Amid a raucous, full house Tuesday night, the Arlington City Council gave preliminary approval to the Option C version of the controversial Hike and Bike Plan in 5-4 vote.

City Hall was packed to 350 maximum capacity, with individuals who couldn’t find seats watching the meeting from the lobby. Bicycles lined the front of the building and a sea of yellow bike supporter shirts filled the chamber. Option C recommends 149 miles of sidewalk gaps, 64 miles of off-street trails, 43 miles of on-street bike routes, 16 miles of on-street bike lanes and two miles for other on-street bike ways, totaling $55,260,000.

Mayor Robert Cluck allowed every individual who signed up to speak a full two minutes each. There were 43 attendees who spoke in favor of the plan and 27 against. Proponents of the plan barely outnumbered opponents, with 137 supporters and 105 opponents in attendance signed up as non speakers for the public hearing.

Greg Collins, Bike Friendly Arlington supporter, said he thought Cluck would only allow 20 minutes for each side as he did for the June 14 public hearing on the Thoroughfare Development Plan.

“I hope City Council will see the positive direction we envision for Arlington and pass the Hike and Bike Plan, but we will celebrate and continue to ride our bicycles on the road either way,” Emmanuela Mujica, Bike Friendly Arlington member, said before the meeting.

The meeting was full of strong opinions from both sides. Mujica expressed the diversity in age, experience level and socioeconomic background of the Bike Friendly Arlington group, and urged the council to pass the Hike and Bike plan.

“We have connected people to our positive mantra to promote two-wheel love in Arlington,” she said. “Many of us help ease congestion on busy roads. We are here to make the Arlington we love even better. A transportation plan like the Hike and Bike plan makes sense when put into action, this is the direction smart cities are moving in. Celebrate good times and ride on.”

John Hall, UTA vice president for administration and campus operations, expressed the importance of the plan to the UTA campus and urged the council to implement the plan.

“For UT-Arlington, I think many of y’all are aware of the significant increase in enrollment over the last few years,” he said. “By fall 2012, we’ll have well over 7,000 students living on campus or adjacent to campus. Many of these students will be riding bicycles. The university is concerned with our students’ safety and believe dedicated bike lanes will enhance bicycle safety.”

Those in opposition to the plan also had strong feelings.

“This is the C version. There is really not much difference between the A, B or the C plan. If you pass one tonight, you might as well pass the A,” said Buddy Saunders, a representative of Save Our Streets and Lone Star Comics founder. “At the committee meetings, parking

was discussed and at those meetings, it was discussed that on-street parking would not be allowed with the bike lanes.”

District 6 Councilman Robert Shephard, chairman of the subcommittee that revised the original Hike and Bike Master plan, expressed sadness that a compromise was difficult to achieve.

“It disturbs me that we can’t talk and arrive at a solution that is beneficial to everyone,” he said.

District 1 Councilman Mel LeBlanc expressed his displeasure with the plan and made a motion to deny the plan, which District 8 Councilman Gene Patrick seconded. The council voted 4-5 to deny the plan, then the council voted to 5-4 to give preliminary approval to the plan, following Shephard’s motion to approve the Hike and Bike plan with several stipulations. These included a statement that parking in bike lanes be permitted and a policy statement that the plan is a recommendation, not a mandate. District 2 Councilwoman Sheri

Capehart seconded the motion with stipulations for additional bike lanes and routes around the city.

Cluck, LeBlanc, District 3 Councilman Robert Rivera and Patrick voted against the plan.

The council will have a second public hearing and reading of the plan, and a final approval vote after its July recess.