Anyone want to write up analysis?

[Brian Tang]

Would anyone be interested in writing up an analysis of New Haven's BFC scorecard and draw up an outline for how the city can achieve silver, with timelines, cost estimates, and funding sources that could be posted to the ECC website?

http://www.newhavenindependent.org/index.php/archives/entry/city_called_bikable_with_room_to_improve/

I don't personally have the time, although I'd be willing to answer whatever background questions a volunteer might have. Unfortunately after just a few months of being away from New Haven, my knowledge of what is going on and who are the key players is not nearly as comprehensive as it once was.  

[Parker, Holly]

Hi all,

 

I would be happy to work on this—probably with Ethan Hutchings—for the costing and feasibility perspectives.

 

Here is a link to the actual “Report Card:” file:///C:/Users/hp89/Downloads/BFC_Fall2014_ReportCard_NewHaven_CT.pdf

 

And here are the Key issues to be addressed in order to qualify for silver status:

 

» Expand the Safe Routes to School program.

 

» Appoint an official Bicycle Advisory Committee.

 

» Increase the amount of high quality bicycle parking throughout the community, especially at multi-family and public housing, retail, restaurants, event venues and offices.

 

» Add bike lanes along arterials. On roads with posted speed limits of more than 35 mph, it is recommended to provide protected bicycle infrastructure. Continue to provide countermeasures to reduce danger at high accident locations.

 

» Continue to expand the off street bike system and develop a bike boulevard network to encourage more families and novice cyclists to bike for recreation and transportation.

 

» Install a bicycle wayfinding system with distance and destination information.

 

» Adequately maintain your on and off road bicycle infrastructure to ensure usability and safety, especially in the winter.

 

» Offer a greater variety of bicycling skills training opportunities for adults.

 

» Ensure that police officers are initially and repeatedly educated on traffic law as it applies to bicyclists and motorists.

 

» Police officers should report cyclist crash data and potential hazards to traffic engineers and planners.

 

Thanks for suggesting, Brian. We miss you!

Cheers,

Holly

 

“You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.”

    

       -R. Buckminster Fuller

 

Holly Parker

Director of Sustainable Transportation Systems

Yale University (203) 432-9245

to.yale.edu

Follow us on Twitter: TOyale

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[William Kurtz]

This report card should go straight to Esserman's desk since he promised us a couple of those things three(?) year ago. 

[Chris Heitmann]

Thank you, Holly! Of the entire list, the Bike Plan Subcommittee should specifically take a look at how to improve the following six issues, in conjunction ideally with the 2013 Bike Plan:

» Expand the Safe Routes to School program.

 

» Increase the amount of high quality bicycle parking throughout the community, especially at multi-family and public housing, retail, restaurants, event venues and offices.

 

» Add bike lanes along arterials. On roads with posted speed limits of more than 35 mph, it is recommended to provide protected bicycle infrastructure. Continue to provide countermeasures to reduce danger at high accident locations.

 

» Continue to expand the off street bike system and develop a bike boulevard network to encourage more families and novice cyclists to bike for recreation and transportation.

 

» Install a bicycle wayfinding system with distance and destination information.

 

» Adequately maintain your on and off road bicycle infrastructure to ensure usability and safety, especially in the winter.

The remaining items seem like board issues to contend with and/or Education Subcommittee.  As always, we have our work cut out for us!

In terms of pulling together the Bike Plan Team back together to actually address these issues, I have to say I got confused in the previous thread where it seems we were talking about both reconstituting Bike Plan AND starting up a Policy Subcommittee at the same time. Does anyone know where we ended up with that effort and which was which?

Chris

Chris Heitmann
Executive Director
Westville Village Renaissance Alliance
chris.h...@westvillect.org 
(203) 285-8539 

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[Brian Tang]

That's a nice list. Those are absolutely all things that should be happening. How about getting in touch with developers who are planning new residential projects to provide them with standards for long-term and short-term bicycle parking accommodations? 

[Chris Heitmann]

How about a response letter to the Mayor with a summary outline of this and the other steps New Haven would need to take in the next year to achieve Silver or even Gold status, including which City Depts. need to be on board for each of the steps. Needs to be some political oomph behind this and the idea that EACH of the city departments that could impact will play their part. If it's not a coordinated effort, it'll never happen.

[Brian Tang]

OK. I know I said I don't have time for this, but I also can't help myself, so here's a start.

» Expand the Safe Routes to School program.

In April Doug told me that he wants to do this and was getting ready to hire a consultant to prepare a plan to add one new school to the SRTS each year. What happened?

 

» Appoint an official Bicycle Advisory Committee.

I think this should be done through the Board of Alders. The city departments are mostly on our side, but the things we want will eventually require additional funding, so there's no way around the fact that we need to earn and maintain the support of a majority of alders.

 

» Increase the amount of high quality bicycle parking throughout the community, especially at multi-family and public housing, retail, restaurants, event venues and offices.

We need a more forceful bicycle parking ordinance. Ensuring correct placement of adequate short and long-term bicycle parking should be part of the City Plan Commission site plan review. Our current ordinance is a good start, but if this is on the books why do we continue to see a lack of both short and long-term bicycle parking in new developments and major renovations?:

A site shall provide two bicycle spaces for the first ten required or proposed parking spaces and one additional bicycle space for each additional ten required or proposed motor vehicle parking spaces or fraction thereof.

In any case of a use in a residence district for which ten or more motor vehicle parking spaces are required one bicycle parking space may be substituted for one motor vehicle parking space per each ten required motor vehicle parking spaces or fraction thereof.

