Construction on the Greengarden Boulevard Bike Path is set to begin on Monday, June 10th - something that seems to have split the Erie community, with Greengarden residents such as Rick Carr still having concerns.

"We don't have a problem with the bike path itself, we understand it," said Carr. "But it can coexist with [street] parking. Everywhere else in the city, like on West 6th St. or parade St. They have bike paths and coexisting with parking that's not an issue." 

Carr says he's especially concerned with parking when it comes time for large events, where not every car can fit in the driveway. 

"A funeral can come up and they need the parking if they need to come to that family's house," continued Carr. "They did propose one thing, where we'd fill out a application with a 5 day notice. Well, like I said, a funeral isn't a 5 day notice. We just want to coexist."

But Frank DiSalvo, owner of Rolling 2 You Mobile Bike Repair, says the pros outweigh the cons when it comes to the bike lane.

"I think the bike lane is going to be a good thing for the city," said DiSalvo, hoping Erie can evolve to meet the biking standards set in cities like Cleveland or Pittsburgh. "There's a lot more people riding bikes to work, to school. They're not just kids toys anymore, they're a means of transportation to get to work and school."

But DiSalvo says he does understand the Greengarden residents' frustration with the upcoming bike lane.

"The thing with Greengarden [residents], they have a good point," said DiSalvo. "They don't want to change what has always been, it's always been that they could park anywhere they wanted to. But it's also a lot of bicycles go down that way to get to work, to get to school, and I think that if they just give it a chance and give it a shot they'll see that it's not going to be as bad for them as it appears."

According to a PennDOT press release, the contractor will be CriLon Corp., of Somerset, PA.

The contract cost is $372,222.55, which is to be paid entirely with federal funds.