Walk&RideFlorence: Input and comments please here

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Input and comments please here

Interested in building a better cycling and pedestrian future in Florence?

Wanna help paint bike lane symbols in Bike Lanes in Florence?

Want to suggest any ideas/improvements?

Use the comment link below.

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Let us be a smart community. We all want to live in a city with clean air, safe streets, healthier, happier people, and stress free traffic.

You can make a difference and thanks!

7 comments:

AnonymousJune 1, 2010 at 9:14 PM
An idea -- what would it take to get Florence labeled a "bike friendly"
city?
Is there an organization with standards for cities to meet to gain
some type of certification as "bike friendly"?
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SteveJune 2, 2010 at 3:43 PM
Thanks for the photos of the Munsel Creek path. I have walked it, but for some reason it never occurred to me that I could pedal it too. I will give it a go on my next outing.

Regarding the comment about a bike friendly city, I think that if Florence would spend some money to create new bike paths like the Munsel Creek path, that many people would begin riding around the town, no longer fearful of being struck by the heavy traffic flow of summer. Corvallis Oregon has many bike paths, and I have never seen so many bikers out on the weekends. This is one of those examples of "Build it and they will ride!" It has to start somewhere. Instead of always paving automobile streets over and over (like 9th), it might demonstrate vision if the city planners devoted some of those massive funds to additional bike paths.

I would be happy to see more of these paths, even though I don't ride a bike. My human-powered vehicle is a recumbent tadpole tricycle, but it still fits on very narrow paths. Free on three is my motto!

Keep up the good work on getting the word out through this website! Thanks for looking out for all the silent majority of this town. I for one clearly appreciate your ongoing efforts!

Steve Greene
Publisher:
http://trikeasylum.wordpress.com
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M. Werro, FlorenceJune 3, 2010 at 9:49 PM
BIKE FRIENDLY CITY STANDARTS
A Step by Step Guide to Turn your Town into a Bicycle Friendly Community

http://www.bikeleague.org/programs/bicyclefriendlyamerica/communities/getting_started.php

Benefits

Encouraging bicycling is a simple way towards improving public health. With more people bicycling, communities experience reduced traffic demands, improved air quality and greater physical fitness. In addition, Bicycle Friendly Communities are places with a high quality of life, where people want to live, work, and visit.
Building such a community can translate into a more connected, physically active, and environmentally sustainable community that enjoys increased property values, business growth, increased tourism, and more transportation choices for citizens.
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AdeleJune 6, 2010 at 5:05 PM
I would use my bike to do errands more often if there were more bike racks available.
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KurtJune 9, 2010 at 7:07 PM
Streets and highways are part of the public realm, not the private domain of motorists. Many billions are spent on transportation every year at all levels of government; only half of that generated by fuel and vehicle taxes and tolls. The remaining amount comes from general fund allocations, bond issues, fare boxes of transit systems and property taxes.
Cyclists don't take up a lot of space (either moving or parked), don't cause a lot of wear and tear on the streets, don't generate a lot of pollution, rarely hurt others in a collision, and are efficient and economical in almost every regard. The cost of accommodating cyclists is minimal compared to those same costs for motor vehicles.

It would be much appreciated to improve the quality of life in our community through the increase of safe walking and cycling as a viable means of transportation and physical activity.
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SteveJune 10, 2010 at 11:35 AM
Regarding organizations with standards that can help Florence move from its current automobile paradigm to a cycling and pedestrian friendly mindset, please check out the National Complete Streets Coalition, at this link:

http://www.completestreets.org/

This will get any human-powered citizen excited! The complete process for complete streets is lined out, well tested, and already in place in a few locales, such as Portland, Oregon. If Portland can do this successfully, so can the little coastal town of Florence. It will bring positive consequences to this town that extend far beyond just the convenience of being able to walk and cycle without fear.

You can also read a little more, see a Portland video of human friendly streets in action, and read an interesting article of another activist at my website here:

http://trikeasylum.wordpress.com/complete-streets/

We do not have to reinvent the wheel to make this reality in Florence. All we have to do is follow the Complete Streets program and have the cooperation of the Florence city planners. If we build it, they will ride!

