Kevin Hottmann, Salem's traffic engineer, sees many of the would-be bike users ride past his office window on a regular basis.

Hottmann and other city staff members are collecting input on a proposed bike lane on Commercial Street through the downtown.

"We settled on Commercial Street after a study revealed that the traffic could most likely be managed with three lanes instead of four," Hottman said.

Commercial is the location of three of the four dedicated bike shops in the downtown area, and users frequently noted the frustration of accessing the shops by bike.

Hottman recently made a presentation to CAN-DO, the North Salem Neighborhood Association, and was preparing a similar presentation for the Downtown Advisory Board.

One of the most frequent concerns he's heard has been the potential impact on parking, but he was quick to point out the proposed changes will not impact current parking capacities. The most recent count of bike traffic on Commercial Street topped out around 160 users daily, but a dedicated bike lane is expected to push usage higher.

If approved, re-striping of Commercial would likely begin in late spring or summer of 2010.

Those with hopes or concerns regarding the proposed, or future bike lanes, are encouraged to contact Hottmann or Julie Warncke at 503-588-6211.