Homeowners on Greengarden Boulevard are organizing to fight against the City of Erie’s plans to build a bike path. That bike path is said to run on both sides of the road.

The city’s bike path will not only eliminate on-street parking for residents of Greengarden Blvd., but they say that there are some serious safety concerns not being taken into consideration.

Some 75 Greengarden Blvd. homeowners are being impacted by a City of Erie Bike Plan Project, something that residents said has been in the works for the past 5 years.

However, there’s been no word on it until residents received a notice in the mail last week saying construction would begin this spring.

“So, this past weekend is when everybody heard of it for the first time. We were just told that this is a done deal, this is the path,” said Mary Reisinger, a Greengarden Blvd. resident and respiratory therapist.

“We’re just concerned. Nobody’s reached out to us, and a lot of residents have been in that neighborhood for decades,” said David St. George, another Greengarden Blvd. resident.

On Thursday night, those concerned residents gathered at the Saga Club to organize their thoughts.

Not only do residents consider the bike path a hazard, but that it will also limit their parking and decrease their property value.

One homeowner explained how many times they’ll be forced to navigate frustrating conditions.

“We’re going to exit in and out of our driveway’s maybe 10 times a day with a couple cars going to work or making a trip. There’s 75 driveways. So, every day, we’re going to have people crossing the bike path 750 times in that neighborhood,” St. George explained.

One Greengarden homeowner said that she works in the health care industry and has seen too many accidents on this road.

“There is a lot of blind spots because way back in the day, a lot of the sycamore trees are grown, and it creates a lot of blind spots. So, people backing out of their driveways are really not going to be able to see those bikers,” said Mary Reitinger who is a resident & respiratory therapist.

Greengarden Blvd. is also considered to be designated as an emergency route, and if it adds a bike lane, residents said response times will be impacted.

“For firetrucks that come through and ambulances, police cars, during the busiest times, they’re not going to be able to get through. And as we know, time saves lives,” Reitinger went on to say.

The homeowner’s association plans to attend the next City of Erie Council meeting the morning of Wednesday February, 1 to protest the decision.