New bike lane barriers in Cathedral City raise concerns for local businesses

CATHEDRAL CITY, Calif. (KESQ) - Safer roads at a cost. Cathedral City has recently installed new bike lane barriers along Perez Road in an effort to improve roadway safety. However, some local business owners argue the barriers are having unintended consequences.

Renae Samaan, owner of Johnnie's Barbershop, says, “The barriers — I became aware of when they put them in. I knew that they were going to resurface the street… but I didn’t know they were going to take my parking away in the front.”

On top of what she says was a lack of notice and less parking, Samaan says the changes are hurting her business. She says the new barriers make it confusing for drivers to navigate, resulting in a decline in foot traffic.

Getting answers, News Channel took these concerns to the city.

John Corella, public works director for Cathedral City, says businesses were notified of the bike barriers. The city sent out notices and held a community meeting last June.

"370 notices were sent out to all the businesses along that stretch of Perez Road… 20 people showed up," reveals Corella.

Moving forward, he says the city will proactively maintain the barriers to ensure they don't become a further problem as drivers learn to navigate them.

He explains, “Part of our grant, we actually got an extra pallet of these barriers so it’s going to be hard to knock one down because they are flexible.”

But business owners, like Samaan, remain skeptical and hope the challenges are resolved sooner rather than later.

Stay with News Channel 3 for more.