Help CA define bikeways that make sense for road cyclists !

[karlos]

All - Many of you may know about the Protected Bikeways Act that was passed last year. An unfortunate downside of this proposal to define Class IV Bikeways is that no standards were put forward with the bill, leaving communities on their own to provide their own designs. Fortunately, there are "guidelines" at the national level to help, but the USA does not have detailed standards, unlike the Netherlands and Copenhagen, with inch or more thick standards manuals. San Diego will not look like Copenhagen any time soon, but you can be sure we will start seeing some cycletracks, which will have physical separation from the roadway. As cyclists who still want full access to all the roads we ride, we want to ensure these "bikeways" are OPTIONAL, and that we are not required to use them. It will be nice/fun to use them occasionally, but remember you will probably be traveling a bit slower (some may even be two-way) and you may have intersection conflicts. In fact, it is the design at intersections which is key to good implementations. There is a summit to be held on establishing what these new Class IV Bikeways should look like and you can help get this off the ground by participating in this survey.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/bikewayguidance

The deadline for your input is TODAY, April 27, so sorry for the last minute notice. If we get lots of road cyclists to participate, then hopefully we can continue to enjoy all the roads we ride, we can make those safer as well where poorly maintained or things like sharrows or Bikes May Use Full Lane signs might help. The whole idea is to get lots more people riding. Only then, I believe, will motorists understand that Bikes Belong, bikes are here to stay, and bikes are becoming more and more a real alternative form of transportation.

Karl

[karlos]

Here is even better guidance from the Orange County Wheelmen on the importance of taking the survey, including suggested responses.
Sorry for the last minute notice, but your participation could keep our club rides great (and maybe even better) in the long run.
-Karl

The Orange County Wheelmen (OCW)
Stacy Kline (The Orange County Wheelmen (OCW)) sent you a message.

Cal Trans is seeking input on their Class IV Bikeway Design Guide. The survey is due today. Your input is absolutely essential because as club cyclists because these facilities are inappropriate for use at high speeds or by use of large groups of cyclists. We feel that these designs need to be clearly signed as "Optional Use Facilities" so that bicyclists and motorists can see that cyclists have a choice of riding on the road or in these Bikeway facilities.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/bikewayguidance

We suggest selecting all for questions 2 & 3 and made the following comments:
"Any bikeway should include clear signage to inform motorists and bicyclists that these are optional use facilities. Otherwise bicyclists who do not use these facilities may subject to harassment or hostility from motorists."

"Any Cycle Track or Separated Bikeway should include clear signage to inform motorists and bicyclists that these are optional use facilities. Otherwise bicyclists who do not use these facilities may subject to harassment or hostility from motorists."

For question 4, we suggest the following format:
Coordinated Highway Design Manual and California MUTCD updates
and this comment:
"The manual needs to be updated with best practices and traffic engineering standards."

Regarding further concerns please add why this is important to you. My comments were:
"I am a bike commuter, recreational bicyclist, ultra-distance randonneur, and club cyclist. These facilities must clearly labeled and indicated to motorists and bicyclists that they are optional use facilities for bicyclists who because of their speed or the size of their group should not be in these facilities."

The following email is from the California DOT:

From: Moore, Paul C@DOT <paul....@dot.ca.gov>
Date: Fri, Apr 24, 2015 at 11:32 AM
Subject: Bicycle Survey due Monday, April 27t
The Protected Bikeways Act of 2014 (Assembly Bill 1193 - Ting, Chapter 495) requires the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), in cooperation with local agencies and in consultation with the existing advisory committee of the department dedicated to improve access for persons with disabilities, to establish minimum safety design criteria for Class IV Bikeways, also referred to as cycle tracks or separated bikeways.  We look forward to working with partners across the state to complete this important work.

A Class IV Bikeway Summit will be held on Wednesday, May 27, 2015 in Sacramento.  The Summit will be an all-day event to gather input from a wide cross-section of our external transportation partners and stakeholders interested in improving transportation in California.  The purpose and goal for the Summit is to obtain preliminary input to help identify pertinent issues, concerns and recommendations relative to content, style and format of the design and traffic operations guidance which is to be published by January 1, 2016.

A survey has been developed in order to gather input to further develop the Summit and to obtain interest in attendance.  Filling out the survey will helpCaltrans gain a better understanding of the issues and topics related to the development and publishing of Class IV Bikeway guidance.  Here is a link to the survey:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/bikewayguidance

Responses to the survey are requested by the close of business on Monday April 27, 2015.

If you have any questions, please contact Kevin Herritt, Chief, Office of Standards and Procedures, Division of Design at kevin....@dot.ca.gov or call him at (916) 653-0253.

Sincerely,

Paul C. Moore, AICP
Bicycle Facilities Program Manager
Caltrans Division of Local Assistance
1120 N Street, MS 1
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: (916) 653-2750