reimagine washtenaw

[Vivienne Armentrout]

There are still two public workshops for the draft plans for ReImagine
Washtenaw. http://www.washtenawavenue.org/

There will also be an opportunity to respond online in about a week -
they are still setting up an open response mechanism.

In the comments on the annarbor.com story,
http://annarbor.com/news/washtenaw-avenues-future-conceptual-images-show-buffered-bikes-lanes-and-dedicated-transit-lanes/
, KJM Clark raises a number of very substantive concerns about the
configuration of the bike lanes. I think those need to be heard by the
designers.

The bicycling community should engage with this process early to make
sure that bike lanes make sense and will safeguard the people using them.

I am concerned about the fact that auto lanes are proposed to be reduced
to 11 feet. Considering the way many people drive around here, and
given the number of trucks on that corridor, I'm concerned that it may
create an unsafe situation, both for cyclists and for motorists.

Vivienne Armentrout

I

[Eric Boyd]

On 5/29/13 6:09 PM, Vivienne Armentrout wrote:
>
> The bicycling community should engage with this process early to make
> sure that bike lanes make sense and will safeguard the people using them.

Agree.

>
> I am concerned about the fact that auto lanes are proposed to be
> reduced to 11 feet. Considering the way many people drive around
> here, and given the number of trucks on that corridor, I'm concerned
> that it may create an unsafe situation, both for cyclists and for
> motorists.
>
>

I think this is a very good thing. Speed limits have almost no practical
effect on curbingspeeding. Narrowing traffic lanes do have a significant
impact on curbing speeding. Generally people drive faster the wider the
lane and slower the narrower the lane, regardless of what the speed
limit is.

--Eric

[Vivienne Armentrout]

I haven't seen that effect on Jackson between Dexter and Maple. Those
narrow little lanes are scary, but people still drive fast and tailgate.

[Eric Boyd]

Here's some articles discussing the issue with some references that may
be of interest:

http://streetswiki.wikispaces.com/Lane+Width
http://blog.livablestreets.info/?p=148

[Bob Krzewinski]

I attended the Re-Imagine Washtenaw session on Thursday night and was impressed on the emphasis the plans have put on complete streets. I also thought there would be more anti-bike hysteria but only one person went on a rant about how roads are for cars. 

Bob Krzewinski 

[Vivienne Armentrout]

I didn't hear any anti-bike talk at all, but there were very few regular
civilians at the morning session I attended. I think a major emphasis
in questions was the need for better crosswalks in the Arborland area.

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