Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Transit More bike lanes, sharrows coming to downtown
Posted by George Weidman on Wed, Oct 19, 2011 at 9:01 AM
Another week, another round of bike news.
First up: Concerns within the Atlanta cycling community that the downtown streetcar would stamp out the popular existing bike lanes appear to be unfounded, according to statements by the Atlanta Bicycle Coalition and city officials. In fact, the streetcars are planned to bring with them more accommodations for cyclists, not less.
Edgewood's existing bike lane — which currently begins where the future streetcar line ends — is scheduled to extend a half-mile west all the way to Park Place Avenue, with additional "contra-flow" bike lanes cropping up on Jackson Street and Auburn Avenue. According to a spokeswoman with the city's department of public works, the lanes are scheduled to be completed by spring of 2013. There are already bike lane-esque markings on Edgewood as part of the utility survey.
Secondly, Marietta Street is currently being repaved. Upon completion, sharrows — the white bike-flanked chevrons — will line the road, inching the busy downtown street slightly further towards a bicycle-friendly future.
Concerned bicycle commuter Douglas Ollerenshaw contacted CL and Mayor Kasim Reed about the future of his Marietta Street commute.
Ollerenshaw thinks it seems like the city is using sharrows as a half-measure instead of making real efforts to improve conditions for cyclists. He thinks sharrows are only useful for helping drivers know that cyclists have the right to be in a lane. ("Some people don't even realize that much," he said.)
"Having moved here from Portland, I saw firsthand that the only way to encourage people that bike commuting is safe is to provide dedicated bike lanes, especially on important thoroughfares like Marietta Street," he said. "Sometimes that means sacrificing lane width, or maybe even reducing the number of motor vehicle lanes."
Comments (21)
Showing 1-21 of 21
A "contra-flow bike lane" is a lane for bicycles to go in the opposite direction of automobile traffic on a one-way street (essentially making it a two-way street for bikes, while leaving it a one-way street for cars).
Jackson Street and Auburn Avenue are both two-way streets, so a contra-flow bike lane is a meaningless concept on these streets.
Can you give us more detail about what you meant in describing the improvements on these streets.
like
dislike
are you meaning 'contra flow' as in 'a 2 way bike lane on one side of a street'?
that would be weird [and unsafe]
wle
Yes, quite.
On another note, that damn orange bird that flies across the home screen is annoying the SHIT out of me. Can someone at CL put the thing out of its fucking misery?
Marietta is so much better now. I hope they keep repaving north of Centennial.
Have to disagree with Douglas Ollerenshaw. Bike lanes marginalize bikers in the minds of drivers. Especially on a four lane road like Marietta. The only stretch of that road that could use a bike lane is through the water works on the northbound lane. It's one lane, up hill and drivers tend to tear ass through there. It has been a bit better since they added the light at 17th.
The other huge problem with bike lanes is that they all too often end up in the door zone. No thanks, I'll take the lane.
agreed: bike lanes in a city grid are superfluous— traffic should be slow enough that even a novice cyclist should have no problem biking in traffic. Dedicated lanes for cyclists seem more appropriate for places like dekalb ave, where drivers are prone to drive too fast.
I wonder if they DO mean a 2-way bike lane on one side of the street, as @wlexxx suggested.
That WOULD be weird, but I'd want to see how it's implemented before I make a final judgment about whether it's a good idea or bad.
I work at Emory, which is very forward-thinking in its bicycle resources. And I've been wrong about a lot of their plans: I though the sharrows on Clifton would be useless, but they've made a world of difference in quality of biking on that road. And I thought the roundabout in Emory Village would be a huge pain from a bicycle perspective, but in fact it's a lot better for both bikes and cars now that it's finally open.
I kind of agree with the above posters about bike lanes. I like them in some places where there's a larger disparity between car and bicycle speed (e.g., Edgewood Avenue, North Decatur Road) -- but I don't think they're really all that helpful in relatively slow intown locations (e.g., 5th Street).
They also have a tendency to get clogged with leaves and debris, as bicycles don't have the heft and speed to clear the road as they pass they way cars do.
