Bike Lanes

Taking Stock of Protected Bikeways 10 Years Later

From CalBike.org

by

Before the Protected Bikeways Act

Before our bill was signed into law, Caltrans design standards didn’t allow bike lanes separated by bollards, curbs, planters, or other barriers, even though other states were implementing protected bike lanes and NACTO had issued design guidance.

Class I bikeways are physically separated from traffic, but these are off-street paths. While Class I bikeways are low-stress and appealing to many riders, they can be hard to construct due to high costs and space limitations.

Class IV bikeways, on the other hand, can be added during roadway repaving projects and don’t require the acquisition of off-road rights of way, though there may still be issues with repurposing road space from driving or parking to active transportation. California had a few of these separated lanes before this law was passed. But local governments, concerned about liability if they built infrastructure not sanctioned by Caltrans, were still mostly adding Class II bikeways, which are delineated by paint only.

Photo by Jasper Garratt on Unsplash

Read More

in Featured  by Forsyth 0 comments

Commentary: Bike lanes increase freedom for all Petalumans

From Petaluma360.com

By NATHAN SPINDEL

Gliding down historic D Street, my 4-year-old daughter seated on our cargo bike, a profound sense of joy and freedom strikes me. Our big smiles, the wind in our hair, the elegant homes passing us – nothing beats that feeling. This simple act of riding a bike is liberating.

And I don’t believe our biking bliss should be the exception in Petaluma. As citizens we all pay for our streets. We get to choose what our city will look like and what values it embodies. So let’s build more bike lanes throughout Petaluma, and create a city that our kids can be free in.

Photo by Jasper Garratt on Unsplash

Read More

 

 

in Featured  by Forsyth 0 comments

Here are 8 ways building bike lanes benefit more than just bicyclists

Written by:
Protected bike lanes are fantastic on so many levels, the most important of which are cyclist safety and the right infrastructure to encourage a large-scale shift to bicycles. But, despite the familiar refrains that ring out every time a new slice of bike lane is proposed, it’s not all about those on the bicycles. The […]

Photo by Dário Gomes on Unsplash

in Featured  by Forsyth 0 comments

“Do Bike Lanes Reduce Congestion” Is the Wrong Question

From StrongTowns.org

By Emma Durand-Wood

The logic by proponents of bike infrastructure goes like this: If more people use a bike rather than take a car, then there will be fewer cars on the road, causing less congestion.

On the other hand, folks who oppose bike lanes say that by taking space away from vehicles, the bike lanes actually cause congestion.

So which is it? I’ve been pondering this for some time, and I’ve come to the conclusion that asking whether bike lanes reduce congestion is the wrong question.

Congestion Is Not the Enemy

This might sound counter-intuitive, but bear with me: Most of us think of congestion as a scourge that must be eliminated, but there’s a different way to look at it.

Congestion is a byproduct of people getting to places they want and need to go. A recent Transportation for America report put it this way:

 

Photo by Dário Gomes on Unsplash
Read More

in Featured  by Forsyth 0 comments

City Council asks how to maintain bike lanes

From TheEastSiderLA.com

The City Council today called for a report on the resources needed to maintain protected bicycle lanes, prompted by the recent addition of 2.1 miles of such infrastructure along Hollywood Boulevard.

In a unanimous vote, council members instructed the Department of Transportation and the city administrative officer to report on the equipment and staffing levels needed per mile to sweep protected bike lanes every other week, as well as an overview of the city’s existing upkeep procedures. The review will also detail best practices to maintain these bike lanes.

Read More

in Featured  by Forsyth 0 comments

Paris’ bicycling infrastructure a model that Phoenix, Los Angeles should copy, officials say

From CronkiteNews.com

By Zach Bradshaw/Special for Cronkite News

PARIS – The City of Light has become a “gold medal” example of modern bicycle infrastructure, making transportation during the Summer Olympics more accessible than ever.
Improvements to existing infrastructure has allowed the French capital city to also be widely known as the capital city of biking.

“It’s pretty great,” said Hannah Warmerdam, a Paris-based bike tour guide who works at Holland Bikes Tours & Rentals in Paris. “I mean, the biking infrastructure in France restarted in Paris.”

Since 2010, the city has devoted over 400 million euros, about $434.8 million, to retrofitting roads, developing parking solutions and strengthening the bicycle infrastructure. Many projects were carried out in preparation for the Olympics.

