It was reported that the Juneau Assembly narrowly voted against leasing the West Douglas Pioneer Road to iRide Alaska for guided electric bicycle tour on Monday. However, they’ll reconsider their decision at their next meeting, due to an unusual move from one member.
A few North Douglas residents spoke against the tour, saying that the road is among the last places left to locals in the peak tourist season. Wayne Carnes asked the Assembly to give priority to local travelers on the road.
“While my property taxes are soaring, yet tourists appear to be more significant,” he said. “Over the last several years I’ve had the need to leave areas during the summer in order to stay out of the crowds .”
iRide Alaska hopes to offer the e-bike tour Monday through Saturday 3 times per day, beginning May 1 through October. 1. The tours will be led by 10 participants.
The company’s representatives claimed they chose the location due to the distance to Juneau residents of their homes. The width of the road enabled the ten riders to use electric bikes without causing disturbance to other runners, cyclists or walking.
Assembly Member Wade Bryson voiced strong support for the tours. He noted the length of the tour, the local management of the company, and their decision to not provide tours on Sundays made them an ideal option for Juneau tourism.
” style=”font-weight 400 ;”>”I I don’t believe there was a better time to have more applicants or an even better tour at a more convenient time,” he said. “They’ve fulfilled everything we asked for, even having a day off .”
Assemblymember Michelle Hale said she supported Iride Alaska’s concept, but not now.
span style=”font-weight 400 ;”>”I believe that we have a duty to be a responsible Assembly to consider this in a larger picture,” she said. “We face 1.6 million tourists who could visit in the coming year. And confronting a community anxious and extremely frustrated with the level of tourism within this community.”
The Assembly adopted amendments that would strictly limit tours to 10 persons and also require iRide Alaska to notify the city manager of any injuries or accidents to animals or humans.
In the end, the resolution of leasing the route in the direction of iRide Alaska failed, with four of the members voting for it and five against the proposal.
In a rare move, Assembly member Bryson gave an opportunity to reconsider the lease. This means that the Assembly will consider the lease once more in its May 8 meeting.
At the time of the meeting Bryson stated that he was part of Juneau Bike Doctor however the Assistant Mayor Sherri Layne was not convinced there was any conflict of interest.
