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.

Sun-Blind Drivers can Kill

Published in the Fort Collins, Coloradoan "Smart Cycling" column 

Sept. 6, 2010

By Rick Price 

Even though 95% of bike crashes can be avoided, we all know that “stuff happens.”  Like the night I knocked a Colorado State Patrolman on his back in the middle of North Overland Trail at Vine Drive.  I didn’t see him until my forearm hit him in the gut.  He was on his back in the middle of the road in the blink of an eye.    

The investigation, which took a week, determined that I was blinded by the flashing lights of the police cruiser parked in the bike lane.  The officer was standing next to his cruiser with no flashlight and no reflective material on his dark blue uniform.  I was absolved of any wrongdoing in the crash because of the “blinding lights.”

There are a number of lessons here but the biggest one is this:  watch out not to be blinded by bright lights and this time of year be especially careful of sun-blindness when driving your car or bike.

(See the link to the story by Keri Caffrey that accompanies this photo at the bottom of this post.  Do you see the cyclist in the picture?)

Sun-blindness often occurs in Fort Collins within six weeks each side of the equinox (September 20^th or 21^st) especially within an hour after sunrise and before sunset.  It is a big issue on east-west streets.  And it can kill.  The same conditions exist before and after March 21^st but fall is far worse because the weather is still warm and kids, including college students, are bicycling to school in large numbers. 

Amanda Miyoshi was bicycling to Fort Collins High School on Sept. 11, 2007.  As she crossed Horsetooth Road at 7:30 a.m. the young 17 year old driver headed east didn’t see her until it was too late.  Amanda was wearing a helmet yet she suffered a traumatic brain injury from which she is still recovering. The sun rose that day at 6:37 a.m. and was no higher than three and a half-fingers above the horizon, using the boy scout method of calculating the sun’s position by holding your arm out and measuring the number of fingers between the horizon and the sun.

Fourteen year old "SiSi" Mijiddorj was crossing Drake Road and was hit by an east-bound SUV at 6:43 a.m. on Aug. 20, 2009.  The sun had risen less than thirty minutes earlier.  At the time of the crash the sun would have been about two fingers above the horizon.  The SUV driver never saw her.  SiSi died that evening. 

Cyclists and motorists should be very careful on east-west streets this time of year, especially in the morning but also in the evening.  During morning hours motorists should slow down and be aware that cyclists and pedestrians are headed to school.  Cyclists should stop before crossing arterials and walk across them if necessary.  Use sidewalks if you must and be aware that motorists simply may not see you if they are blinded.  Another option is to change your route:  use the trails or use neighborhood streets where trees cast shade and cut back on the possibility of sun-blindness. 

(For a great illustration of how the sun can render a bicyclist invisible check out this blog post by Keri Caffrey:  "The Blinding Sun ") 

Modest Sales Tax Increase will Yield Big Results

Letter to the Editor of the Fort Collins, Coloradoan
Sept. 11, 2010


As an avid cyclist, former business owner and member of the city's Economic Advisory Commission, I value the quality of life that we enjoy  in Fort Collins, and I support the modest tax  increase proposed by City Council on the November
ballot. By my count, I pay more in tips at coffee  shops and restaurants in Old Town than I would pay  with this slight tax increase.
Our sales-tax rate is one of the lowest among Front  Range cities, yet I am delighted with the quality of  life we have created. But don't take my word for it. In 2010, Money Magazine described us as a "terrific  small city" and shows a table with our local tax rate  half that of the other Top 10 small cities on their  list.
What will we get with this sales-tax increase? Fewer  potholes and cleaner bike lanes for safer cycling,  more parks and better trails and, if we're lucky, more  police officers who can figure out how to get  Colorado State University students to stop running  stop signs on their bikes.
Is Fort Collins a great town, or what? Let's keep it  that way. Vote yes on ballot issue 2B.
Rick Price, Ph.D.

