Clear Up Confusion on Bicycling in Old Town Fort Collins

By Rick Price

First published in the Fort Collins Coloradoan May 14, 2012

Last week a passenger in a car on College Avenue shouted at me to get off the street.  When the car stopped at a red light at College and Laporte Avenue I pulled up beside it and asked the occupants if they had spoken to me.  The young male passenger said, “yeah, get the [expletive] out of the road or at least keep to the right.”  

Photo compliments of Preston Tyree.

 I explained that College Avenue was too narrow to share and that diagonally parked cars constituted a hazard for bicyclists so I needed to stay at least six feet away from them, hence in the middle of the lane.  I also mentioned that his shouting at me constituted harassment and that I was going to report the license number of the car to the Colorado State Patrol.  The driver pleaded with me not to “put this on his license.”  I explained that since he was the driver he was responsible for the behavior of his passengers.  In reality you can shout anything you want at a bicyclist in Colorado as long as you don’t throw anything.  But I made my point.

There is still plenty of confusion about where we can ride our bicycles in Old Town Fort Collins.  Maybe it is time the City and the Downtown Business Association took steps to clear this up, especially for those who work in Old Town and who are in a position to help educate others.

When I mention the dismount zone to cyclists on the sidewalk in Old Town I’ve often had reasonable people ask me if I want them to “ride on College Avenue?”  When I say “yes,” they are incredulous and explain to me that it is illegal to ride on College.  We need to bust this myth once and for all:  it is illegal to ride on College Avenue only between Harmony Road and Laurel Street.  North of Laurel it is perfectly legal to ride on College and between Magnolia and Maple Streets it is actually safe since the speed limit is 25 miles per hour and College is, for all practical purposes, a parking lot.  You are safer pedaling College Avenue here than you are bicycling across the parking lot at Foothills Fashion Mall.  Admittedly you need to practice basic principles of vehicular cycling but you can learn these at www.BikeEd.org.

The City could help this situation in two ways: 1) publish a single panel flyer to explain where and how to bicycle in Old Town; 2) pass an ordinance, similar to ordinances in Los Angeles and Independence, Missouri, where it is illegal to harass “any person riding a bicycle, walking, running, or operating a wheelchair” by shouting or otherwise directing “loud or unusual sounds toward such person.”

Yes, it would be difficult to enforce such an ordinance.  But the publicity alone would go far to make Old Town a safer place to ride a bicycle.  

Fort Collins to Launch Share the Road Campaign

Fort Collins will launch a share the road campaign urging all road users to be tolerant of one another and to share the road appropriately.  Watch for these banners to launch this campaign.  

Fort Collins participated in a pilot project over the winter to explore community solutions to making roads safer for all users.  Participants in the ad hoc committee that met included bicycle advocates, injury prevention practitioners, pedestrians, and drivers education instructors, among others.  The share the road banner above will be displayed in the community to publicize the campaign.  Fort Collins and Colorado Springs were selected for this project because of the high rates of bicycle crashes in the two communities.

Mountain Avenue Sharrows (Shared Lane Arrows) Installed in Old Town Fort Collins

City of Fort Collins Streets Department workers install sharrows on East Mountain Avenue near the corner of Mountain and Remington on May 3, 2011.  This is an innovation in Fort Collins where sharrows have been tested in the past but not installed in Old Town.  "Sharrows" or shared lane arrows are large stencils that indicate to both motorists and bicyclists that the outside lanes on Mountain Avenue from Howes Street east to Riverside Avenue are to be shared and that bicyclists should use the center of the lane.  This moves bicyclists out of the danger zone behind diagonally parked cars and into the center of the lane where they share the lane with cars single file rather than side by side.

What is Your Smart Cycling IQ?

First published in the Fort Collins Coloradoan December 20, 2010

The Bike Co-op’s “train-the-trainer” program will train sixty or more community members in the basics of smart cycling in the next several months.  Why don’t you join us?  Determine your Smart Cyclist IQ by taking this quiz (answers are near the bottom). 

1) If you pass a pedestrian while bicycling on a sidewalk or trail you should:  a) yield; b) emit an audible signal before you pass; c) moderate your speed; d) all of the above.

2) The most important measurement in fitting a standard diamond-frame bicycle to a rider is: a) rider weight; b) wheel diameter; c) crank length; d) stand-over height. 

3) Colorado law requires that cyclists ride as far right as:  a) possible; b) practicable; c) they feel safe; d) none of the above.

4) How many feet in advance should a cyclist signal his or her intention to turn right? a) 20; b) 40; c) 80; d) 100.

5) A properly fitted helmet should be worn: a) tilted back to protect the back of the head; b) level, covering the forehead, with the chin strap loose; c) tilted back to protect the back of the head, with the chin strap tight; d) level covering the forehead, with both the ear straps and the chin strap tight.

6) What gear combination is easiest to pedal up a steep hill?  a) small chainring and large rear cog; b) Large chainring and large rear cog; c) small chainring and small rear cog; d) large chainring and small rear cog.

7) Optimum cadence for long-distance cycling is from: a) 25 – 50 rpm; b) 50 – 75 rpm; c) 75 – 95 rpm; d) 100 –125 rpm

8)  What is the minimum width, in feet, of a car lane that can be safely shared by a bicycle and an automobile side by side? a) 20; b) 12; c) 14; d) 18.

9) Which of the following statements is true?  Bicyclists are considered pedestrians when they a) choose to ride against traffic; b) ride their bike on a sidewalk or trail; c) are crossing the street in a pedestrian crosswalk; d) are walking their bike.

