Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Bicycle Boulevards.
A while back, faithful follower Waco asked about bike boulevards, and referenced the above video. No one (including me) responded. But it's worth discussing.
Basically, the bike boulevard streets are the same type of streets that about 80% of Dallas' soon to be scrapped bike plan (according to BikeDFW) use: low volume local streets. Many of the features of the bike boulevard have been incorporated, including road-humps, specially-colored signage, diverters and closures with bicycle openings and allowances. The City was even talking about using the Denver "Bike in a Box" (the precursor of sharrows) along with route numbers on bike routes. The primary differences are those of scale, both in size (the VERY large Berkeley street marking vs. the proposed 4' square Denver bike-in-a-box), and quantity, with the biggest difference being Dallas' lack of a 40,000 student urban public university, and the approximately 2:1 (in the case of UC Berkeley, it's probably closer to 4:1) ratio of support staff and hangers-on per enrolled students that large universities generate in a fairly small geographic area (high population density and favorable demographics). And commitment.
Don't forget context sensitivity. These facilities (like those in other cities) were installed primarily to meet the needs of an existing broad base of bicycle users (culture and demographics). That's not a bad problem to have.
So any way, watch the video. There's some good, and some bad.
The Discussion Lamp is lit.
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11 comments:
Thank you for resurrecting this thought. I just re-read my original comment (http://cycledallas.blogspot.com/2009/04/in-nutshell.html) and realized that I wasn't very clear.
Though I didn't express it very well, I was thinking less about the full boulevard concept and more about the sharrows-style markings in the roadway.
This was the thought that I was trying to get across: What about painting the (bike graphic) "use full lane-change lanes to pass" sharrows-style on the roadways of all of the existing designated bike routes in Dallas?
If the issue is communicating to and educating road users about lane usage (regardless of vehicle type), it would certainly make the message clear and in-your-face in a way that might get people to actually notice and think. It would certainly make the message abumdantly more clear than the bike route signs, which though fantastic, are less clear from an instructional standpoint.
I know that in the past you have highlighted examples of the misuse of sharrows and the confusion that can result, and I am not sure if there is an existing tool in the traffic engineer's toolbox like this, but I keep asking myself (and now others) why not?
What would be the down side to doing this?
Waco asked: "I know that in the past you have highlighted examples of the misuse of sharrows and the confusion that can result, and I am not sure if there is an existing tool in the traffic engineer's toolbox like this, but I keep asking myself (and now others) why not?"
I've asked myself the same thing. I've come to realize the problem isn't the tool or the toolbox. The problem is how the tool inevitably ends up being used.
Like using a screwdriver to hammer a nail, sharrows end up being used as faux bike lanes, trying to micromanage cyclists' position on the roadway.
They're supposed to be used to do the exact opposite. But for that to happen, the implementers have to actually believe they're using a different tool for a different purpose.
If every problem looks like a nail (keep cyclists to the right), then every tool will be used like a hammer.
Waco, I held out initial hope for the Denver "Bike in a Box" (not to be confused with the Portland bike-boxes), but those morphed into the "sharrow" design. I struiggled with how they might be used in a productive way, and had intended to use them on bike routes steets, placing them 20' before and behind crosswalks, combined with route numbers, in the dead center on the lane. The super-graphic size of the Berkeley graphics looked interesting, but the guidelines that are being adopted have some very real problems.
The soon to be adopted guidelines now include the intent to define bicyclist lateral positioning in the lane, and therein lies the problem.
As an example, we have many streets in Dallas (primarily in and near the CBD) that are bike routes. These streets have 14' and 15' wide outside lanes, and they allow off-peak parking. The new guidelines state that the sharrow shall be placed to direct cyclist lane positioning 4' from curb face, and if the lane has on-street parking, the sharrow shall be 11' out from the curb.
