| Twice, while bicycling to work, I have encountered a parked car on
| the newly
| paved north side of the street, forcing me into the auto traffic.
| There
| are no signs posted or lines painted regarding the intended use of
| that
| area.
There should be NO parking on the north side of the street, and the plans call
for signs every block to state that. There are also supposed to be pavement
markings and stripes to show that there are on-street bicycle lanes on both
sides of the street from Main to Deakin.
Then, I assume that ultimately I will merge onto the
| Paradise
| Creek Path, which is an obstacle now, and a dangerous one for West
| Park
| students who bicycle to school.
Once a westbound cyclist reaches Deakin, she/he has two options:
a. continue on the street in a shared lane with motor vehicles. (We assumed
that most fast cyclists would do this.)
b. leave the street and proceed on the path on the north bank of Paradise Creek
as far as West Park School. (Yes, there will be pedestrians on this path, and
cyclists are expected to make audible signals when overtaking them.)
|
| Second, when I bicycle home, I use the path that follows Paradise
| Creek near West Park School heading east. As soon as I encounter
| the light at Deakin, I have these choices:
| o bicycle against the traffic on the newly-paved
| north side of Sixth
This is not a safe option. One reason why the former two-way asphalt path on
the north side was removed was that it encouraged eastbound cyclists to ride
against westbound vehicular traffic.
| o bicycle on the pedestrian-filled sidewalk/north
| side
This is a legal, but not preferable option. Bicyclists are permitted to ride on
sidewalks in Moscow if they yield to pedestrians. The committee assumed that
children and others not confident to ride in the street would remain on the
north sidewalk, but it's not a long-term solution.
| o cross to the south side and bicycle between the
| string of parked cars and the moving traffic
This is the preferred option. With the realignment of the center line to the
north, there should be enough room for a 12-foot traffic lane, a 6-foot bicycle
lane and an 8-foot parking lane. There will be a warning sign advising
cyclists to watch out for doors opening on parked cars. Four parking spaces
are to be removed between Almon and Jackson to allow a new right-turn only lane,
while eastbound cyclists can continue in the bike lane. (Cars turning right are
advised to yield to cyclists in the bike lane.)
The challenge here is getting cyclists to stop at Deakin, punch the crossing
signal and move to the south side at the traffic light to pick up the path.
There also will be an on-street eastbound bike lane on Sixth from Line to
Deakin, and faster cyclists may wish to use that.
| o cross to the south side and bicycle on the
| pedestrian-
| filled sidewalk
Problematic, especially since the south sidewalk is intermittent.
| o bite the bullet and endure the car exhaust
| eastbound
| on Sixth Street during rush "hour" and hope that
| drivers
| treat me as if I have the same rights and
| responsibilities
| as a car driver
One of the justifications for the project was to improve air quality by
encouraging more people to bicycle and walk to campus by making it safer and
more convenient. Theoretically, the amount of vehicle exhaust will decline as
others commute by non-motorized means, as you do.
| o learn a new route
Try A Street or Third Street to Line, then turn south. Rebuilding of Eighth
Street/College Avenue to smooth the railroad crossings would make that route
more attractive to cyclists in SE Moscow.
|
| Although the new pavement is an improvement over the former path,
| I am perplexed about THE PLAN. Please
help.
The Bicycle Advisory Commission meets the first Tuesday of each month. Contact
Randy Rice at Parks & Rec to learn the time and place of the next meeting. Your
questions and concerns ought to be on the agenda for that group.
Good luck!
Kenton
Kenton Bird
Department of Journalism
and Technical Communication
Colorado State University
Fort Collins, CO 80523-1785
Phone: (970) 491-5986 Fax: (970) 491-2908
e-mail: KBird@vines.ColoState.edu