“I feel like it accommodates cars more than it does bikes,” he said. “More cars will come because there are no stop signs.”

Residents on Floyd have been divided while bicycle enthusiasts have lauded the project as opening alternative modes of transportation to a busy residential and business corridor.

Public meetings since last summer have highlighted parking space problems and speeding concerns in the Fan. City staff have said the plan does not eliminate legal parking spaces.

City transportation engineer Thomas E. Flynn said that by law, his staff could not decrease the speed limit to 20 mph, which would be a first for the city, without a traffic study. The study conducted a few weeks ago did not warrant a decrease in the speed limit, he said.

Several planning commission members questioned the context of the study since a bicycle boulevard should have special considerations. Commission member Amy Howard cited similar projects in the U.S. that implemented an 18-mph speed limit.

Richmond City Council President Charles R. Samuels said at the commission’s meeting the council could still decrease the speed limit — the law did not dictate that local governments had to adhere to the study results, he said.