- Getting There: Road-sharing just got easier
Source: Spokesman-Review; September 27, 2010
Summary: Using a combination of dedicated bike lanes and sharrows, the City of Spokane has created new bike corridors on Howard Street from Fourth to Buckeye and a loop around downtown. A sharrow is a marking on a traffic lane that looks like a biker with arrows. It warns automobile drivers that if they see a bike, the bicycler owns the lane. (An excellent Inlander Q&A gives great detail into what sharrows can and can't do.) The new routes are the result of a $600,000 federal grant. This was a non-controversial way to add bike lanes.
Opinion: At last count, there were 33 comments on the story on the Spokesman web site. There doesn't seem to be anything non-controversial when it comes to drivers in downtown Spokane. What's truly sad is that the bike has always owned the lane when they're in it. And yet, if there's a reminder to help make people safer, the contrarians come out in droves. I wonder if they hate painted crosswalks, too. Stories like the next one drives them into a frenzy.
- City analysis notes bike route's potential for snarled traffic
Source: Spokesman-Review; October 4, 2010
Summary: Removing a lane of auto traffic for a bike lane on second avenue would cause backups during rush hour in downtown Spokane, according to a city analysis. Councilmember Bob Apple said that a bike lane wouldn't be safe, and is annoyed by the assertive behavior of bicycle transportation advocates. He suggests bicyclists be moved to fourth and fifth streets. Bob Lutz, former chair of the city’s bicycle advisory board, says the analysis is flawed: it assumes increasing automobile traffic over time despite recent trends. Councilmember Jon Snyder points out that the route is on the master bike plan and connects other important bike routes in the city.
Opinion: What's the point of a plan unless it's implemented? There's more on Second Avenue in the next story.... - Second Avenue: Crossroads or Opportunity?
Source: Spokane Council Member Richard Rush; October 5, 2010
Summary: Spokane City Council Member rebuts the city's assertion that revising 2nd Avenue to include a bike lane would require that a lane of auto traffic be eliminated. He notes that Second Avenue has an unusually high accident rate, so sorely needs to be subject to "traffic calming" methods, like making the wide 13-foot lanes narrower. He cites a study which shows that 10-foot lanes do not cause more accidents than 13-foot lanes. So, with the current 51-foot road width, Second Avenue could continue to have three 10-foot lanes, two parking lanes of 7 and 8 feet respectively, plus a 6-foot bike lane.
Opinion: City council members who read traffic safety studies. They’re a rare breed! The images he includes showing the increase in cycling safety and a sample of what bike lanes should look like are convincing. But, is it too late? The next story answers that....
- Final touches on Second Avenue will likely come next year
Source: Spokesman-Review; October 4, 2010
Summary: There have been delays in the reconstruction of Second Avenue so it will continue until after the winter. Business has been suffering serious sales declines. While the major construction will be complete this year, a final run of asphalt will be laid down next spring.
Opinion: All this means that it doesn't get its final striping until after the snow has finished for the year. Time to adjust the lines on the road, guys.
Four the Future - October 11
Bikes!
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Bike lanes on 2nd Avenue or any major arterial and truck route are irresponsable and unsafe. Ask youself, would you want your child directed to ride on streets like 2nd Avenue and I think you have, a good answer. Compound that with the legal right of traffic to take what's known as a free-right-turn and you can only imagine the full gravity of the bad idea! There are a wealth of other reasons why this is a bad idea and not at all thought through and have tried to voice some but recieved fanatic proponent criticism even before getting started.
ReplyDeleteI've noted that there's a bad link on Council Member Rush's blog. the proper link to the Master Bike Plan is http://www.spokaneplanning.org/docs/Master_Bike_Plan/Master_Bike_Plan_adopted_6-8-09.pdf
ReplyDeleteWell, Bob, the role of the planner is to present alternatives, so that is what's happening here. The point is that planners study these things, and are aware of potential solutions to all sorts of problems.
ReplyDeleteFor instance, the law states that a free right is only from the rightmost lane to the rightmost lane. If there's a bike lane on your right, then you're no longer in the rightmost lane.
Now, I do know that won't stop anyone, as anyone who's driven in this region knows. Consequently, there's something called "bike boxes" which graphically display on the ground that bikes are present. A photo of one is on the link above to Council Member Rush's blog entry. An discussion of bike boxes can be found at http://streetswiki.wikispaces.com/Bike+Boxes