[BikeLongmont] BL May meeting and Emery closure position paper

[Rick, David]

On point 1, if a cyclist is a 3rd and Main and needs to go South safely,
using Emery is a 2-block detour each way, for a total of 1/3 mile. Using
Martin is a 6-block detour each way, or an extra mile total. Will casual
riders be willing to go 3x as far? Will they even know about Martin?
Will they risk Main Street? Or will they just decide against using their
bike to run errands. 
 
Some of the specific problems described in point 2 are difficult to
visualize if one does not bike the route on a regular basis. A couple of
supporting photos or maps might be helpful. Google maps street view
covers the streets in question, though not the bike path. 
 
David L. Rick

________________________________

From: bike-bounces at bicyclelongmont.org
[mailto:bike-bounces at bicyclelongmont.org] On Behalf Of Nenad Rijavec
Sent: Wednesday, May 07, 2008 7:43 PM
To: bike at bicyclelongmont.org
Subject: [BikeLongmont] BL May meeting and Emery closure position paper


Hi,

Bicycle Longmont May meeting is tomorrow, Thursday, May 8, at 7PM in the
Smart Etailing space above High Gear. We'll talk about the Bike to Work
Day preparations, as well as the Emery closure proposal.

The sense at our last meeting and the email traffic on the list indicate
that there is a broad consensus that closing Emery is not a good thing
for cyclists (or motorists, for that matter). We decided to draft a
position paper outlining our concerns and submit it to the City for
consideration. I am attaching the draft below. Please take a moment and
let us know your thoughts - I urge you to send your comments to the
whole list (email to bike at bicyclelongmont.org), but you're welcome to
send them just to me if you'd rather keep them private. Or, best yet,
stop by tomorrow night! My goal is to make sure that whatever we submit
reflects the consensus in the group.

Regards, Nenad
...your friendly Bicycle Longmont coordinator...


Bicycle Longmont Position Paper on Emery Street Closure Proposal

Bicycle Longmont opposes the proposed closure of the Emery Street
between First and Second Avenues. Our concerns are as follows:



	
1.	Emery Street is a natural bicycle access route to the downtown
from the south and south-east. It enables bicyclists to avoid the
crowded and dangerous Main Street corridor. If Emery is closed, the
bicycle traffic will be forced to either follow Main Street or detour
east to Martin. 
	
2.	The City has constructed a bicycle path from the Highway 119 to
the First Avenue at the fire training facility. Emery Street closure
would close the downtown access from the path. The alternative route via
Martin is less suitable. There is more traffic and in particular the
right turn into First Ave. riding southbound is narrow. Finally, access
from the path north via Emery requires taking a left from the path,
where it is safe to wait for a break in traffic; return is a simple
right turn from the First Ave. Taking Martin, exit from the path is to
the right, but cyclists trying to enter the path must take a left on
First Ave. This is unsafe, since there is no turn lane and the traffic
may be heavy.
	
3.	Martin tends to be closed by the maneuvering trains more often
than Emery, so Emery is a natural bypass route if the Martin is closed,
especially for the northbound traffic. Closing Emery would force the
traffic, both bicycle and automobile, to Main Street at the times Martin
is blocked. 
4.	Longmont already has a problem with north-south connectivity in
the vicinity of St Vrain and railroad tracks. Closing Emery would make
the problems worse. This is likely to become even more pronounced as the
commuter traffic starts using the railroad.
	
5.	Closing Emery would mean losing one railroad crossing. Since
adding new crossings requires the railroad concurrence and is thus
practically impossible, we are concerned that this loss would be
permanent. 
6.	While closing Emery might not have significant adverse impact on
the traffic counts on neighboring intersections, the city should
consider impact on the traffic, both bicycle and vehicular, that uses
Emery and would be forced to alternate routes.
	

We understand that closing Emery would make Butterball operations
simpler, but the transaction seems one-sided: all the benefits accrue to
the plant and all the costs fall onto the public.



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