On a balmy Wednesday afternoon, Jeff Boomstein swerved his bicycle off West Alabama Street. He shifted to the sidewalk to avoid the street, which has, he said, too many potholes and too much traffic to safely cycle.

The "Peter Pan 360' stagehand is a bike commuter who said he has been hit by vehicles three times while he had the right of way. Recommended Video

That will change soon, according to Houston city Councilwoman Ellen Cohen. Starting next year, the city will gradually add a bicycle route to a five-mile stretch of West Alabama from River Oaks through Upper Kirby and Montrose, ending in Midtown.

The project is to improve a major bicycle commuting route that runs into the heart of the city, while also repairing a street that all parties agree needs some TLC.

"The pavement is in horrible condition," said Mary Blitzer, government and community affairs manager at the nonprofit advocacy group Bike Houston, who rides West Alabama every day to get to work.

"I feel like I want to be on a mountain bike."

In addition to smoothing the surface, Cohen said, the makeover will also improve storm drainage.

Construction will start next year on the first 3/4-mile long segment from Wesleyan Street to Buffalo Speedway, but the city has not yet settled on a design.

Cohen said the public works department is weighing two options: on-street bike lanes on both sides of the street, or a shared-use path running alongside the street.

The shared-use path would avoid thorny issues of land acquisition and tree destruction, Cohen said.

However, some parts of West Alabama are replete with driveways and parking lot entrances - which Blitzer said could lead to many accidents between cars and bikes.

Bike Houston has advocated for the on-street bike lanes, which generally cost nearly 90 percent less than a shared-use path, according the Houston-Galveston Area Council's 2015 regional plan for pedestrians and bicycles.

The design may vary across the project's various segments.

After the city completes the section from Wesleyan Street to Buffalo Speedway next year, Blitzer said, the Upper Kirby Management District will extend the project to Shepherd Street in 2017.

The following year, another segment will continue to the 527 spur in Midtown, passing near the Rothko Chapel and the Menil Collection. By 2019, the bike route should stretch to Chenevert Street.

Kasey Dixon, owner of Ham Cycles at 2309 Dunlavy St., also uses West Alabama to get to work. Though he said the road is the safest option to get from his Third Ward home to his Upper Kirby store, he said the street does not feel safe for cyclists.

"Getting from neighborhood to neighborhood is damn near impossible without feeling like you're going to die," Dixon said. He said he would use dedicated on-street bike lanes, but not a shared-use path interrupted by driveways and stray trash cans.

Dixon's business partner, Frankie Garcia, said he heard about the plan for bike lanes on West Alabama from a customer a few days ago.

Bike lanes would be good for business, Garcia said. People will get excited about new routes that feel safe.

If the route does make West Alabama safer for cyclists, Boomstein predicted more of his friends would bike to work.

And, the stagehand said, he might find it easier to stick to the street.