The Plazas of Pontevedra from J.H. Crawford on Vimeo.
Don’t let this video fool you. It’s obviously shot using clever techniques in a Hollywood studio.
How can I tell? There aren’t any cars.
the NACTO Urban Bikeway Design Guide, Second Edition
The newly revised Urban Bikeway Design Guide is out; it came yesterday. I feel the same way I used to feel as a kid when the Sears catalog arrived in the months before Christmas. Just like then I will pour over every page.
The Guide is all about best practices.
Cities for Cycling is a project of the National Association of City Transportation Officials to catalog, promote and implement the world’s best bicycle transportation practices in American municipalities. Part of this program includes NACTO’s Urban Bikeway Design Guide, a collection of the best in innovative bikeway treatments from around the US.
What’s new in this Second Edition? A lot. Buffered bike lanes, Contra-Flow bike lanes and, my new favorite, Cycle Tracks or protected, separated bike lanes.
Last night’s city council meeting was an important one for cyclists. Call it what you want — Multi Modal Transportation, Complete Streets, Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety, Shared Infrastructure — Newport Beach is listening. Three takeaways from the meeting:
1) There will be a Memorial Ride on October 28th for the two women cyclists killed in Newport Beach earlier this month.
2) At the urging of the cycling community, the Memorial Ride will include a fund raising aspect. The City has agreed to match every dollar raised up to $150,000 on a 3:1 basis. Thus, potentially up to $600,000 will be quickly available for improvements to bicycle safety. Thanks to a contribution at the meeting from the CdmCylist, Frank Peters, the fund is off to a great start.
3) The installation of the already approved Sharrows through Corona del Mar has been moved up from “eventually” to October. This highly visible stretch of roadway will send a strong signal that Newport Beach is serious about change.
In a related note, the new City Hall was mentioned several times last night. Here’s hoping that its large price tag includes parking for City Council meeting participants that arrive by bike. This is obviously not the case with the current city hall.
City Manager Dave Kiff sends out an Insider’s Guide prior to every City Council meeting. Dave manages to make the subjects to be discussed at these meetings not only readable, but enjoyable. The Insider’s Guide to tonight’s meeting (7:00 PM at 3300 Newport Boulevard) is no exception.
Last weekend was a tough weekend in our community. We lost two cyclists, on two separate days in two separate accidents with as-yet uncertain causes. Both women were enjoying the same Friday and Saturday mornings that each of us were, expecting to finish a nice ride and arrive at work, at home, or wherever just like any other day. I can’t imagine what their families, friends, and co-workers must have felt when that didn’t happen. Our thoughts and prayers are with them.
Continue reading “Tonight’s City Council Meeting” »
As Newport Beach considers its next steps in reaction to the recent tragic deaths of two women cyclists we can look to our neighbors and the commitment they are making to safer streets for all.
From Brenda Miller:
Attention San Clemente residents, visitors, and users of the Pacific Coast Bicycle Route:
Tomorrow, the San Clemente City Planning Commission will be evaluating the legal framework of the draft Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan. If time permits, the Commission will also entertain proposed candidate projects. Candidate projects form the basis for the traffic modeling required of the new General Plan. There is a lot at stake with this Plan (& the upcoming Circulation Element, not yet available).
Continue reading “San Clemente Leads in Complete Streets” »
Everyone in the Orange County bicycling community is well aware of the two tragic deaths that occurred on Newport Beach roadways last weekend. Sarah Leaf on Friday, September 14th and Catherine “Kit” Campion Ritz on Saturday, September 15th.
As if this was not bad enough, there was a third collision involving a bicycle on Thursday, September 13th. This is how it appears in the Newport Beach Police Department event list log:
The location of this collision was at a pinch point along the Pacific Coast Highway. One that every biker that has ridden along the PCH is familiar with:
This collision did not end in a fatality. But, what kind injuries were there?
A haunting thought from the audience that overflowed the Newport Beach Bicycle Safety Committee meeting this past Monday was how many people spoke up about bicycle accidents. Ones they had been involved with over the years. To a person they were thankful to have survived their accidents, but, in many cases, they led to daunting life changes.
They attended, first and foremost, to express their condolences for the two deaths. A secondary reason, however, was to ensure that these tragedies would produce some positive changes for pedestrian and bicycle safety. All of us need to do our part.
A tricky intersection for cyclists
See my shadow?
I’m the one on the far right. With me are Brad Sommers, Tony Petros and Bob Kahn from the Newport Beach Citizens Bicycle Safety Committee.
We gathered to ride some of the most challenging intersections in the city. Our objective: to come up with recommendations for safety improvements. In this case, we all know the dangers here as cars merge from the left and right, and on the other side of Coast Hwy, too. It’s going to take more than a single look at this intersection to come up with the right ideas.
We do have some solid suggestions for other tricky intersections for cyclists. Come to the next CBSC meeting on Tuesday Sept 4th at 4:30pm in the Central Library. You’ll hear our comments and you can contribute your own suggestions, too.
at Via Lido and Newport Blvd.
Come to the Central Library at 4:30pm on Monday August 6th for the Citizens Bicycle Safety Committee meeting. Read the agenda. We’ll be focusing on Sharrows and the details of implementation.
At last week’s Citizens Bicycle Safety Committee meeting we focused on the 3 worst intersections for bicycle collisions.
The #1 intersection — Newport Blvd. at Via Lido. Pedal carefully here.
Untimely coincidence? The City plans to add a traffic lane here. What will be the outcome?
Newport Beach’s #1 intersection for vehicles vs. bicycles
Consider this insight from Suburban Nation: The Rise of Sprawl and the Decline of he American Dream:
Posting speed limits to slow traffic on high-speed roads is futile, because people drive at the speed at which they feel safe — and teenagers drive at the speed at which they feel dangerous. Generally, the only time that people don’t speed in modern suburbia is when they are lost, which is, fortunately, quite often.
Adding a traffic lane will cause traffic speeds to go up. There’s no question that higher motorist speeds at the worst intersection will be a dangerous combination for cyclists.
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