10) A white front light on a bicycle should be visible for how many feet ahead?  a) 100;

b) 300; c) 500; d) 700.

Answers:  1) d; 2) d; 3) c; 4) d; 5) d; 6) a; 7) c; 8) c; 9) d; 10) c.

If you missed only one or two questions you should consider helping the Bike Co-op teach this material.  Smart cycling is more than knowing the answer to these questions, though.  Join us for hands on practice to learn bike handling skills in Fort Collins traffic in January or February.  One Saturday class and the free online course at www.BikeEd.org will make you a smart cyclist and qualify you to help with our Youth Skills Bicycling 123 program.  For more information and to sign up for a class visit http://www.signupgenius.com/go/traffic4.

Sharrows Will Make Cycling Safer in Old Town

Smart Cycling Column by Rick Price

Fort Collins Coloradoan, Monday, Sept. 20, 2010

Bicyclists often ask me what to do when the bike lane ends, such as when riding east on Mountain Avenue or Oak Street into Old Town.

The answer to the question is take the lane. Any of those streets that have on-street parking and no bike lane require you to act as a vehicle (since you are, anyway, by law) and take the center of the lane. You are safer there because you are more visible and should assert the basic principle of first come, first served. The car behind you will have to wait, as it would for another automobile poking along looking for parking.

Many people don't feel comfortable with this solution. I am pleased to announce that relief is on the way, at least on Mountain Avenue.

At its August meeting, the Bicycle Advisory Committee, a sub-committee of the city's Transportation Board, heard a report from transportation planner Scott Weeks that sharrows are being planned for Mountain Avenue from Meldrum Street to Riverside Avenue. This is great news for those of us who pedal to Old Town from the west.

The 2004 Strategic Plan for Old Town noted that "discontinuous east-west bicycle routes in and out of Old Town make it extremely difficult for cyclists from west side neighborhoods to get to downtown for work or entertainment." The plan further commented that lack of signage and visible connections "make bicycle commuting a poor alternative" for those who work downtown.

So what's a sharrow? It is a contraction of "shared lane arrow." It is a large bicycle stencil with arrows or chevrons painted in the center of the lane indicating where bicycles should be for safety purposes when there is no bike lane. It renders clear to motorists that they can expect to find bicycles in the travel lane.

Sharrows are used principally in communities where streets are too narrow for bike lanes. Boulder has sharrows, as do Oregon cities Portland and Eugene. They have become standard markings in many California cities, including Berkeley, Long Beach and San Francisco. Long Beach has even painted a wide green stripe down the travel lane indicating where bicyclists should position themselves. Some members of the Bicycle Advisory Committee encouraged our transportation planners to do something similar.

Sharrows are just another means of asking motorists and cyclists to share the road. They serve an important educational purpose by pointing out that it's OK for bikes to pedal down the middle of the lane where they are more visible, won't be hit by cars backing out of diagonal parking and where they avoid the door zone of cars parallel parked along the road.

Some of us on the Bicycle Advisory Committee would like to see sharrows on all east-west streets into Old Town. We feel they would make Old Town much friendlier for bicyclists and motorists.

Both cyclists and drivers can make bicycling safer

Fort Collins Coloradoan, January 4, 2010
by Rick Price, Ph.D. (Safe Cycling Coordinator, The Bike Co-op)

Headed north on College Avenue from Old Town, the motorist shouted something as he passed.

At the light, he continued: "You were in the middle of the lane. Get out of the road! You can't ride in the middle of the road." I gave him my League of American Bicyclist cycling instructor business card as he roared off.

Others have advised me that College Avenue isn't a "bike lane" or that "bicycles are illegal on College Avenue." When I explain that bicycles are prohibited on College Avenue from Laurel Street south to Harmony Road but not in Old Town, people seem surprised. Most don't realize that legally, my bicycle is as much of a vehicle as the SUV or the Prius driving through Old Town.

With this monthly column, I will discuss rules of the road, shared rights and responsibilities, belligerent motorists and scofflaw cyclists. The outcome, I hope, might be a safer cycling and motoring environment.

I'll begin with six basic rules for cyclists and motorists.

> Cyclists are safest when they ride with the flow of traffic. Wrong-way riding is the single biggest cause of bike/car crashes.

> Cyclists are safest riding on the street or road, not on the sidewalk. This reduces conflicts with pedestrians and decreases sidewalk "ride-outs," another cause of bike/car crashes.

> "Share the road" has two meanings, depending on the width of the lane. A 14-foot lane has room for bicycles and motor vehicles side by side. A 12- or 10-foot lane does not, so the League of American Bicyclists teaches cyclists to ride in the center of the lane or just to the right of center, where they are more visible and therefore safer.

> When there are no bike lanes, bicyclists should ride where they feel safest. State law allows this, and with the new 3-foot passing rule, this may mean that cyclists should use the entire lane. In Old Town, with the hazards of diagonal parking, bicycles are safest in the middle of the lane if they chose to ride College, Mountain and LaPorte avenues or Olive, Oak and Magnolia streets. Cyclists no longer should feel the need to pedal in the gutter.

> Bicycling is safe, yet cyclists should wear helmets to protect themselves from the 5 percent of crashes that can’t be avoided. To avoid the 95 percent of crashes that can be prevented, cyclists should ride defensively, avoid falling off their bikes and not allow others to knock them off their bikes.

Bicyclists fare best when they act and are treated as drivers of vehicles. This rule is the mantra of the League of American Bicyclists and dominates 99 percent of the safe cycling curricula taught in the U.S. Different rules apply for children under age 10 and for those between ages 10 to 15.

In the following months, we will examine these common rules more in depth.