“The challenge was to ensure that this cycle network was built for the Olympic Games,” said François Wouts, director of the city’s Roads and Transport Department. “Therefore, an ambition linked to reaching each of the competition sites, but also to be able to serve the whole.”

As Los Angeles prepares to host the Olympics in 2028, Paris city officials say L.A. should make strides toward better bicycle infrastructure.

“I think that in Los Angeles there must be roads sized very largely and on which we could certainly take a little space of the volumes to the automobile and reallocate it to soft travel like the bicycle, like what we finally did in Paris,” said Christophe Najdovski, the Deputy Mayor of Paris in charge of greening public spaces, green spaces and biodiversity.

Photo by Svetlana Gumerova on Unsplash

Read more

in Featured  by Forsyth 0 comments

Eyes on the Street: Hollywood Boulevard Bike Lanes are Open

From LA.Streetsblog.org

By Joe Linton

Construction has not quite wrapped up, but eastbound and westbound parking-protected bike lanes are now open along Hollywood Boulevard. These are the initial part of several interconnected complete streets upgrades for one of L.A. city’s most iconic and most transit-rich corridors.

The bike lane striping is in, though city crews are still adding finishing touches: green striping in conflict zones, repainting some parts of existing crosswalks, etc.

The bike lanes are a bit longer than what the city Transportation Department (LADOT) had announced for the first phase. The project limits announced had been 1.9 miles from Gower Street to Lyman Place; the east end was extended past Lyman to the six-points intersection (Virgil Avenue/Hillhurst Avenue/Sunset Boulevard/Sunset Drive), so there are now 2.1 miles of new bike lanes.

Below are photos of Hollywood Boulevard taken yesterday afternoon.

Photo by Nathan DeFiesta on Unsplash

 

Read More

in Featured  by Forsyth 0 comments

South Pasadena Bike Lanes on Grand Are Here to Stay

From LA.streetsblog.org

By Chris Greenspon

South Pasadena’s City Council voted Wednesday night to retain 0.6 miles of bike lanes on Grand Avenue that were previously slated for removal. The vote passed 3-2, with councilmembers Primuth, Cacciotti, and Zneimer in support of keeping the lanes, and councilmembers Donovan and Braun against.

This project previously took a lot of scorn from residents opposing it in March, who at the time greatly outnumbered supporters. Their biggest grievances were that it had weak outreach, that it “uglified” the neighborhood and made driving more difficult with delineators and bulbouts, and encouraged “entitled” behavior from cyclists and joggers (using the bike lane for its intended purpose).

Back then, the council killed the project unanimously, with the caveat that a short uphill bike lane on Hermosa Street would be kept. So how did the Grand bike lanes come back up on the dais?

Agenda item 16 for this week’s meeting was a recommendation that council provide direction on maintaining or removing bike lanes in the project (including Hermosa).

Photo by Dário Gomes on Unsplash

Read More

in Featured  by Forsyth 0 comments

Bike Lanes Coming To Pacific Coast Highway

From Patch.com

By Rachel Barnes

The public has the opportunity to choose what the new bike lanes along Pacific Coast Highway in Long Beach will look like.

LONG BEACH, CA — In order to enhance accessibility and safety for bicyclists in Long Beach, dedicated bike lanes are coming along Pacific Coast Highway.

The lanes will begin at the Long Beach Traffic Circle and will end at the Los Angeles River Bike Path, according to the California Department of Transportation. The goal of the project is to encourage community members to use alternate modes of travel rather than driving.

“This project will contribute to the growing bicycle network in the region and ensure that users of all abilities can travel safely on the State Highway System,” Caltrans said.

Read more

in Featured  by Forsyth 0 comments

Eyes on the Street: Parthenia Place Walk/Bike Project Nearly Completed

From LA.StreetsBlog.org

Parthenia Place’s bike/walk improvements are open now, though landscaping is anticipated to be completed by this Fall. Additional connected projects coming soon.

By Joe Linton

Los Angeles City has nearly completed work on bike and walk improvements along Parthenia Place in the central San Fernando Valley community of North Hills. The project is being constructed by the city’s Bureau of Street Services (StreetsLA) which is part of the Public Works Department (DPW).

Streetsblog reported on the project last November when it was very much a construction site. In late February, the city Transportation Department (LADOT) announced that the project’s two-way protected bike lanes are open. Streetsblog visited Parthenia Place last month; see Twitter thread for photos and commentary.

Photo by Dário Gomes on Unsplash

Read More

in Featured  by Forsyth 0 comments