[BikeLongmont] more thoughts on traffic mitigation

[Rick, David]

First, thanks for the report on the street design forum. I had too many
conflicts to attend. 

I live in the 3rd Avenue neighborhood, and I know the neck-out in
question. I agree with your strategy for negotiating it. As for
descending Sunset, my concern with my seven-year-old is that she hasn't
the hand strength to limit her speed to something she's comfortable
with. For that reason I usually take her down Gay. Riding on my own, I
find the best policy is a brisk start at the top, so that I'm going
quite fast before the next southbound car clears the stop sign. That
tends to discourage idiotic passing maneuvers. Taking the whole lane
should be enough, but some drivers object. A "Bikes: Use whole lane"
sign like that on the 9th street descent N of Pearl in Boulder would be
a help in establishing legitimacy. 

That stretch of Sunset has other hazards. Traffic entering from the
residential streets on the east side isn't always looking for bikes.
T-boning a car at high speed would be bad. Similarly, I once had a
gravel truck pull out in front of me at the bottom of the hill and had
to pass it in the left lane, a narrow escape that might have ended very
badly. Still, if there were only one thing I could change on that
street, it would be to extend the east side bike lane past the railroad
tracks to make a climbing lane the top. This is often my last climb
after a long day in the mountains, so I can empathize with what
"civilian" riders experience there. Probably no way to do it,
unfortunately. 

Another place in that neighborhood where it is important to take the
whole lane is climbing Francis southbound from the light at 9th. If you
don't hold your line, you can get crowded into the curb when the lane
narrows. I visualize the line I want to be on after the lane shifts over
and follow that. At the end, I'm riding a reasonable distance from the
curb, and most overtaking drivers understand what I've done in
retrospect. 

Farther north, Francis is good example of repeated merging in and out of
traffic. There are bike lanes, but following that line through
intersections will eventually get you "hooked". I move to the center of
the lane prior to each light, and back into the bike lane once I'm
though the intersection. This makes me highly visible to both right and
left turning vehicles.

-- David Rick


-----Original Message-----
From: bike-bounces at bicyclelongmont.org
[mailto:bike-bounces at bicyclelongmont.org] On Behalf Of Richard Masoner
Sent: Sunday, February 13, 2005 3:29 PM
To: bike at bicyclelongmont.org
Subject: [BikeLongmont] more thoughts on traffic mitigation

At the Street Design Forum I had a conversation during lunch with one of
Lauren's neighbors on 3rd Ave. John claimed that 3rd Avenue is too
narrow to ride safely on, especially if you're pulling a trailer. His
concern was about the bulbouts that were installed for the pedestrian
crosswalks near Francis.

I ride down 3rd frequently, and I pull my 5-year-old daughter sometimes
in a 36 inch wide trailer. The key to safety at the bulbouts is to pull
ALL THE WAY INTO THE LANE AND MAKE IT VERY CLEAR TO TRAILING TRAFFIC
THAT THERE IS NO ROOM TO PASS. Not only that, if EVERYBODY WHO LIVES ON
3RD DID THIS then they would automatically ACHIEVE THEIR GOAL of traffic
calming on 3rd Avenue. It's about reclaiming the places that belong to
them rather than giving them up to traffic.

I'm not talking about a critical mass or anything illegal. Edging by in
the gutter is not safe for the bicyclist. YOU WILL NOT GET HIT when you
take the lane. You have to signal your intentions very clearly and you
don't want to just cut right in front of a speeding car. A mirror is
very helpful too. I'll pull over when I can for courtesy, but when
there's not a space to pull over I've done this in front of full-size
RTD buses on Ken Pratt Blvd and in front of large trucks going uphill on
Sunset.

Speaking of Sunset, John also claimed that Sunset is unsafe for children
to ride down. I SEE CHILDREN PLAYING ON THE HILL ON SUNSET ALL THE TIME.
Take the streets back!

RFM
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