Door Zone Bike Lanes -- Stay Out!

Submitted by keith.webb on

It is an unfortunate comprimise that bike lanes are placed next to parked cars. The addition of bike lanes on roadways that already include car parking can be problematic. It takes a lot of political will to remove on-street parking...sometimes the parking spaces win over providing adequate safety for cyclists using the bike lane. If you find on-street parking next to your bike lane...get out of that bike lane! While motorists are required to look before exiting their vehicle, you can not rely on current human behavior. Use the travel lane or find an alternate route (we would be happy to help).

We Are Traffic worked with the City of Toledo on the new bikes lanes that were installed on Bancroft in front of UT and recommended moving the buffer between the parked cars and the bike travel lane (read the story here). We were not successful on Bancroft closer to downtown where DZBL's exist, please be careful.

Kilburn Bike Lanes Phase 3 of 3

Submitted by keith.webb on

UPDATE: Phase 3 is 99% complete and provides bike lanes from Sylvania-Metamora Rd to Secor Metroparks!

Preliminary work on Phase 3 of the Kilburn Road Bike Lane project is scheduled to start August 8. This phase will provide bike lanes on Kilburn between Brint and Sylvania-Metamora, extending the lanes completed last year in Phase 2 from Sylvania to Brint. Kilburn will not be closed during construction but provide one-way traffic. This project will complete within the 2021 construction season. Thanks to Lucas County Engineer's Office, Richfield Township and the residents along Kilburn Road!

When completed, this will provide bike lanes from Sylvania-Metamora Road to Secor Metroparks! From Secor Metroparks you can take the Moseley Trail to Wiregrass Metropark and beyond!

Phase 1 from Central Avenue at Secor Metropark
Phase 2 from Sylvania to Brint
 

Why safety and vehicle speed are incompatible goals for street design

Submitted by keith.webb on

Nearly all transportation agencies will tell you that safety is their absolute top priority, but if you look more closely, you’ll discover that—in practice—it takes a backseat to moving as many vehicles as possible, as quickly as possible. How can street design be used to slow down vehicles and make all people safer? How would our streets look different if we truly prioritized safety ahead of speed? Why must transportation agencies choose only one top priority on their streets: Speed, or safety.

Read more about Dangerous by Design from Smart Growth America and the National Complete Streets Coalition:
https://smartgrowthamerica.org/dangerous-by-design/
https://smartgrowthamerica.org/why-safety-and-speed...

 

Source: Smart Growth America

PNC Bank Supports Cyclists

Submitted by keith.webb on

As we near the end of 2021, our last infrastructure project closed at the PNC Bank on Central Avenue with new bike parking! We are thankful for the cooperation of PNC Bank Corporate offices in Pittsburgh, PA, for adding the bike rack to the project that was already underway.

This project reflects our ongoing success in working with municipalities like Sylvania Township, which included bike parking in their local zoning regulations effective this year. Unfortunately, there are certain thresholds to trigger a review with the Township. This project did not (that will be a future project).

We Are Traffic's original request for bike parking at this location was submitted locally on January 17, 2019—almost three years ago. This example demonstrates why advocacy requires persistence. While we occasionally have faster results, other projects that started before are still active.

We renewed our interaction with PNC Bank when we learned the branch's parking lot was being re-designed. Through the tremendous support of their Corporate VP of Construction, a bike rack was finally installed—thank you again, PNC!

Just remember that advocacy, especially as it relates to infrastructure, can take a long time! So keep at it. We're here to help in any way to support our local bicycling community. Let us know where you need bike parking to make it easier to use your bike for transportation!

Intersection Improvements Benefit Cyclists

Submitted by keith.webb on


Click image for additional pictures



Last August 2018, ODOT was resurfacing Central Avenue from King Road to US 23. During the milling process, a portion of Sequoia Road was included in the process, the "loop wire" that is used to detect vehicles was pulled from the roadway [click for photo]. The loop wire was replaced below the new pavement surface, so you could not see where the wire was located in the road to properly place your bike for detection. We reported this issue to ODOT and originally requested placement a "Bicycle Detector Pavement Marking" and signage.

In conversations with Dylan Foukes at ODOT, he mentioned that there was a project to improve several intersections along Central Avenue and while Sequoia Road was not originally part of the project, Dylan believed that the new technology being deployed would provide a better solution for cyclists and Sequoia was included. This intersection is particularly important to cyclists as it provides a pathway to the University Parks Trailhead.

The new sensors were installed on May 9 and are now fully functional after being programmed on May 15. Now you will not need to guess where to place your bike for the signal crossing, position in the center of the lane like any other vehicle. Many thanks to Dylan Foukes and the ODOT team in thinking forward about bicycle transportation! 

Now if you're a nerd like me, watch this short video to learn how the radar works, very cool!

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