[BikeLongmont] proposed Wal-Mart

[David Oliver]

Hi Richard,
  It sounds like you have seen detailed plans for the proposal.  Where 
did you go find them?  I would
be interested in looking at this too.  A few thoughs below...

-David Oliver

>
> 1. SH66 is a popular route for cyclists. The proposed extension of 
> Collyer Street and the right-in/right-out entry/exit may have an 
> impact on road sharing between cyclists and motorists visiting 
> Wal-Mart. Will there be sufficient road-sharing space between the 
> right-turn lane and straight through lanes? I'm particularly concerned 
> about the west-bound acceleration lanes out of Collyer and the 
> right-out exit. We'll have a situation similar to the acceleration 
> lanes from Hover and Airport Road onto SH119. Are there any thoughts 
> on how to minimize the effect to cyclists of these acceleration lanes? 
> The sidewalk on the plan is fine for pedestrians, but not for cyclists 
> heading into the mountains. Perhaps some signage can be required 
> warning merging motorists to watch for straight-through cyclists?

I assume this acceleration lane turns into the right turn lane at 287? 
In that case a "sign" on the road
with a continuous bike lane striped between the through lanes and 
turn/accel lane would be ideal.
(like southbound Larimer 17 right turn to westbound CO-56/US-287 in 
Berthoud)

> 5. Because SH66 is high speed all the way from I-25 until you hit 
> Collyer Street, some sort of psychological cue to get into "city 
> driving" mode would be helpful. Perhaps this can be done with a 
> contrasting color pavement for the Collyer Street crosswalk? This will 
> make it easier for traffic to merge in from Wal-Mart, and also might 
> ease the desperate pedal-to-the-metal acceleration we see getting onto 
> SH119 from Hover & Airport Road that endangers cyclists.

I think reducing the speed limit from 60 to 50 all the way back at Pace 
or even Sundance would help
with this problem as well as with the ever increasing difficulty of 
merging onto 66 from Pace/Sundance/Alpine
for both motorists and cyclists.

> 6. SH66 is a gateway into Longmont, with a very high volume of tourist 
> traffic headed to Estes Park and RMNP. The plan shows plenty of 
> landscaping in the form of trees and bushes along the highway. Is it 
> possible to do some other things to pretty up this entry corridor? (I 
> don't have any specific suggestions). Perhaps a large raised median 
> (in conjunction with my suggestion for a ped refuge and subtle traffic 
> calming).

Somewhat unrelated, but the 119/Hover ped/bike crossing issue is also a 
gateway, and provides another opportunity to
combine scenic entry with non-motorized facilities.  Although 
underpasses are easier to use (10' vert change vs. 20')
I think an artistically designed "X" shaped double ped overpass would be 
both a dramatic entry archway and very useful
(though I'm sure very expensive...).

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