defunct

[Hugh]

Well 2 nights ago on the road I mentioned in the above post a 38 yr old cyclist riding home from work with a friend at 1 am was hit and killed by a 24 yr old who fled the the scene. The police caught him yesterday and it turns out he was impaired. And he was wearing reflective clothing and had lights on his MTB. So on that road I'm sticking to the sidewalk, it's not as fast or smooth as the road but it is way safer, plus if I wanted speed the car would be fastest, the ride is the thing, the E bike makes it very enjoyable.

 

[Jtschump_sea]

Seattle Wa is getting better. Most new roads put in have bike lanes included. We also have a number of trails that are designated for both bikes and foot traffic. Unfortunately in the city they tend to be way to crowded to ride my Stromer. They actually put a 2 way bike lane through downtown with lights and all but it took someone to get run over by a delivery truck to make it happen.

 

[George S.]

I like to watch bike videos when I use the stationary bike, inside. This is mostly in the winter. Hope it is still on Youtube. The city stuff in the previous video was a bit too much for me. I can't imagine too many people wanting to be in between lanes of traffic, on a weekday. And obviously this is just a pleasant, low stress kind of thing, so which one should they spend money to develop? Thanks.

 

[George S.]

Cities 'round these parts are allowed to vote RAP taxes, a small % sales tax, for Recreation and Parks. That's where the bike path money tends to come from. The DOT does fancy stuff, like intersections with bike underpasses, but it is pretty showy, on new builds. Maybe automated cars will simply see bikes. Don't know what the urban core video would look like on Friday afternoon. It seems like the urban mass transit is well developed.

 

[J.R.]

This thread was a great conversation and I encourage anyone interested in the topic to read and watch the 3 pages of posts and videos.

I remembered this discussion after seeing some great projects this past summer.

This a new all aluminum, prefabricated bridge over a highway. Minimal disruption to traffic, set in place on one day. Very low maintenance.



This a prefabricated tunnel under a roadway. This too had minimal disruption to traffic, only closing the road for a couple hours, mid day on two days.



I'm curious what the community thinks now about their city/town cycling infrastructure. Are we making any progress?

 

[Captain Slow]

I answered terrific and then saw I was the only one who chose that answer. Makes me wonder if I'm assessing correctly.

I live in a suburb of Vancouver, BC and they have installed lots of bike lanes, some protected and my regular commute to work is quite good. I'd say I'm only beside moderately heavy traffic for about 3 km's out of an 18 km commute. Other than that I have a dirt path beside a lake, protected bike paths, side streets with hardly any traffic.

Lots of cycling infrastructure, not sure if I should change my vote or not. Anyone else here from Vancouver or been to this city and ridden have an opinion?

 

[Dewey]

I'm curious what the community thinks now about their city/town cycling infrastructure. Are we making any progress?

We just had the results of a survey published for cycling in Arlington, VA. I was surprised 90% of female respondents were dissatisfied with the number of bike lanes, Arlington has pretty good bike infrastructure for the US, an active county govt-cyclists advisory group, a community youth bike program, a trail-separated learning loop for children learning to ride, and commuter trail snow removal, but only two short stretches of protected bike lanes so maybe that's what drove that answer. They also asked folks to select what type of bike lane they would like to see more of, the bike lane painted green is relatively new here but I've found it valuable for legitimizing riding through busy intersections and I'm looking forward to it being used to help fix a particularly difficult intersection that once was used by streetcars, then had a roundabout that was removed, and is presently a large open paved game of frogger for pedestrians and cyclists.

 

[J.R.]

We just had the results of a survey published for cycling in Arlington, VA. I was surprised 90% of female respondents were dissatisfied with the number of bike lanes, Arlington has pretty good bike infrastructure for the US, an active county govt-cyclists advisory group, a community youth bike program, a trail-separated learning loop for children learning to ride, and commuter trail snow removal, but only two short stretches of protected bike lanes so maybe that's what drove that answer. They also asked folks to select what type of bike lane they would like to see more of, the bike lane painted green is relatively new here but I've found it valuable for legitimizing riding through busy intersections and I'm looking forward to it being used to help fix a particularly difficult intersection that once was used by streetcars, then had a roundabout that was removed, and is presently a large open paved game of frogger for pedestrians and cyclists.

I've always thought of Arlington as above average and I'm going by memories from 3 years ago.

Snow here in PA is a real problem. Multi use paths and bike lanes are low priority for snow removal. Rail trails never get plowed. County execs really don't think bikes are a transportation alternative from December through March. The rail trail I most often use can be ice packed for weeks and months. Commuting in PA requires studded tires, but these can be really annoying on dry pavement. They don't help range either.

