Bicycle / Pedestrian Planning Issues...
Signs - enough or too much?
In many communities bicycle wayfinding is fairly advanced, with designated routes signed with destinations and mileage throughout the city. Others consider this sign pollution and argue that cyclists should be able to read a map or use their navigation apps in the same way motorists do and should not have lots of additional signs erected just for them.
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courtesy BikeRaleigh.org
Designated cycle facilities
In our community, designated lanes are becoming much more common, sharrows are being used regularly, and the city is about to install our first "cycle-track", a two-way separated bike facility protected from traffic. Cyclists are mixed about bike lanes but they clearly help novice cyclists feel safer in traffic. Motorists generally resent the reduction of lane area in the right of way.
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Joint use of greenways
With the increasing popularity of greenways, especially in a place like Raleigh where over 100 miles of greenways are already paved with many creating long loops attractive to cyclists, conflicts with pedestrian use are beginning to be more frequent. Usually high-speed cyclists find slow-speed pedestrians creating obstacles, while pedestrians find their experience of the greenway degraded by bicycles flying by them, often with no warning, at unsafe speeds.
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Recent News...
courtesy Patch.com
Bike Lane Controversy
Battles between cyclists and motorists, and cyclists and pedestrians, seem to be more bitter and more frequent as dedicated bicycle facilities create both a sense of ownership of part of the right of way for cyclists, and infringe on rights assumed by operators of other modes of transportation. Here are a few stories:
Bike Lane Backlash - USA Today Cyclists Battle Over Bike Lanes - KPBS Coronado CA Puts The Brakes On Bike Lanes - KPBS |
City of Raleigh bike plan
The City of Raleigh updated the Citywide Bike Plan in 2016. This is the first time in the State of North Carolina that a bike plan has actually been updated. The first plan was approved 5 years prior and resulted in the appointment of the Bicycle Pedestrian Advisory Commission (Dan served on the BPAC from 2014-2017), the establishment of a position in city government to coordinate the bicycle program, the installation of miles of designated bike lanes, and the establishment of a bikeshare program .
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