Op-Ed: Shouldn’t bicycle planning and facility design experts at least ride bikes?

When I go around New Jersey talking about the importance of advocating for better bicycle amenities I’m often told by other bicyclists that they are frustrated, fed up and don’t bother even trying anymore. These bicyclists often complain that when they have petitioned for facilities in the past, if something was built, it was entirely unsuited to their needs. The typical complaint I hear is, “Why bother?!?! If something actually does get built, it will just get designed by someone who has obviously never even ridden a bike!” (I’ve honestly heard close to this exact complaint from several cyclists.)

While I can say with confidence that things are indeed changing for the better here in New Jersey, the unfortunate reality is that these bicyclists’ frustrations are well founded and their misgivings are all too often manifested in the concrete, asphalt, paint and steel of many of the facilities designed for bicycle use around the State. And while the professionals that plan and design these facilities may be very well intentioned and completely sold on the idea and wisdom of accommodating bicyclists, the reality remains that if the expert is not an experienced bicyclist themselves, they may continue to be blind to the potential hazards unintentionally incorporated into their designs and plans.

So I propose a theoretical test for anyone in charge of planning and/or designing bicycle facilities. This test would even be helpful for those in charge of awarding grant funds for bicycle facilities, as they would be more capable of critically evaluating the merits of a project and its usefulness for cyclists. I admittedly set the bar pretty high but that’s the point. If a candidate could pass this test then I would have unquestioning confidence with their professional opinions relative to proposed bicycle facilities. So beyond the candidate’s relative professional and academic achievements (degrees / experience in engineering, planning, etc.) the candidate would need to pass the following requirements to be a qualified bicycle planning and facility design expert. Those are:

Mandatory competences –

1. Theoretical and practical mastery of Smart Cycling as taught by the League of American Cyclists

Op-Ed: Roadway design speeds and modern cars

Speeding by drivers is probably the greatest single safety issue for those of us in the bike and pedestrian advocacy world. Yes, many will say that this is because that for 50 years we've design roads with only the safe, smooth and efficient flow of motor vehicle traffic in mind. There is no argument there. However, I think one factor that many people are forgetting are the cars themselves and how advances in automotive technology have enabled drivers to drive faster.

When many roadway design practices became the standards we use today, cars were much less capable machines. Think about it. Cars back in the 1960's and 1970's would start to shake and rattle at speeds above 60mph. By contrast today, the average car is a highly refined and incredibly well engineered machine capable of performance well beyond all but the most exotic sports cars from 30 or 40 years ago. They can accelerated faster, corner at higher g-forces, brake quicker all with a suspension and acoustic dampening that greatly trivializes speeds.

So my point is this. Roadway design speeds derived from standards established 40 years ago can no longer be valid with today's modern cars. A road that was designed to become uncomfortable for the driver at 45mph 40 years ago is likely not to seem uncomfortable until speeds exceed 65mph in a modern car today.

All the more reason to start engineering roadways for the actual speeds that transportation officials want people to drive.

Deadline tommorrow for comments on Scudder Falls Bridge

As report by John and our friends at the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia:

Comments to the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission on this issue are due tomorrow, February 4th. Send the Commission an email letter stating your support for a bicycle/pedestrian pathway being included in the final design of the Bridge.

The Philadelphia Inquirer ran an indepth story and editorial today about the I-95 Scudder Falls Bridge and how a bicycle/pedestrian walkway that is being considered by the Bridge Commission may not get included because it is "prohibitively expensive." The Commission is rationalizing that 9 motor vehicle lanes (up from the current 4), 2 lanes for buses and 2 12-wide shoulders are necessary and a given that they will be built, but a bicycle/pedestrian path "is a cost issue" and may not be get included in the final design.

Obviously,we at the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia don't agree and are pleased that the Inquirer Editorial Board is with us! The cost of a bicycle/pedestrian pathway is well below the threshold of what the feds consider "unreasonable", and there are other important positive benefits to having providing bicycle/pedestrian access that outweigh costs. Accommodating all users in transportation projects is federal and state policy, and one that this Commission should adhere to. The Commission should be designing a bridge with a 50-75 year life span for a future of more bicycling and walking and not pretend that it doesn't have a role to play in making the region more sustainable. As the Inquirer said today, "it would be an absurd planning decision to build a new bridge that made no room for cyclists and hikers to cross between two historic canal trails."

BCGP Final Comments (pdf)

View Philadelphia Regional Trails in a larger map

Interesting Statute of the Month - No Highway Off-ramps Near Schools

UPDATE! (2/2/10) - Zoe at the Tri-State Transportation Campaign commented below that this law is referred to as the "Terrell James' Law." I was curious about that and pulled up what I believe is the final bill language that created the statute below.

According to a NJDOT Press Release from February 7, 2006, the "Terrell James' Law" was (would be) named "in memory of an 8-year-old who was killed in a tragic 1997 accident that occurred on a Newark playground located between two highway ramps."
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I was doing some research again and I came across this interesting little tidbit. The law is only a little more than two years old but it is an interesting bit of legislation particularly for you folks concerned about Safe Routes to School issues. Also, if you follow the link below there is a bit more to this legislation than this one statute.

27:7-44.12 New entry or exit ramp, construction within 1,000 feet of school; prohibited; exceptions.

4. a. A new entry or exit ramp shall not be constructed as part of a highway project if a school is located or is being constructed within 1,000 feet of the proposed location of the entry or exit ramp, unless, during the planning and design of the project, the department determines that the construction is required and that there is no feasible or prudent alternative.

b.Prior to making the determination required pursuant to subsection a. of this section, the department shall, as part of its community outreach efforts to identify a preferred alternative design for the highway project, notify the local board of education in whose district the school is located or being constructed, and in the case of a school being constructed by the New Jersey Economic Development Authority, the authority, or in the case of a nonpublic school, the board thereof, the Department of Education and the members of the Legislature representing the district in which the school is located or being constructed, that the department is considering the construction of an entry or exit ramp within 1,000 feet of the school. The preferred alternative design for the highway project shall not be selected until the members of the Legislature notified pursuant to this subsection have been afforded the opportunity to submit comments to the department. If the department subsequently determines that the construction of the entry or exit ramp is required and that there is no feasible or prudent alternative, pedestrian safety issues shall be included as part of the environmental review undertaken by the department pursuant to State and federal laws, rules and regulations. When the public forum is held as part of the environmental review of the proposed highway project, the department shall present its plan for any entry or exit ramp and the safety measures, consistent with the recommendations of the study required pursuant to section 7 of this act, that are to be included in the highway project.

c.An entry or exit ramp for a highway shall not be reconstructed if a school is located or being constructed within 1,000 feet of the location of the ramp unless the department shall take steps to minimize the public safety hazards of the reconstructed ramp, consistent with the recommendations contained in the study required pursuant to section 7 of this act.

L.2007, c.308, s.4.

News 4 NY: NJ Highway With No Speed Limit Now Has 4

If you follow this blog or the NJ Bike/Ped News Digest you may be aware of the up-roar about the new section of NJ Rt 18 in New Brunswick not having any posted speed limits up until very recently. Tragically, it is felt by many that the lack of a posted speed limit may have had a cause in the pedestrian crash fatality of a New Brunswick boy. Even though the boy crossed against the signal, the speed of the driver that hit him was 68mph, way above the default speed limit of 50mph. It is believed by his family that the boy misjudged the speed of the car, never expecting it to be traveling so fast and that a proper, lower speed limit should have been installed when the road first opened.