I do think infrastructure is better than it was 5 years ago.

 

[Dewey]

Snow here in PA is a real problem...Commuting in PA requires studded tires, but these can be really annoying on dry pavement. They don't help range either.

When I retire in 20 years I'd like to ride an ebike on the GAP trail/C&O from Pittsburgh to DC, I love I can take the train one way with Amtrak's bicycle stowage. I recall seeing lots of recreational cyclists on a summer stop in Ohiopyle in the Laurel Highlands. But on a fall trip from DC to Toronto I drove through snow crossing the mountains, along the Pennsylvania Turnpike, and up the side of Lake Erie, my wife has a friend from Erie and it sounds like the lake effect snow can be very deep, and the ice can hang around for weeks afterwards. Dedicated bike trail snow removal equipment like the two ATV plows used in Arlington are expensive to run ($50,000 each year) and a perennial candidate for budget cuts.

 

[J.R.]

When I retire in 20 years I'd like to ride an ebike on the GAP trail/C&O from Pittsburgh to DC, I love I can take the train one way with Amtrak's bicycle stowage. I recall seeing lots of recreational cyclists on a summer stop in Ohiopyle in the Laurel Highlands. But on a fall trip from DC to Toronto I drove through snow crossing the mountains, along the Pennsylvania Turnpike, and up the side of Lake Erie, my wife has a friend from Erie and it sounds like the lake effect snow can be very deep, and the ice can hang around for weeks afterwards. Dedicated bike trail snow removal equipment like the two ATV plows used in Arlington are expensive to run ($50,000 each year) and a perennial candidate for budget cuts.

I did 50 miles on the C&O part of the G.A.P. last October. We're planning on riding another section later this month. It is one of the coolest places to ride. If you can do a day trip, do the section with the Paw Paw Tunnel.

C&O

 

[Barry S]

Had there been a "Below Average" category I would have checked it for Honolulu. Since there was none, I had to go with Terrible. While a few bike lanes do exist, they are not far from the Mayor's office. That way, he doesn't have to go far to stand in front of the media and take credit for removing a block's worth of metered street parking, restriping as a bicycle lane, and calling it a great day for cyclists. In the meantime, the latest phase of construction of his elevated rail project forced the removal of the bike lanes along my route to/from work. Cyclists are fair game for motorists in Honolulu, and law enforcement spends more time ticketing jaywalkers and cyclists riding on the sidewalk in Chinatown than ticketing vehicles rolling through stop signs while the crosswalk is occupied. There's one intersection where vehicles constantly roll through the red light to make a right turn and beat oncoming traffic completely oblivious that pedestrians are about to step into the crosswalk. I've forwarded video to HPD of the near misses and they tell me they'll look into it. To date, I've yet to see a cop waiting in the shadows to catch one of these motorists. However, if I were to try and cross the same street while the Do Not Walk signal was counting down I'd probably be tazed.

 

[Over50]

I just took some new commute video last Friday. I hadn't made any video since early last Spring and things have changed quite a bit. Roads resurfaced and the new protected bike lanes. My video/editing skills are atrocious so pardon the awkward camera angle. This was my trip home. About 18 miles and edited out the most boring parts.
The highlights:
2:55 The Dequindre Cut Greenway
7:09 New PBLs
12:40 Detroit and Highland Park neighborhoods
12:50 Palmer Park - newly resurfaced with a painted lane/shoulder
20:10 Ferndale - bike lanes not protected
23:46 Royal Oak - bike lanes not protected

 

[Barry S]

@Over50 I'm envious of your bike lanes or multi-use paths. What bike are your riding? City and County of Honolulu officials finally cleared the Pearl Harbor Bike Path of the homeless camps, so that should be safe for a few months until they come back. Zero enforcement by the Dept of Land and Natural Resources, Sheriff or HPD after these sweeps, which is why they come right back.

 

[Over50]

@Over50 I'm envious of your bike lanes or multi-use paths. What bike are your riding? City and County of Honolulu officials finally cleared the Pearl Harbor Bike Path of the homeless camps, so that should be safe for a few months until they come back. Zero enforcement by the Dept of Land and Natural Resources, Sheriff or HPD after these sweeps, which is why they come right back.

This was on my Riese and Muller Charger. Hope to make one soon on the Haibike. My area has added bike lanes/paths recently but much of my commute is still pretty challenging and at time scary. I have about a four mile stretch where fear of the area motivates me to pedal hard. A tough part of town with plenty of liquor and lotto joints. Someone was just shot along my bike route a couple of nights ago - in front of one of the gas stations I pass. But although it is still a challenging commute, it has improved greatly since my first venture last February.