So, during peak hours, a cyclist on Houston or Canton Streets (fro example) would be riding so far to the right as to allow (encourage?)an automobile to pass them on the right side! If the sharrow was placed 4' from the curb in that lane (or at both 4' and 11'), I guarantee you we'd have a cyclist ride into the back of a parked car, while following the sharrow (this is why I cut the fools in Austin no slack for allowing cars to park in their precious bike lanes).
Better signage and markings are needed, and can be done in such a way as to not cause more problems than they solve, or to provide a false sense of security and implied "safety". It's an ongoing problem.
Dang, that post above is just barely literate. ;-)
Gotcha. I wasn't suggesting a true sharrows meant to indicate lane position but simply large markings--"signage" if you will--on the surface of the road.
I am not familiar with the "Denver Bike in a Box" you reference, but I envision this in much the same way-- right in the middle of the lane and I love the idea of the route number there too. Even just the cyclist graphic with the route number would be great.
Seems to me that this would be a really efficient and cost-effective form of driver education that would boost the prominence of the bike routes, make clear to every road user that "bikes belong," and probably generate lots of discussion and buzz.
In a way, like a bike lane, but better. Like a bike lane it would be a use of paint with the purpose of reminding all road users that they must and should expcect to be sharing the roadway with cyclists. Better than a bike lane in the sense that it is not a traffic control device and wouldn't actually change any rules, but it would communicate clear instructions in keeping with current rules (cyclists take the lane, others change to pass).
Of course I don't know what's permissible in terms of road markings, and of course as you mention there would appear to be "new guidelines" that will probably make this point moot...
As for literate, I don't seem to be able to express myself on this issue very well right now either ;)
Michael said: I've come to realize the problem isn't the tool or the toolbox. The problem is how the tool inevitably ends up being used.I just finished writing a post about the politics of sharrows.I should have been laying out a newsletter for a client... but the mood strikes... and irresponsible "bike advocates" definitely have me in a mood this week.
Saith keri... irresponsible "bike advocates" definitely have me in a mood this week.They aren't bicycle advocates. They are bicycle de-advocates.
Waco,
I think you'll find this timely post of interest.
http://commuteorlando.com/wordpress/2009/04/29/the-politics-of-sharrows/
BTW: Ms. Caffrey of Commute Orlando will be in Dallas next week. I know where... and when. ;-)
Blogger Waco said...
This was the thought that I was trying to get across: What about painting the (bike graphic) "use full lane-change lanes to pass" sharrows-style on the roadways of all of the existing designated bike routes in Dallas?I like that idea, but I'm not sure there's a good location to place something like that in Dallas. Wishful thinking aside, without a major public university in an urban setting, no city ever develops the sizable number of utilitarian cyclists that would warrant such a treatment, and with over 800 lane-miles of bike routes, I'm not sure where to place them (at about $1,000 a pop).
I would have hoped we could have installed signs like these (http://cycledallas.blogspot.com/2009/04/in-nutshell.html), but now that the bike plan is probably being abandoned for fear-based, recreation oriented cycling treatments, I think it's a moot point.
Like Cycle*Dallas, I've really enjoyed reading Keri's blog. My assumptions are often challenged and my ignorance brought to the fore. Having had no personal experience riding in places that use sharrows, my assumption, was they were always used to indicate lane position; kind of a bike lane without the stripes. This post on Keri’s blog really give great perspective, and this statement sums it up: “The purpose of sharrows, technically known as Shared Lane Markings, is primarily to indicate a cyclist’s right to the lane. It does not confer this right, it just informs road users of it. That was the basic thought that I was trying to communicate with my previous comments, and I still really like the idea, feasible and still-relevant or not.
Your comment about the cost surprised me. If a sharrows marking costs $1,000 what is the installed cost of a sign? What are the lifecycle costs –installation, maintenance, and other for these and how does that compare to a bike lane or path? If we take as an example the downtown art loop, or the Bishop Arts area, what would the initial and life-time costs of “sharrows” vs. bike lanes/paths look like?
