Hwy 1 in Santa Cruz

[Lois Springsteen]

Rumble strip plan for Hwy 1 is a bad idea. Please write to CalTrans and tell them so.

http://www.roadbikerider.com/current-newsletter#newsletter-jims-tech-talk

Lois
Sent from my iPhone

[Old5ten]

no doubt that there isn't a whole lot of room on many parts of hwy. 1 (although there are plenty of stretches where there is a nice shoulder) however, i wonder if don mitchell or any other number of riders, who were run down from behind, would be alive today if the shoulders they were on had rumble strips.

just a thought.

elmar 

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[Veronica Tunucci]

I will apologize in advance for my view, I do still drive a car.

 

Rumble strips already exist on many sections of Hwy 1 and they are a good thing in my opinion for both cyclists and drivers if designed properly.

 

The emphasis should not be on telling CalTrans it’s a bad idea, but rather to ensure they’re designed to meet cyclists needs too.

 

And the center rumble strip is a really good thing in my opinion.  I would have to believe that has saved many lives. 

 

Veronica

Bike Commuter and Car Driver 

[Roland Bevan]

This document seems to have the state guidelines for rumble strips: http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/traffops/signtech/signdel/policy/11-04.pdf

It specifically mentions accommodating bicycles both in the placement of the strips and in the physical design. 

It remains to be seen whether the bicyclists agree that "the rumble strip depths mentioned above are traversable by bicycles", especially given the laughable implementations in some areas of "bike lanes" which are more than half gutter and aren't even wide enough to fit the stenciled "Bike Lane" labels. Rumble strips are also very hard to see on a rainy night when the depressions fill with water, as I know firsthand from dealing with them in Alaska last year, and running over them on a bicycle at high speed (such as during a descent) can easily cause a loss of control due to the violent vibration and the tendency of the depressions to push the front wheel to one side or the other . I'm all for improving the safety of roads; I hope what is implemented does so for all users.

  -Roland

[Richard.McCaw]

Brian Chun sent out note to ACTC and there was a mixed reaction. Pros and cons. Reply below from Mike McGeough – I found one file on Should Rumble Strip (SRS) policies – go to section 4.2 --- document states there was study done with bicyclists – locally HWY 25 is where I encounter the rumble strips. I found not having a skip or gap in SRS pattern to be an issue there due to challenge to avoid lots of mud and debris can be in shoulder area from adjacent farms. In Alaska they usually had a gap in their SRS pattern and that helped but was a pain to slow down to align transition through gap to and from shoulder area. Roland is right about trying to maneuver in rainy weather but gap in pattern made a difference. At night I rode to the left of the rumble strip unless near a blind curve with a truck train coming behind me. Placement of gaps in SRS pattern critical and this document states it. Thus need to talk to Santa Cruz County if this is going to happen and influence the gap pattern. Just sending emails saying the idea is bad won’t help. Working with County could help. I have always found local road maintenance helpful whenever feasible. There was a big outcry when center rumble strip was going to be placed on HWY 9 but I haven’t found it to be a problem. It’s helpful to hear when cars are crossing the center line. SRS implemented w/o being thoroughly studied as to where and how to put gaps in pattern can be a disastrous for bicycling. Done right can have a positive outcome for cars and bicyclists. Cars shouldn’t wander as often into shoulder area if they hit rumble strips.

 

Here is note I found in document.

 

“The second is to place a skip (or gap) in the SRS pattern to allow bicyclists to cross from the shoulder to the travel lane when encountering debris, but this does not ensure that debris will not be in the skip pattern.”

 

 

http://www.cedengineering.com/upload/Shoulder%20Treatments.pdf

 

4.2.2  Other Bicyclist's Concerns

Many bicyclist believe that SRS near the edge line force bicycles further from the sweeping action of passing vehicles that push debris from the travel lane.  Thus, the bicyclist is forced to ride in heavier debris.  Harwood (17), Moeur (9), and Gårder (19) have commented that shoulders may at times be covered with debris and have acknowledged a vehicle's sweeping action; however, no research has been identified to document the width of the sweeping action based upon vehicular speed or volume.  

At the current time there are two ways to deal with shoulder debris.  The first is to have maintenance crews routinely sweep the shoulders.  The second is to place a skip (or gap) in the SRS pattern to allow bicyclists to cross from the shoulder to the travel lane when encountering debris, but this does not ensure that debris will not be in the skip pattern.

In addition to shoulder debris, other dislikes of bicyclists with respect to SRS are listed below

SRS are appearing on more and more roads that are frequented by bicyclists,

SRS often appear without warning,

SRS that are placed close to an intersection,

Different States have different standards and designs, and

Weaving SRS (poorly installed SRS that are supposed to be in a straight line) are difficult for bicyclists to ride near.

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You might want to look over the design before opposing the rumble strips. On
our cross country tour my wife and I rode 100s of miles on interstate highways
with rumble strips separating the highway from a wide shoulder. Traffic blew by
at 90+ mph but we felt safe.

A rumble strip may have also saved my life on HWY 25 between Gilroy and
Hollister a few years back. A car came barreling down the rumble strip from
behind and missed me by inches. I could just about feel the car against my left
arm. The next car pulled along side of me and said that driver was drunk and
was weaving all over the place. The police had been called and they were
following the drunk driver. I tend to think the rumble strip kept the driver
more in the traffic lane and less on the shoulder and saved my life.

I have always tried to avoid HWY 1 on account of narrow to non-existent
shoulders, tourists gawking and weaving, locals racing around, and drivers
abusing an array of substances. A rumble strip separating the traffic lane from
a shoulder/bike lane would make me feel safer.

Mike

 

Richard McCaw
richar...@sbcglobal.net
Cell: 408-838-9863
Home: 408-448-2899

LinkedIn Profile: http://www.linkedin.com/in/mccaw

[Jason Wehmhoener]

Here's the response to my email that I received from the SCCRTC. If you want to voice your opinion, sounds like the bike committee meeting next Monday night is the place to do it. 

Thank you for your comments. They will be made available to the Commission for their review.

 

We are in communication with Caltrans about your concerns and the information will be on the Bike Committee agenda at our next meeting on Monday, April 9 @ 6:30 p.m. at the Commission Offices. 

 

Please visit the SCCRTC website at www.sccrtc.org for information on the Commission and its activities.

 

Thank you again.

 

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	Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission
	831.460.3200 - Santa Cruz Office (main location)
	831.768.8012 - Watsonville Office
	1523 Pacific Avenue | Santa Cruz, CA 95060

-Jason