[BikeLongmont] Mt. View Avenue Traffic Mitigation Project

[Nick_Wolfrum at ci.longmont.co.us]

I read several messages on the Bike Longmont e-mails from the last few days
regarding the Neighborhood Traffic Mitigation Project that is being
implemented on Mt. View Avenue between Hover and Fordham, and in particular
the impact it will have on bicycle traffic along Mr. View Avenue.  I
thought it might be helpful if I responded to it on behalf of City Staff.

First of all, I would like to say that facilitating bicycling in Longmont
has been a priority over the last several year and continues to be one.
Longmont has made a significant effort to add both on and off street
bicycle lanes in over the past several years and I think that working
together with the bicycling community we have made many improvements, and
intend to continue in those efforts.

As I am sure you are all aware, Traffic Calming along residential streets
and how the City can make those street more livable for the residents that
live adjacent to those streets and others that use the streets has also
become a priority in Longmont .  Longmont established a Neighborhood
Traffic Mitigation Program and projects such as the one being installed on
Mt. View Avenue are coming out of that program.  Several of you might have
had the opportunity to attend the Neighborhood Traffic Forum that was held
by the City at the Senior Center on Saturday, February 12th.  The results
of that Forum are being discussed at City Council at their March 1st Study
Session Meeting.

As we continue to work on this program of Neighborhood Traffic Mitigation
throughout the community, our goal will be to accommodate the use of
bicycles on city streets.  As we worked with the Mt. View Avenue
Neighborhood group on this project we maintained that it was important to
maintain the integrity of the bicycle lanes along Mt. View Avenue and the
use of Mt. View Avenue as a major east-west bicycle route in this
community.  Several design proposals that were proposed for this section of
Mt. View Avenue that would have either eliminated or had a more significant
impact on the bicycle lanes were not pursued because of their negative
impact on bicyclists.

One of the specific goals of the project was to try and keep drivers in
their lanes and keep them from cutting into the bicycle lanes on the
curves.  One automobile / bicycle accident already occurred on this stretch
of road when a driver cut into the bicycle lane and hit the bicyclist as
the driver "flattened" out the curve.  That is why the delineators were
placed to force drivers to stay in the lanes.

The traffic circle options seemed to be the best option of all the
alternatives for the locations at which they are being installed.  We do
anticipate that  will require the drivers and bicyclists to "share the
road" through those intersections.   We appreciate the input that we have
seen on this and will look into the need for appropriate signing to
encourage drivers to be aware of, and appropriately share the road with
bicyclists.  Overall our hope is that if we can slow the drivers on this
stretch of road, and keep them in their lanes, it will make it a better
place for the bicyclists as well.

As I think I saw it mentioned on one of the postings, the facilities being
installed now are temporary.  After 6 months, we will be having another
vote of this neighborhood to determine if they want the improvements to
stay or not.  If they do vote to keep them, we will replace the temporary
measures with permanent ones and at that time can also make minor revisions
if we find they will help.  The concerns that we hear from bicyclists will
also be considered in the final design.

If the Bicycle Longmont group is interested, I would be glad to have
someone attend one of your next meetings to discuss Traffic Calming and the
impact that it has on bicyclists.

Once again, I want to insure you that while we are working on addressing
Traffic Mitigation in Longmont, we maintain a commitment to bicycling and
will work to make those two things happen together rather than having a
negative impact on one another.


Nick Wolfrum
City Engineer
City of Longmont
303-651-8307