Seems to me that the sharrows style markings would deliver most of the perceived benefits, few if any of the drawbacks at a much lower cost. I still think that from an Education, Enforcement, and Encouragementstandpoint it would be $1,000 well spent. There could be some great PR campaigns built around this to really help educate folks, and because of their novelty in Dallas, I think they would spark more conversation (see the three E’s above) and be a stronger reminder than would a sign.
But then what do I know? I’m just a guy that likes to ride his bike, thinks that kids should be riding their bikes to school, misses living in a city with life on the streets, and is generally shocked and dismayed at the narrow thinking that seems to prevail in Dallas car-culture and Dallas bike-culture.
It is an interesting time in the sense that there seems to be momentum for change--people are organizing and lobbying and new legislation is being passed--but it all seems to be well-intentioned but going in the wrong direction. How do we fix that? What is the SMART solution and gameplan?
Waco said...
Like Cycle*Dallas, I've really enjoyed reading Keri's blog. My assumptions are often challenged and my ignorance brought to the fore. Having had no personal experience riding in places that use sharrows, my assumption, was they were always used to indicate lane position; kind of a bike lane without the stripes.-
That was the original intent of James McKay's "bike in a box" symbol he utilized in Denver. It was morphed (by others) into the "sharrow"... which is really just a European bike lane marker.This post on Keri’s blog really give great perspective, and this statement sums it up: “The purpose of sharrows, technically known as Shared Lane Markings, is primarily to indicate a cyclist’s right to the lane. It does not confer this right, it just informs road users of it." That was the basic thought that I was trying to communicate with my previous comments, and I still really like the idea, feasible and still-relevant or not.-
That was the intent, and it was what attracted me to sharrows. But the MUTCD Bicycle Committee felt the need to change its application to indicate lateral placement. That's problematic. Public agencies in charge of roadways do not like to vary from the MUTCD and AASHTO recommendations. Liability.Your comment about the cost surprised me. If a sharrows marking costs $1,000 what is the installed cost of a sign?-
$100-200, depending upon whether a new pole is required.What are the lifecycle costs –installation, maintenance, and other for these and how does that compare to a bike lane or path? If we take as an example the downtown art loop, or the Bishop Arts area, what would the initial and life-time costs of “sharrows” vs. bike lanes/paths look like?-
The Arts Loop, as proposed by the Friends of the Katy Trail, has an estimated construction cost of $80-100 million. Marking it with sharrows as an on-street shared facility, $80-250,000 (many variables) for six to eight miles. Most of the Arts Loop is already signed as a bike route.Seems to me that the sharrows style markings would deliver most of the perceived benefits, few if any of the drawbacks at a much lower cost. I still think that from an Education, Enforcement, and Encouragement standpoint it would be $1,000 well spent. There could be some great PR campaigns built around this to really help educate folks, and because of their novelty in Dallas, I think they would spark more conversation (see the three E’s above) and be a stronger reminder than would a sign.
But then what do I know?-
A lot, seems to me.I’m just a guy that likes to ride his bike, thinks that kids should be riding their bikes to school, misses living in a city with life on the streets, and is generally shocked and dismayed at the narrow thinking that seems to prevail in Dallas car-culture and Dallas bike-culture.-
Everyone wants the urban lifestyle equivalent of Dietrich Bonehoeffer's "cheap grace". We had a $1,000,000 safety education program funded that would have provided on-street bicycle training for children and adults alike, based on the LAB's Road 1 and TBC's kid's SuperCyclist program. It would have had a permanent facility at Fair Park, with a fleet of bicycles and a closed street system for education. Because the grant only covered salaries for three years, but required the program to be guaranteed for ten, the City gave the money back and canceled the program. The City Council has budgeted zero dollars to the Dallas Bike Plan over the last dozen years.It is an interesting time in the sense that there seems to be momentum for change--people are organizing and lobbying and new legislation is being passed--but it all seems to be well-intentioned but going in the wrong direction. How do we fix that? What is the SMART solution and gameplan?You know how to get in touch with me.
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