The Randy Knilans bike lanes dedication will take place at 11 a.m., Sept. 9, at Veterans’ Memorial Park, 32756 Lake Road in Avon Lake, according to a news release.
The new bike lanes will be dedicated in memory of Knilans, a bicyclist who was chairman of the Avon Lake Planning Commission when he was killed by a drunken driver June 6, 2019, on Lake Road.
Sharan A. Carr, now 68 years old, was sentenced in January 2020 to three years and six months behind bars for the fatal crash.
Carr pleaded guilty in November 2019 to two counts of aggravated vehicular homicide, a single count of failure to stop after an accident and two counts of OVI.
Knilans, who was 66 years old, left behind his wife, Patty, children Becky and Brad, and several grandchildren.
He also left behind a legacy of volunteerism and change that Avon Lake will never forget, according to the release.
Knilans volunteered for the Avon Lake Planning Commission for more than 25 years, and he helped to update the zoning code twice, the release said.
Following Knilans’ death, Avon Lake’s Public Safety and Health Committee immediately began looking for ways to improve road safety, according to the release.
With $3,099,700 in funding and in coordination with the Ohio Department of Transportation, Avon Lake completed improvements to Lake Road from the city lines of Bay Village to Sheffield Lake, the release said.
This included repaving, widening the bike lanes from four feet to five feet on the north and south sides of Lake Road, changing center lines to double lines in certain locations to prohibit passing and striping center turn lines in warranted locations for public safety, the release said.
The bike lanes have been aptly named for Knilans, and signs will have a QR code for visitors to scan providing a website link that will educate the public on his contributions, feature bike safety tips and provide statistics on the hazards of drinking and driving, according to the release.
In addition to the completed safety improvements, enhancements will continue to be made over the next several years, the release said.
Avon Lake, in cooperation with ODOT, will install sidewalks on both the north and south sides of the entire length of Lake Road, ADA-compliant curb ramps and enhanced pedestrian hybrid beacons on Lake Road at Beach Park Towers and Avon Belden Road, the release said.