 

[comradecasey]

All roads set to be repaved in Portland must have included separate bike lanes. Since I live in a new, updated part of Portland (South Waterfront) we have bike lanes 100% separated from traffic, and even a bridge dedicated to bikes, pedestrians, light rail, and buses only. I love Portland and biking here is fantastically easy.

 

[Over50]

I know there aren't many Detroit area e-bikers on this forum but wanted to post this nonetheless: I heard an update in the news on Friday that construction on this greenway is progressing. Soon to be purchased from the railway is the remaining 8 miles of track. Once complete this is life changing for me (assuming e-bikers don't get kicked off) because it would make 2/3rds of my commute via greenway inclusive of the most difficult 1/3rd. That would mean extra sleep in the morning, a much safer commute overall and more days riding my bike vs taking a car.

http://detroitgreenways.org/joe-louis-greenway/

 

[J.R.]

It's not surprising to read stories like this, but still disappointing.

https://www.ecori.org/transportatio...p-funding-for-bicycle-and-pedestrian-projects

Public-private partnerships working on cycling and pedestrian infrastructure are working okay in my area. Primarily due to ONE big construction company. It starts with them and then other organizations jump onboard.

Once a proposal is made that appears to impact automobiles, all bets are off. Some people get really upset when they see a bike lane proposal.

 

[J.R.]

It takes a lot of imagination to propose something that's really intelligent, well thought out, and that's almost impossible to refute.

That's a bike superhighway!

Sometimes we just need to take advantage of opportunities that present themselves.

A railroad in my county, built in the 1830's, was seriously damaged in a 1972 hurricane and years later the property was surrendered to local government. The southern part of the line was used for excursion trains and the northern section for freight. It was a double track and only one was needed. Then came the 1990's and fiber optic cables were going in the ground at a fevered pace. A disused rail line could be perfect. The county allowed MCI to tear out one track, install their cable and grade the land. Instant rail-trail county park, which MCI still had to kick in some money. Part paved, part compacted limestone and mostly flat. Makes a perfect bike commuter path to the county seat. Also a great recreation trail.

At the moment it stretches nearly 30 miles with one disjointed section in town. A bike/pedestrian lane is needed on a river bridge. It is being installed, but it will reduce the automobile capacity from 4 lanes to 3. Even though the road has only 3 travel lanes 1/8 mile away, car drivers protested losing that 1/8 mile.

 

[Bobsiii]

Surprised there's not more comments from Denver. Our metro area has lots of separated trails, bike lanes, (supposedly) shared roads and, in Downtown there are now barrier-separated lanes. Read someplace that we have over 600 miles of trails, lanes etc. Several 15-20+ mile trails - Platte River, Cherry Creek, Clear Creek, Bear Creek, Sand Creek, Highline Canal are around
20, all (most) paved.

Haven't ridden in decades in another city, so I only rated us average due mostly to no comparisons. My biggest gripe is the disjointed nature of things. With so many municipalities in the area, each doing their own thing, our metro area maps look like worms scattered around. Trying to make decent longer rides takes some on-road work in heavy traffic, even on bike lane roads. For instance, 20th Ave on west side of town has a marked lane but there is one section (Lena Gulch) where it goes away and you are left Mano v Mano with whizzing cars on a "traffic calmed" section - to slow down traffic they took out the bike lane! (Maps show the bike lane as continuous!)

We have lots of lanes and trails but they'd be a lot more enjoyable and safer if there was some central coordinating agency to tie things together. Here's a link to the regional council of governments map - zoom out to see the disjointedness.

http://gis.drcog.org/bikeroutes/

 

[lilrich]

Madison Wisconsin is great and has a lot of multiuse trails and bike lanes. A university and government center means a higher than average bicycle usage. The community seems to value bicycling and foot travel. And car traffic seems to be more aware and courteous especially where the path crosses car roads. City ordinance is very bike centric and enforce right of way to bikes. Traveling on the paths is a lot quicker than in a car and parking for bikes is a lot more accessible. The trails in some areas run in back of the residences and is a relaxing shorter route to the downtown area. The paths are well maintained and many are plowed before the streets. Another city with well established trails is Stevens Point Wisconsin with their Green Circle. Many of the paths are more trails with rotten granite or sawdust which make them a challenge in poor weather but thread throughout the city's many green areas and parks. The streets leave something to be desired but it is easy to get away into nature. More designed for recreational use the wildlife and natural woodland and river views are well worth it. Although I don't get there as often as I used to a bicycle is an essential for maintaining my sanity and getting away from the hustle and bustle.