolina -- just south of the stretch covered in the current plan — to reserve the westernmost two lanes for bicycles and pedestrians. Motor vehicles were consigned to the two lanes east of the median.

City officials and proponents said the lanes would not only open up Riverside to bicycle traffic, but help slow down the high-speed vehicular traffic that was isolating parks and amenities along the Mississippi River from the rest of the city.

However, motorists, business-owners and Downtown residents complained that the reconfigured roadway caused traffic jams and safety problems. Riverside was returned to its earlier four-lane alignment for vehicles in May 2015.

But in announcing the plans for new lanes, city officials said the need for bicycle access along Riverside has grown with the opening last fall of the Big River Crossing boardwalk across the Mississippi on the Harahan Bridge. At the same time, drivers continue to travel an average of 10 mph above the posted speed limit, Nicholas Oyler, the city's bikeway and pedestrian program manager said in a prepared statement.

"We're confident that this new proposal effectively addresses the concerns voiced during the pilot project, while still achieving the overall priority of safety for everyone who uses the street — whether in a car, on foot, or by bike," Oyler said.

Reach Tom Charlier by email at thomas.charlier@commercialappeal.com, by phone at (901) 529-2572, or on Twitter at @thomasrcharlier.