Creating a new transportation infrastructures for bicycle commuting

[ebikemom]

I believe that ebikes are going to transform transportation in our communities here in North America. Long car dominant, we are already seeing cities and regions embracing more public transportation, going back to policies that embrace commuter rail, that were abandoned with the advent of the automobile.

We now experience gridlock to an increasing degree. In my area, population pressures and multi-car households with car commuters have long over-taxed the roadways. The public cries for more lanes, more roads, but there really is no way to keep up with this transportation model.

Rail is a great idea. I'm thrilled to have a rail station coming to my town. Every day the tracks grow closer ... work on the station has begun!

But rail isn't enough. Folks need a better option than their cars. Ebikes show the way. They are efficient, much cheaper than cars to purchase and maintain, use very little electricity, and allow people with a wide range of physical abilities to ride. Batteries are the biggest problem--I believe that Lithium is a limited resource, and it also is one that we don't have available in North America but must import. Labs in universities and private industry are always working on this problem--to build a better battery.

Since I bought our first ebikes in late April, 2018, I see more and more ebikes. We need safe and separated routes to be able to commute safely. European cities provide great models for this. Some things I think American cities need to do are:

--revise traffic plans to create more one-way streets in cities that don't already have them, freeing up a traffic lane for a physically separated bike lane.
--create more bike lanes, beginning with painted lanes, but working toward separated lanes
--widen streets to create more space for cyclists
--build more overpasses and underpasses for cycle traffic
--provide more secure parking for bicycles
--consider mixed use paths as recreational, and create separated bike lanes for cycle traffic, to keep both cyclists and pedestrians safe
--install lighting in bike paths in isolated areas, so they can be used year-round, safely. "Dawn to dusk" regulations are fine for recreational use, but are ridiculous if bikes are to be used for commuting.


Finally, governments (aka, the people) at all levels must embrace cyclist safety as a public health issue. Signs and instructions and education are helpful, but do not solve the public health problem of cycling accidents and deaths that impact families and reduce bicycle ridership.

Physical separation is the solution, and one that improves public health in a number of ways. Physical separation reduces car/bike impacts, just as sidewalks long ago began to be installed to reduce vehicle/pedestrian impacts. With physical separation will come more and more cycling. Each commuting cyclist is one less car on the road, reducing air pollution and energy consumption, and improving the health of the cyclist, impacting public health by reducing chronic disease.

Ebikers, we all need to be advocates for transportation infrastructure for cycling. Each of us who wishes for better cycling infrastructure should get involved. Cyclists have long been such advocates, but there are precious few of them. Ebiking will bring a flood of new cyclists and new voices. Let's use them.

 

[Citycrosser]

I agree completely. We need something like the American Automobile Association but for e-bikes. While I'm waiting on that group to form, I did join People for Bikes and the League of American Bicyclists. The more numbers (and money) they have, the better chance their lobbying efforts will affect change.

 

[ebikemom]

Awesome!!

People for bikes: https://peopleforbikes.org
Join! https://peopleforbikes.org/shortsignup/

 

[Alaskan]

So apparently ebiking leads to clear headed thinking, at least in some cases

 

[Mr. Coffee]

Some cities close to you are really thinking outside the box (for North America). Portland's bicycle boulevards are a similar idea to the Dutch fietsstraat. And a very good idea at that.

 

[Mr. Coffee]

Victoria, BC is another city close to you that seems to be on the right track:

 

[Bicyclista]

This is an interesting interview with the American authors of a new book on Dutch bicycling culture. Note the comments on ebikes and comments on the lack of helmet use. "...the Dutch show that [for them], safety in infrastructure, safety in slowing cars, and safety in numbers are all far more important than safety in body armor." I like the picture of the guy hauling a mattress on his cargo bike!

 

[ebikemom]

safety in infrastructure, safety in slowing cars, and safety in numbers are all far more important than safety in body armor.

AMEN!!!!

 

[ebikemom]

I haven't seen the "Bike Boulevard" concept called that in Seattle, but in a city near me there is a very busy arterial that has a residential street nearby, and the residential street has a low speed limit and LOTS of speed bumps. It also has restrictions on that street that prevent cars from turning toward the freeway, forcing cars thus to use the higher speed arterial if they want to get on a freeway.

In my town, there are marked "take the lane" bike markings on streets that also have a lot of speed bumps. Again, this residential-street-route is parallel-ish to the busy arterial, funnelling bikes OFF of that arterial and encouraging cars who want to get up some velocity to get on the arterial.

More speed bumps, more places--that would be great!

 

[Jerry LM]

In Eugene Or they placed a bridge dedicated to bikes and pedestrians over the Beltway a main highway with fast and heavy traffic and the city is really placing paved bike lanes everywhere.
I wish when they put bike lanes along the highway and roads in town they would just use a simple curb along the lane to stop people from cutting over into the lane and in my town here on the coast heavy in retirees, I see all the time inattentive old peeps, drifting into the bike lane all the time. The other day one old lady had half her car in the lane, oblivious to anything! They will also sit and stare at you coming down the road and then at the last moment when your almost ready to go in front of them,,decide to pull out!!
Then of course we have the phone's so intent on talking they see nothing around them and just plow into whatever, we had 3500 in damage to our car. Sitting at a Red light, the Only car, and the lane next to us Empty,, a guy on his phone texting sideswipes us, only two cars on the road!
There should be an interface that deactivates the cell phone when the ignition is active because these morons won't stop till they kill someone.
The coast route or Hwy 1 as it's known is spectacular scenery and the Oregon bike trail but is a Very Dangerous road on a bike, the bike lane is Very Very narrow in some places no more than a few inches, and the cars are very close and more intent on the views than a bicycle on the side of the road. I have had logging trucks come within a few inches of me on that road, for some reason they think it's funny, or blowing a air horn when coming up on you. My advise to anyone is avoid this road on a bike....