Fort Collins Bicycle Advisory Committee Seeks Citizen Input on Share the Road Signs

The Bicycle Advisory Committee (BAC), a subcommittee of the City’s Transportation Board, seeks input from the community on the use of "Share the Road" signs in Fort Collins. The committee is reviewing current signs and the possibility of recommending the placement of additional signs and, possibly, the removal of some existing signs.
Your input into this process is invited by way of this announcement.
Please send comments to BAC@FCGov.com with the subject header: Share the Road.
Please note that any decision regarding the placlement or use of "Share the Road Signs" resides solely with the City's Traffic Engineer.  The role of the BAC is simply to advise City Staff, the Transportation Board and, through that Board, City Council.  The criteria that the City Traffic Engineer will apply in his decisions for placing Share the Road signs include the guidelines presented below.  Please keep these criteria in mind as you consider your own personal suggestions.


1) We are using the 2009 Draft Manual on Uniform Traffic Code Devices (MUTCD) as our guide in formulating our recommendations. If you would like to consult the MUTCD you may do so here: http://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/htm/2009/html_index.htm. Section 9, found here is most germane to this project. But the basic rules are as presented below.
2) "Share the Road" signs are considered "warning signs." To quote from the MUTCD "Warning signs call attention to unexpected conditions on or adjacent to a highway, street, or private roads open to public travel and to situations that might not be readily apparent to road users. Warning signs alert road users to conditions that might call for a reduction of speed or an action in the interest of safety and efficient traffic operations."
3) "The use of warning signs should be kept to a minimum as the unnecessary use of warning signs tends to breed disrespect for all signs."
4) "In situations where there is a need to warn drivers to watch for other slower forms of transportation traveling along the highway, such as bicycles, golf carts, horse-drawn vehicles, or farm machinery, a SHARE THE ROAD (W16-1P) plaque (see Figure 2C-12) may be used." (MUTCD Section 2C.60 SHARE THE ROAD Plaque (W16-1P)
5) The Bicycles May Use Full Lane (R4-11) sign (see Figure 9B-2) may be used on roadways where no bicycle lanes or adjacent shoulders usable by bicyclists are present and where travel lanes are too narrow for bicyclists and motor vehicles to operate side by side.
Fort Collins currently has Share the Road Signs on a variety of streets. A map of those signs is available from the City's Bike Coordinator.  Write to him at DAKemp@fcgov.com. 
An example of an appropriate location for signs would be College Avenue in Old Town where conditions described in number 4 prevail.
Other locations include Laurel Street and Horsetooth Road where they each cross College Avenue. Signs were put up there because bike lanes disappear near College and create a situation where motorists encounter "unexpected conditions" (number 2) that include "slower forms of transportation" (number 4) when bicycles take the full lane.
Streets where Share the Road signs may not be appropriate include Prospect Street east and west of College or Shields Street north of Laurel. In these areas Share the Road signs may inappropriately suggest to cyclists that these are bike-friendly roads when they may not be.
The BAC will consider any and all of your suggestions as they prepare a comprehensive recommendation, so please don’t hold back!
We look forward to hearing from you. Again, please send your comments to BAC@FCGov.com by July 20, 2010.  Include "Share the Road" in the subject line of your message.
If you have questions about this please contact Dave "DK" Kemp, the City Bike Coordinator: DaKemp@FCGov.com.
Please note, also, that the Bicycle Advisory Committee always welcomes public input on any topic of concern to or about cyclists.  Feel free to send comments at any time to BAC@FCGov.com.

Bike Co-op to Hold Bike Town Meeting to Wrap up Community Listening Sessions

When: Wednesday, May 5 from 7 – 9 p.m.
Where: New Belgium Brewing, 500 Linden St. Fort Collins

In order to provide input into the Plan Fort Collins process the Bike Co-op has completed a series of eight community “listening sessions.” About fifty citizens, including cyclists, hikers/pedestrians and motorists came out to express their concerns and visions for a better bicycling community.