(e)

Bicycle parking spaces shall comply with designs approved by the City of New Haven Department of Transportation, Traffic and Parking and at a minimum must provide a bicycle rack that permits the locking of a bicycle frame and one wheel while supporting the bicycle in a stable position that will not damage the bicycle or its components or interfere with pedestrian access to the sidewalk and ingress and egress to buildings or facilities. Required bicycle parking spaces are also subject to the additional following standards:

(1)

Short-term bicycle parking is intended to encourage bicycle use for shoppers, customers and visitors by providing convenient bicycle parking located adjacent to main entrances of buildings. It should be located within 50 feet of each main building entrance as measured by the most direct pedestrian access route.

(2)

Long-term bicycle parking provides safe and weather protected places for users requiring longer periods of bicycle storage such as residents, employees and students. Specific requirements include:

a.

Long-term bicycle must be located on or within 100 feet of the site.

b.

At least 50 percent of required spaces must be covered.

c.

The area must be locked or secured.

(3)

Short and long range parking by use.

a.

Multi-family residential: Short term—10%, long term—90%

b.

Retail, restaurant: Short term—66%, long term —33%

c.

Office: Short term—20%, long term—80%

d.

Manufacturing and warehouse: Long term—100%

e.

Medical uses: Short term—66%, Long term—33%

f.

Other uses: To be determined by City Plan Commission

 

» Add bike lanes along arterials. On roads with posted speed limits of more than 35 mph, it is recommended to provide protected bicycle infrastructure. Continue to provide countermeasures to reduce danger at high accident locations.

Two things have to happen if we ever want our percentage to pass 8% of the milage of arterial roads (We are currently at 5% and want 45% for silver). Many of these are also state roads. We might be able to get to 40% without state cooperation, but not much further:

1. We need to remove on-street parking to create space for bike lanes
• Grand Ave
• Olive St
• Ferry St
• Chapel St (in Wooster Square, Fair Haven, and Westville)
• James St
• Townsend Ave
• Woodward Ave
• Farren Ave
• Prospect St
• Edwards St
• East St
• Mitchell/Cold Spring
• Goffe St
• lower Dixwell
• Shelton Ave
• Henry St
• Bassett St
• Congress Ave
• Columbus Ave
• Davenport Ave
• Howard Ave (north of Congress)
• Spring St
• Valley St
• Wintergreen Ave
• Edgewood through the park and west
• Fountain St
• Lighthouse Rd
• Ramsdell
• parts of Kimberly
• College St (downtown)
• State St
• Fitch St
• Middletown Ave (in Bishop Woods)
• Winchester Ave
• Ella Grasso Blvd (north of Derby Ave)
• Division (Dixwell to Winchester)
• Clinton (south of Chatham Square)
• Orchard St
• Winthrop Ave (Rt 34 to Davenport)
• Lombard St
• Central Ave
• Quinnipiac Ave
• Clifton St
• Eastern St
• Russel St
• George St? (after two-way conversion)
• York St? (after two-way conversion)
• Grove St? (after two-way conversion)
• others?
2. We need to remove travel lanes to make room for bike lanes or cycle tracks
• Union Ave
• Edgewood Ave (one-way portion)
• Whalley Ave
• Whitney Ave
• Willow St (over bridge)
• Church St (downtown)
• Long Wharf Dr
• Forbes Ave
• Foxon Blvd
• Middletown Ave (in Fair Haven)
• Division (east of Winchester)
• Ella Grasso Blvd (south of Derby Ave)
• Sargent Dr
• Chapel St (downtown and points west)
• Downtown Crossing (MLK & S Frontage)
• State St in downtown?
• Temple St?
• others?

» Continue to expand the off street bike system and develop a bike boulevard network to encourage more families and novice cyclists to bike for recreation and transportation.

• Bike Boulevard opportunities (two-way conversions where applicable + speed humps + volume reduction (half closures, diverters) + turning stop signs):
  
• Canner St
• River St
• Lawrence
• Livingston
• Wall St
• High St
• Orange St (downtown)
• Crown St
• Court St
• St Ronan
• English/Peck
• Newhall St?
• Dyer St
• Norton St
• Elm St (west of downtown)
• Willard St
• Fairfield St
• West St (connects to Winthrop)
• Hurlburt (connects to West)
• Lamberton
• Front St (close st to through auto traffic using half closures)
• Off-St:
  
• cycle tracks
• Cycle Tracks
• CYCLE TRACKS
• We don't have a ton of off-street space in the public right-of-way, so we shift space from being part of the roadway to being separated from the street. 

» Install a bicycle wayfinding system with distance and destination information.

I've been asking for this for so long it's not even funny.

» Adequately maintain your on and off road bicycle infrastructure to ensure usability and safety, especially in the winter.

• DPW will need funding to purchase cycle-track-sized street sweepers
  
• DPW should purchase Bobcats or similar small, skid-steer tractors for snow removal.
• Will require additional funding from BoA!!!

» Offer a greater variety of bicycling skills training opportunities for adults.

I feel like we (ECC, Yale TO) should better coordinate this with the Parks Dept.

 

» Ensure that police officers are initially and repeatedly educated on traffic law as it applies to bicyclists and motorists.

Beating head against wall

 

» Police officers should report cyclist crash data and potential hazards to traffic engineers and planners.

Comp stat

[Mark Abraham]

Hello:

We have a draft scorecard (attached here) that uses objective measures of forward progress, including the policy changes suggested by BFC.  We still need someone in the group to take action on publishing it, updating it with any changes that have taken place since the beginning of this year, and writing up a media-friendly coversheet.  Doug had previously agreed to publish it with Elm City Cycling as a "baseline" measurement from which improvements can be measured.

I like the BFC because it is national, but it is not nearly fine-grained enough to drive local action.  So I like Brian's idea of a follow up checklist, or creating a scoresheet like the attached that we update annually.  The idea is to measure annually and judge the progress of our city.

Mark