Council Ratifies Option 2A on 5-2 Vote

At its Wednesday May 20th meeting, the Medford City Council passed Council Bill 2026-38, the resolution ratifying its April 15th action to move forward with Option 2A on Main Street. The vote was 5-2.

Voting yes: Card, Ayers, West, Smith, Kerlinger. Voting no: Keating, Quinn. Absent: Stine.

The resolution does two things: it formally rescinds the January direction to restripe Main Street to three vehicle lanes, and it directs staff to move forward with Option 2A, the two-lane design with angled parking on one side and a non-protected painted bike lane on the right. According to the council agenda: "Any changes to the existing configuration will require staff to finalize the design, bid the project, and construct it. Given current workloads and staffing, Public Works Engineering estimates that the project can be delivered by Fall 2026."

"A no vote retains the previous council action"

Councilor Nick Card, who brought the original April 15th motion, framed the ratification as a procedural follow-up and reminded councilors what voting no would mean:

"A no vote on this bill retains the previous council action, which is to return Main Street to its previous three lane configuration."

Like any compromise, this of course meant councilors who supported the protected bike lane had to make a difficult choice.

Conservative councilors vote no

The two councilors who have taken generally conservative positions voted no. Their reasoning differed, yet they also identified the political flaws of Option 2A. For Councilor Quinn, his no was founded on procedural grounds. According to Quinn, the path to Option 2A was too fast and none of the affected groups got what they wanted:

"We have both the people who want to put Main Street back to the way it was before opposing it. We have people who are interested in a stronger bike lane opposing it. We have people in downtown businesses thinking parking is a good idea. Many people may feel that way too. But the way it's been handled, I can't support it."

"What I am saying is what we're doing today is too quick, and we haven't had a chance to hear from the public the way we need to."

Keating, on the other hand, just prefers cars and car infrastructure. Removing the bike lane was a plank of his campaign.

"I was elected in part based on my position on this particular issue. I feel deeply in my heart that this current situation is much less safe than the original configuration, and that's why I'll be voting no."

Pro-bicycle councilors try to justify their yes vote

Councilor Kerlinger attempted to save face by saying he would "somewhat reluctantly" support the motion because a no vote would mean three lanes:

"By opposing this motion, I would tangentially be supporting a three lane configuration, which everybody knows I've never supported."

Kerlinger floated, half-jokingly, an alternative: 30 degree parking instead of 45, keeping a buffered bike lane and adding 17 spots instead of 40. It was not made into a motion.

West, on the other hand, held out a vague promise of building bike infrastructure on other roads in the city. West acknowledged the calls he has received about Medford backing away from bike infrastructure, and pointed to the new Transportation System Plan as the place where downtown bike facilities should be built out:

"It's my desire as the city implements its new transportation system plan that we include a plan for bicycle and pedestrian facilities on streets in downtown in which the primary purpose is for bikes and pedestrians. There are many streets downtown that really aren't used by cars. Evergreen Street comes to mind immediately."

What happens next

With the ratifying resolution passed, Option 2A is now the official direction to staff. That means the existing two-way protected bike lane on Main Street is on its way out, replaced by angled parking on one side and a painted, non-protected bike lane on the other.

Construction is slated to land on the agenda in the fall, so there is still time between now and then for the public to keep weighing in.

The fight for safe, connected streets in Medford does not end here. The TSP that West referenced is where the next round of decisions about downtown bike and pedestrian facilities will get made. Keep showing up. Keep writing. Keep telling the council what kind of city you want to live in.

The full recording is here. The Option 2A ratification debate runs from roughly 44:01 to 51:54.

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