MyWHaT

If you tuned in for the first time this week, you might think MyWHaT was all about 2 blocks of Eighth Street in Traverse City. Monday night’s city commission meeting will give us a direction & for a little while should be able to focus on the bigger picture. For a recap, visit:

• MyWHaT’s Eighth St. coverage
• Mayor Chris Bzdok’s epistle
• The Record Eagle picks up the scent

There was lots of chatter this week beyond one 2 block section. Some of it would have made good individual posts.

There’s always tomorrow.

The chatter:

• TART maps out its next 3-5 years (post Otwell)
• In an email, Michael Moore says we need elevators
• but elsewhere health officials say take the stairs
• Still, the nation is laughing at with Traverse City
• While MI’s road budgets are slashed
• Wisconsin’s bicycle industry brings in $1.5 BIllion/year
• The 21st century is about the power of neighborhoods
• and the cities vs. suburbs is the decade’s political conflict
• This guy doesn’t care, he Bikes to work & doubles his calorie intake
• Another three feet clearance law passes
• Remember the Mortgage Meltdown? Blame the car
• It is certainly a culprit to Beijing’s polluted air (poignant slide show)
• And, in Toronto, cars almost avoid blame for a strange January: Pedestrians die, get blamed

“The way pedestrians clog the streets downtown is not the problem — it’s the solution.” writes Dylan Reid on the rash of pedestrian deaths in the city. There were 14 pedestrian deaths in Toronto in January. Distracted driving is high on the list of culprits.

What else was missed?

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MAKING WAY: A cycle- rickshaw driver moved the wreckage of a car to a scrap yard in the eastern Indian city of Siliguri on Tuesday. (Rupak De Chowdhuri/Reuters)

From the must subscribe to Photo Journal of the Wall Street Journal. Large images from around the world, Monday through Friday. This is image is from the Photos of the Week: Feb. 1- Feb. 5

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(Photos: Will Alphin)

This visual comparison of a current bike lane debate in Raleigh, NC effectively shows how lane width & delineation affect a bicyclist’s safety & comfort. These images represent the difference between the Traverse City’s city engineer’s current plan and a Complete Street approach applied to Eighth St.

Tim Lodge, Traverse City’s city engineer, has designed a plan for Eighth St. to actively NOT encourage bicycle commuters. He argues that by providing wider traffic lanes he is giving bicyclists consideration, while still not encouraging them to use Eighth St.  The problem is, is that wider lanes effectively encourage motorized traffic to travel at higher speeds.

Not just an anecdotal opinion

There is plenty of evidence that supports narrower lanes as a means to calm streets, increase safety and provide for active modes of transportation. It is a matter of choosing one priority over another.

The  Institute of Transportation Engineers has come out in support of reducing street & lane widths as a means to reduce vehicular speeds in their report Context Sensitive Solutions in designing major urban thoroughfares for Walkable Communities (PDF). Other reports have confirmed that narrower lanes, as narrow as 10′, show no increased crash rates and minor inconvenience for automobiles. One example report can be found at Relationship of Lane Width to Safety on Urban and Suburban Arterials (PDF)

Still, the city engineer will argue that,”We can’t always fit everything in,” as he told the Record Eagle. Many would argue that he just doesn’t want to.

Hence, the need for the second opinion (view the conceptual) sought by the Mayor, TART Trails and other organizations like the Cherry Capital Cycling Club.  The concept reduces lanes widths to make room for bike lanes.

Still, it’s a fight. Safety and Education Director of the CCCC, Fred Schaafsma has been a strong advocate for increased bike lanes across northern Michigan. He has been part of the effort to work with the city on finding a solution to the 2010 Eighth St. kerfuffle, but admits being angered with being asked to use other streets. “Why should cyclists not have the right to go where they want to go? 8th Street is a direct route across town,” said Schaafsma. “We would expect to have bike lanes there because traffic is typically going faster than the 25mph posted. We need lane markings and signage that remind drivers to watch for cyclists.”

Traverse City is not alone. The debate in Raleigh, NC is eerily similar to the one in Traverse City & worth a read. Across the country people are moving to urban areas with the expectation that transportation choices are a given–it’s why they pay a premium to live in the city.

If you agree that the time is now to implement Complete Streets, please Contact the city manager & city commissioners. And then come voice your opinion or give support Monday night February 8th at 7PM.

All we really need to be asking for is:

• Bike lanes along Eighth St.
  
• Improved pedestrian crossings at each intersection
  
• A solution based approach, not limitations
• For them to Complete the Street

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