My Wheels are Turning

Tonight’s Traverse City city commission study session will address two issues previously discussed on MyWHaT. First, they will discuss last week’s planning commission meeting where many commissioners expressed concerns that this year’s street projects don’t satisfy the master plan. Second, there will be an update on the 8th Street Kerfuffle.

The meeting starts at 7pm at the governmental center.

A new rendering of the current proposal for 8th Street is now available.

It appears that work towards a 2010 re-prioritization of 8th Street for walkers, bike commuters and traffic calming isn’t going exactly as hoped. There is a revised rendering of the city’s 8th Street plans which will be introduced tonight. It is basically the original proposal, with a crosswalk added, some additional pedestrian and share the road signage and the possible introduction of bike sharrows to Traverse City (a promising thing). Still, it’s questionable if many key elements requested by citizens on February 8th are addressed in these ‘refinements’.

To be fair, the reality is that these are the only changes that will currently pass the test of either federal contract restrictions, MDOT oversight, and/or the professional opinion of staff. Time, circumstance, expertise and money were always going to be an issue.

It’s unclear which of the above three entities is the driving force blocking something that more resembles the conceptual proposed in February. That option, which includes bike lanes the length of the 2 block section, enhanced crosswalks and a narrowing of travel lanes to help reduce speeds still remains what is supported by MyWHaT. This design is closer to the complete street envisioned in the master plan and to do to the necessary curb work to implement it, won’t likely be possible for another 15-20 years.

It’s also unclear where public input is best utilized from here. Tonight’s packet doesn’t address public process, only engineering’s re-evaluation of possible refinements (embedded below).

• Does the city want public comment on the revised rendering? How will it utilize it?
  
• Is this a take it or leave it proposal?
• What is the process for revisiting this section of 8th Street after the project is complete?
  
• If indeed the city revisits the pavement markings in next 18-24 months, what is the process for evaluating non-motorized use?

This latter point is particularly important, because the main purpose of the bike lanes is to encourage and increase ridership on streets precisely like 8th Street. Increasing the perceived safety increases the number of bicycle riders and that ultimately leads to a key goal: to achieve safety in numbers.

3 main observations of the proposal

The continued talk of serving A, B and C type riders misses a key point (see page 10 of study session packet or below). We are asking for the street to be made as safe and as comfortable as possible for all citizens. Many of the so-called B & C riders would ride more if the infrastructure priority was different.

Bike sharrows by Eric Gilliland

Another observation: it is clear that many in the Oak Park neighborhood will raise concerns about the addition of a turning lane at Barlow and 8th Street. It’s true that people do use Barlow St. to reach Front St., but there should be more public input to determine if we actually want that encouraged with a turning lane. In addition, the left turning lane going south onto Barlow St. is of questionable need. Is there a plan to connect North and South Barlow?

The most interesting change is addition of bike sharrows on the narrowest block between Rose St. and Garfield Ave.

Sharrows are short-hand for “shared lane pavement markings“. They are included in the rendering, but it isn’t guaranteed that they will be implemented-or that they should. A future post will look at sharrows more closely, but it appears that they would mainly serve to alert road users that bicyclist have a right to the street and offer an approximate idea of their lane position. In our opinion, on this street they are a stop-gap to bicycle lanes.

Used correctly, sharrows may help to slow down traffic, but typically are used where there is on street parking–downtown Front St. would be a good place. They can also be used where the travel lane is too narrow for safe side-by-side travel by motorists and cyclists, but less often and tested. Either way, it will be a community experiment (a good thing) if they are laid down. The introduction of sharrows needs to be an educational opportunity for the city to reach out to drivers and cyclists about not only the rules of the road, but the culture that is represented in the master plan.

The main concern with sharrows on 8th Street is that despite the posted 25mph speed limit, speeds in non-peak hours are often closer to 35mph-the max speed where sharrows are recommended. Bicycle lanes on 8th street remain the best option for encouraging an increasing & diverse number of riders. Still, sharrows may assist in creating more skilled, confident, and defensive cyclists. More on them to come…

For now, keep staying upright. Despite the sun, ice remains on sidewalks and on patches of the streets.

What do you think of the revised version of the 2010 8th Street project? Does it meet your requirements?

Where do you suggest the city go from here?

The 8th Street discussion begins on page 10

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