@Joe: Ahh yes, the third hazard of bike lanes, all you can eat flat tires. I completely forgot about that since I tend not to ride in them.
I agree with Ollerenshaw's comment. I am thrilled to have a sharrow, but guess who likes to ride their bikes? Children! I would never let a kid ride a bike down Marietta Street without a dedicated lane (at the minimum). We really should consider kids when we build "complete streets." Nonetheless, the sharrow is a nice gesture for bikers.
Oh my god... bike lane hazards. Leaves I can handle, grit and gravel from last winter's icy roads I can even slow down for, but god, storm drains with grates running parallel to my tires could be lethal. This city needs a unified standard for these kinds of things. :-\
@Weidman: WE MUST THINK OF THE CHILDREN!
I reallllly hope you are talking about teenagers. Bike lanes or no, I wouldn't let my kids ride on a 4 lane thoroughfare unless they were skilled enough and responsible enough to do so without bike lanes at all. In which case, I'd rather them do it without bike lanes anyway.
When cars have to drive around you instead of past you they are more likely to know that you are there. It's one of many reasons riding on sidewalks is a terrible idea.
Regarding children: Riders 12 years and under are permitted on the sidewalks.
No other cyclist should ever be on the sidewalk -- but children should. Especially if they're on Marietta Street!
Sharrows are better than nothing, but the Marietta/Decatur St corridor really needs more. I (bike) commute across Marietta St every morning, on Spring St, and it must have one of the highest bicycle mode shares in the city. Several cyclists pass by every day in the 60 seconds or so I'm stopped at the red light. Wide, possibly buffered lanes would be appropriate in that setting and would make it a lot more attractive for new cyclists and, yes, kids. And allow bikes to bypass the occasional traffic jams on that stretch. The city is really shooting itself in the foot if they don't get better cycling conditions downtown. Between traffic lights and congestion, a bicycle can get you from one end of downtown to the other at the exact same speed as a car - with about 5 times more capacity per lane. The mind boggles.
so the solution is to widen the lane to the extent that a car can speed past a bike? I don't get it. how is that bike friendly?
Portland has it right. Minneapolis has it right. NY has it right. Amsterdam has it right. Dedicated bike lanes are the way forward, and every city that has tried to increase cycling has found the same thing. We don't need to rehash old arguments that have already been resolved. The principle is clear: separate bikes and cars. Of course you have to keep bike lanes clear, and they can't be dangerous (i.e. no bike lanes that put cyclists into danger of collision with doors opening on parked cars). We have a loooong way to go, but the momentum is in the right direction.
Does anybody else remember when the city removed bike lanes from Jackson about a year ago? Now they are planning to add bike lanes to Jackson. Brilliant.
I suspect the "contra-flow bike lane" downtown means they're planning on making those streets one-way in the future.
The east side has become increasingly bike-friendly since I moved here 30 years ago, which sometimes causes me to forget the fact that we're the second-worst city in America for bicycling, just ahead of Houston (where I lived before moving here).
"so the solution is to widen the lane to the extent that a car can speed past a bike? I don't get it. how is that bike friendly?"
it's better than a car speeding past a biker without a bike lane
baby steps
Latest in Fresh Loaf
-
Time and Place: Read between the lines
To me this photo is about doing your own thing and following your own path in life.
-
Vernon Jones wants to return to the Gold Dome and other interesting qualification tidbits 1
Qualifying period ends, dust settles, campaigns begin
-
Suspects in Pittsburgh gay bashing slated to go to trial Tuesday
The men accused of beating Brandon White in Southwest Atlanta already headed to court
- More »
Author Archives
-
Dragon*Con’s new policy: Buy a ticket or you’re not allowed inside 120
Event organizers say policy helps provide comfort and safety for guests
-
Witness anti-transit fireworks — for free! — at transportation-tax forums 5
Regional roundtable holds public meetings throughout September to discuss project lists
-
Occupy Wall Street momentum moves south, occupies Woodruff Park 13
The fifth Occupy Atlanta is going down tonight at 6 p.m.
- More »
