> 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. 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.
Susan, there is a lot left to be done on that part of 6th and I hope that
when it is all done, the plan will be clearer. Bike lanes are supposed to
be painted on both the eastbound and westbound sides of the street between
Main and Deakin. These lanes will be each be one-way only lanes that
correspond to the flow of auto traffic. There will be no parking allowed
on the north side of the street, but only on the south side. The plan is
for westbound 6th St. cyclists to merge into the bike path starting at
Deakin. And, yes, the beginning of the path at Deakin is very bad now (at
least it was this morning), but should be paved and smoother.
>
> 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
> o bicycle on the pedestrian-filled sidewalk/north side
> o cross to the south side and bicycle between the
> string of parked cars and the moving traffic
> o cross to the south side and bicycle on the pedistrian-
> filled sidewalk
> 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
> o learn a new route
What we hope will work out is this:
Your choices will actually be to ride in a eastbound *only* bike lane that
will be painted from Line to Deakin and then join the eastbound bike lane
from Deakin to Main. The lane on the north side of the street will be
westbound only, so that will not be an option. For children, the
sidewalks on either side are an option, but we hope adult riders will use
the street lanes. The eastbound lane between Deakin and Jackson will be
on the traffic side of the parked cars (watch for opening doors!) and then
near Jackson, there will be a right turn lane for autos near the curb,
then a bike lane (to go straight) and another straight-only auto lane.
Auto traffic will not be allowed to go straight from the right turn lane.
The committee that helped design this realizes that it is not perfect, but
we worked hard on trying to deal with lack of funds to do what we really
wanted, trade-offs between the needs of autos (including parking), bikes
and pedestrians and other difficulties.
I hope I explained the plan a little better. Please let me know if you
have other questions.
Diane
P.S. I am working on trying to get some explanation for the telephone pole
in the middle of the sidewalk near the intersection of 6th and Jackson.
Believe me, the committee did not know about that!
Also, for people interested in bike issues, the Moscow Bicycle Advisory
Commission is looking for a few more members. Contact me (Diane Prorak,
prorak@uidaho.edu) for more information.