 

[ebikemom]

I wish when they put bike lanes along the highway and roads in town they would just use a simple curb along the lane to stop people from cutting over into the lane

This is a great idea and I don't think it would be that expensive because they could bolt them into the roadway. There's a new city street with a bike lane in an adjacent town to me, and they have tried different separation methods on that street. I don't think each is long enough to be able to truly assess its effectiveness, but they do allow folks to get used to seeing different types of separation.

 

[AlanDB]

Curbs are not a good idea in snow country ... would interfere in snow removal. Maybe rumble strips could work to discourage drifting into the bike lane.

 

[Mr. Coffee]

...The coast route or Hwy 1 as it's known is spectacular scenery and the Oregon bike trail but is a Very Dangerous road on a bike, the bike lane is Very Very narrow in some places no more than a few inches, and the cars are very close and more intent on the views than a bicycle on the side of the road. I have had logging trucks come within a few inches of me on that road, for some reason they think it's funny, or blowing a air horn when coming up on you. My advise to anyone is avoid this road on a bike....

Funny, I've lived in the Pacific Northwest all my life and I've never heard of the coast highway referred to as "highway 1". On parts of the California coast north and south of San Francisco the highway that hugs the coast is, in fact, "highway 1". And of course on the East Coast US Highway 1 hugs the coast from Florida to Maine.

You are of course right that sections of the OCBR have awful and scary shoulders. But there are alternate routes around some of the most heinous sections and as you get south of Newport there is generally much less traffic in the first place. If you do your research and competently plan your trip your odds of survival are quite high. One thing to never do is go during peak vacation season between Memorial Day and Labor Day. There will be fewer RVs on the road and the campgrounds will be quieter and there are more rooms available at hotels at better prices if you avoid peak season. Usually most of the month of May has fine weather and you'd also be fine (though with shorter days and somewhat cooler weather) up through the end of September. If you consult a few guidebooks they will point you to alternate routes (e.g. Miami River Road, Slab Creek Road, and Otter Crest Drive) that help you avoid some of the scarier sections of US 101. Another tip is to try to leave Astoria on a Sunday evening or Monday so that you'll be well to the south by the next weekend and avoid most of the weekend crowds.

Of course, you should always, whenever possible, try to ride southbound and the southbound lane always has better shoulders and you will generally have a tailwind. Cycling the coast northbound is a heinous exercise best reserved for wearers of hair shirts.

Skipping out on the OCBR means skipping out on this:

 

[Jerry LM]

We always refer to 101 as 1 but just a local thing I guess, I live in Florence so to Heceta Hd and Sea Lion caves is a 11 mile ride and beautiful, lots' of climbing. I have ridden from Astoria to Seaside and back using the back road by Ft. Clapstop and 101, Nice shoulders most of the way. I ride from Florence South to Reedsport, Winchester Bay and Coos Bay, 60 miles and I would say half of the ride is on very narrow bike lane and some scary sections that have scared the poop out of me when log trucks pass. I also ride 126 to Mapleton not a bad road for a bike but fast traffic.
Your right about the fall months being better, tourist traffic drops way down. I have been riding a recumbent not an e bike. Started having trouble with my right knee so going back to regular bikes that don't seem too aggravate it as much. The e bike seems like the perfect solution but as yet have not purchased one. Think I have finally made up my mind on the one I want so pretty soon should be riding again. My recumbent sold right away.
My rides in the future will most likely be shorter and more local as I am 76 now and don't push things as hard as I used to. Going for a tumble now will most likely be hard to recover from so I am starting to take it slower. Fortunately here there are two e bike shops one in Eugene and another new just opened in Corvallis so I need to get over and look at a couple more.
Good to hear from you......

 

[Jerry LM]

Alan I forgot about snow, none of that around here...well saw it twice in the last 20 yrs but only lasted about a couple of hours. Did have snow on the beach here a couple of years ago for a few hours that was weird to see!

 

[rannyv]

Portland could vastly improve their urban bikeways by eliminating all the uncontrolled intersections (those with NO stop signs). Even the controlled ones are a problem because cars AND bikes don't stop or slow for stop signs. I stopped using one bike route because there were far too many dangerous intersections.

 

[Mr. Coffee]

Portland could vastly improve their urban bikeways by eliminating all the uncontrolled intersections (those with NO stop signs). Even the controlled ones are a problem because cars AND bikes don't stop or slow for stop signs. I stopped using one bike route because there were far too many dangerous intersections.

This is a solved problem and there is no excuse for it:

 

[rannyv]

Been to The Netherlands and have seen this. It's good. But it won't happen in our old residential neighborhoods where the bikeways are. Those Dutch cyclists have zero patience for clueless pedestrians (tourists) that walk on the bike path. That wouldn't work to well here either .