Among the concerns expressed for the near-term was a desire for better connections in the existing trail and bike lane system and more and better educational outreach to cyclists in order to reduce conflicts with other users, especially on sidewalks and trails in parks and natural areas.

For the long term the wish list includes increasing the numbers of over- and under-passes along trails like the Mason Trail and the Powerline Trail, including over or under Harmony Road. It was pointed out that grade separated crossings benefit both cyclists and motorists as it eliminates wait times at street crossings for both.

A consistent theme at several of the meetings was the idea of reducing speed limits throughout the City to 35 miles per hour or less. The point was made that if we really want to encourage biking and walking, speed limits should be reduced.

Other ideas brought forward include the concept of “bicycle boulevards” that give cyclists preference to use some neighborhood streets as thoroughfares. Streets nominated for such use included Swallow, Columbia, Stover, Canyon, Oak and Loomis. Bicycle Boulevards encourage cyclists to use through neighborhood streets while motorists might be discouraged through the use of traffic calming devices, signage, and other traffic control features. Stop lights, for example, might default to green for through cyclists while requiring motor vehicles to trigger lights through actuation devices, the opposite of how most City intersections now operate.

A community bike town meeting will be held Wednesday, May 5 from 7 – 9 p.m. at New Belgium Brewing to finalize citizens’ input from these listening sessions. Everyone is encouraged to attend, whether you ride a bicycle, drive a car, or limit your movements to walking. The goal of the meeting will be to review all the suggestions presented and vote on priority actions for the short and long term. A similar bike town meeting was held in November 2007 and resulted in the placement of 35 “share the road” signs throughout the community. Organizers of this meeting hope that new innovative ideas will emerge to present to City planners and to City Council through the City’s Bicycle Advisory Committee and the Transportation Board.

For information about the meeting call 310-5238. Or visit the Bike Co-op web site.

Fort Collins Needs a Few Scramble Crossings

If you have ever watched students rushing to class at Elizabeth and Shields or Laurel and College you've seen that those intersections might benefit from scramble crossings. They would be most beneficial for bicycles but pedestrians would use them as well. In a scramble crossing (also called a diagonal crossing or crosswalk) motor traffic from all directions stops at once and pedestrians and bikes can cross any of four crosswalks or diagonally in the middle of the intersection. Next time you are at College and Laurel or Elizabeth and Shields before classes stop and watch. Imagine a scene like the one shown in the video here.

And then think about a diagonal bike and pedestrian crossing like the one shown here.

Bike Co-op Sponsors Bike Town Meetings

To provide input for Plan Fort Collins the Bike Co-op will hold a “listening sessions” or “Bike Town Meetings” to identify issues and opportunities for the future of bicycling in the city.    

Since Plan Fort Collins includes major updates to both City Plan and to the Master Transportation Plan this is an opportunity for cyclists to share their thoughts on what will it be like to ride a bicycle in Fort Collins twenty years from now.

The Co-op will hold nine public meetings over the next seven weeks.  The meetings are open to the public and everyone - cyclists and non-cyclists - are encouraged to attend. 

Meetings this week are:

Tuesday, March 30^th;  12 – 1:30 p.m.

Home State Bank Community Room

303 East Mountain Avenue

Topic:  Planning for the Future of Bicycling in Fort Collins

A general discussion and introduction to Plan Fort Collins from the bike seat.  

Thursday, April 1^st: 12 – 1:30 p.m.

REI

4025 South College Avenue

Topic :  Bicycling in Mid-Town Fort Collins: Prospect to Harmony:  Mason Trail, Foothills Fashion Mall, and back and forth across College Avenue

This will be a very interesting discussion about issues and opportunities along the Mason Corridor, College Avenue and the area of the Foothills Fashion Mall.

For a complete list of meetings through May 5th click here.