You'd be surprised how many people would actually get out on their feet, bicycles, tricycles, and motorized wheelchairs if as much consideration were given to human powered transport as is currently given to petroleum powered transport!

This idea clearly has found its time on the central Oregon coast, especially since our city is very open to improving the current hazardous roadways. All citizens have the right to travel safely in this town, not just the ones who use two and three ton masses of metal to move their bodies a few miles.

Your friend,
Steve
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Fred, FlorenceJune 28, 2010 at 10:09 PM
Please integrate the needs of pedestrians and bicyclists in future road projects.
Thank you!
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BENEFITS OF BICYCLING & WALKING

Increased bicycling and walking will help:

· Reduce traffic congestion;

· Reduce air and noise pollution;

· Reduce wear and tear on our roads;

· Reduce consumption of petroleum;

· Reduce crashes and property damage;

· Reduce the need for additional roads, travel lanes and parking; and

· Improve Oregonians' health and well-being through regular exercise.

Providing bikeways and walkways

also helps meet the needs of a large segment of the population who do not have access to an automobile - the "transportation disadvantaged":

· The poor;

· The young;

· The elderly;

· People with disabilities; and

· Others who do not use a motor vehicle for a variety of reasons.

THE IMPORTANCE OF BICYCLING & WALKING

Walking is the most basic form of transportation. Everyone is a pedestrian, including persons using wheelchairs and other forms of mobility assistance. Transit or automobile trips begin and end with a walk. Walking is often the quickest way to accomplish short trips in urban areas.

Bicycling is the most energy efficient form of transportation ever devised, getting the energy equivalent of up to 1,500 miles per gallon (according to an MIT study).

People who walk or ride bicycles are the most vulnerable road users, being less protected from the weather and more likely to be injured in a collision with a motor vehicle; they must often use facilities that were designed primarily for automobiles.

Definition of

801.385 "Pedestrian" "Pedestrian" means any person afoot or confined in a wheelchair. [1983 c.338 §69]

801.485 "Sidewalk" "Sidewalk" means the area determined as follows: (1) On the side of a highway which has a shoulder, a sidewalk is that portion of the highway between the outside lateral line of the shoulder and the adjacent property line capable of being used by a pedestrian. (2) On the side of a highway which has no shoulder, a sidewalk is that portion of the highway between the lateral line of the roadway and the adjacent property line capable of being used by a pedestrian. [1983 c.338 §89]

801.480 "Shoulder"
"Shoulder" means the portion of a highway, whether paved or unpaved, contiguous to the roadway that is primarily for use by pedestrians, for the accommodation of stopped vehicles, for emergency use and for lateral support of base and surface courses. [1983 c.338 §88]

TYPES OF BIKEWAYS

Shared-Use Path (formerly called bike path or multi-use path): A facility separated from motor vehicle traffic by an open space or barrier, either within the roadway right-of-way or within an independent right-of-way. These are typically used by pedestrians, joggers, skaters and bicyclists. Shared-use paths are appropriate in corridors not well served by the street system, to create short cuts that link origin and destination points, and as elements of a community trail plan.

Bike Lane: A portion of the roadway designated for preferential use by bicyclists. Bike lanes are appropriate on busy urban thoroughfares. They may be used on other streets where bicycle travel and demand is substantial. Bike lanes are marked to call attention to their preferential use by bicyclists.

Shoulder Bikeway: A shoulder bikeway is a paved shoulder that provides a suitable area for bicycling, reducing conflicts with faster moving motor vehicle traffic. Most bicycle travel on the rural state highway system, and on many county roads, is accommodated on shoulder bikeways.

Bicycle Boulevards: The operation of a local street is modified to function as a through street for bicyclists while maintaining local access for automobiles. Traffic calming devices control traffic speeds and discourage through trips by automobiles. Traffic controls limit conflicts between automobiles and bicyclists and give priority to through bicycle movement.

Shared Roadway: Bicyclists and motorists ride in the same travel lanes. There are no specific dimensions for shared roadways. They are usually narrow, so a motorist has to cross over into the adjacent travel lane to pass a cyclist. Shared roadways are common on neighborhood residential streets, on rural roads and low-volume highways.