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FORT WORTH — Lindsey Akey took a chance recently, buying the Spiral Diner, a vegan-only restaurant on Magnolia Avenue in Fort Worth.

"It was sink or swim for sure," she said.

Success depends on visibility, but despite an eye-popping sign, she — and the avenue's other unique businesses — remain invisible to many motorists.

"People drive too fast on this street, I think," Akey said.

Speeding up and down four lanes of traffic, sometimes at twice the speed limit, businesses on Magnolia Avenue are a blur.

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"People drive too fast on this street," Lindsey Akey says.

But business and community leaders in this near Southside community have a radical recommendation to slow down traffic: Eliminate one lane of traffic and convert the extra space to bike lanes.

The change would begin at 8th Avenue, at Baylor All Saints Medical Center, and end 14 blocks east at Hemphill Street. The district's City Council representative, Joel Burns, will present the proposal later this month.

"So instead of them moving 50 miles an hour, they slow down to 25 and 30," said Paul Paine, president of Fort Worth South Inc., a private, non-profit group dedicated to the area's revitalization.

But the idea to restrict traffic is not without its critics. One business owner News 8 off-camera he worries about traffic congestion.

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Larry Magby says bike lanes would be good for his business.

Slower moving traffic, however, is just what other entrepreneurs are hoping for.

"It's going to be good for business because it's going to slow traffic down," said Jason Magby of Panther City Bicycles. "More people will want to come out and walk around and hang out on this street."

The change would be especially welcomed by employees at the Spiral Diner — at least 20 of them prefer to ride their bikes to work.

E-mail chawes@wfaa.com