Fwd: Re: [Bikeboard] Bicycle Board: recommendation on center lineon railtrail?
Greg Good
Greg
>>> Jonathan Rosenbaum <frees...@cheat.org> 7/8/2008 3:23 AM >>>
I studied the rail-trail changes about 9 hours ago and here are the
results of my study.
1). The striped lines begin at 4th Street on the Caperton Trail and
continue to the kiosk which is right before where the trail turns into
gravel.
2). The stripped lines start at the beginning of Deckers Creek Trail
and continue all the way to the intersection with Deckers Creek Rd.
3). In general, the stripes are not properly centered in the trail,
this leaves more room on one side of the trail than on the other side.
Also, the ends of the stripes are not always perpendicular to one
another creating a wavy effect.
4). The stripes are not trail appropriate, but rather are similar to
the ones designated for highways. There are approximately 10 feet long
and about 4 inches wide. (note: This is a just an estimate.) The MUTCD
recommends stripes that are 3 feet long for shared-use paths ([Section
9B.01] or in the newest MUTCD [Section 9C.03]).
5). The stripes are spaced approximately 10 feet apart from each
other. The MUTCD recommends a 1-to-3 segment-to-gap ratio. Given the
present stripe size that would be 30 feet, however, if the trail was
appropriately striped that would be 9 feet.
6). The stripes are white, but both the MUTCD and the AASHTO recommend
a "100-mm (4-inch) wide "yellow" center line stripe to separate opposite
directions of travel (from AASHTO)".
Summary: The biggest problem with the way the stripes were applied is
that they are not appropriate stripes for a rail-trail and they are too
close together based on their length. No wonder people are complaining
about getting dizzy. Also, the intention of these stripes was to
provide feedback to people in congested areas to stay to the right, not
to make the rail-trail look like a very weird 70 mph freeway.
Furthermore, because the stripes weren't properly centered people tend
to walk towards the center on the less wide side. AASHTO provides a
good explanation of what we wanted to accomplish:
A designer should consider a 100-mm (4-inch) wide yellow center line
stripe to separate opposite directions of travel. This stripe should
be broken
where adequate passing sight distance exists, and solid in other
locations, or where passing by bicycles should be discouraged. This may
be particularly beneficial in the following circumstances: (1) for heavy
volumes of bicycles and/or other users, (2) on curves with
restricted sight
distance, and (3) on unlighted paths where nighttime riding is expected.
White edge lines can also be very beneficial where bicycle traffic
is expected
during early evening hours.
Did we accomplish this goal? Based on my real-world experience of
riding on the trail today I was appalled. Because of BOPARC's attempt
at reinventing the wheel, we have created a situation that actually
makes it harder for a bicyclist to adequately identify travelers coming
from the opposite direction because of the distraction that the striped
lines create; i.e. this is a less safe situation. Furthermore, it was
my understanding that these stripes were only going to be placed in
congested areas, and augmented by signage.
I am not sure how to finish this message, but I think this indicates
some serious problems with the communication channels that exist in this
City. You would have thought that BOPARC would have know the
appropriate application to use on a rail-trail, and they would have
asked or have been told what application to use if they didn't know, but
this certainly doesn't seem to be the case. I am looking forward to
learning more information about what went wrong from those who know, so
we won't have a repeat of this in the future!
-Jonathan
Jonathan Rosenbaum wrote:
> Yes, this was presented to the TC on June 13, 2007. I've attached the
> file that describes the outcome of this TC meeting, look at (4). I
> haven't been on the rail trail since the change occurred. Did they put
> strips in congested areas as we recommended, or did they strip the whole
> rail trail?
>
> -Jonathan
>
>
> Greg Good wrote:
>
>> Does anyone have a record that the BB recommended to the Traffic Commission a center line on the railtrail? I cannot find any such recommendation in my records, but perhaps I am missing some files.
>>
>> Background: center lines have appeared and one citizen has been told that this was the call of the BB. I doubt this and I want the record to be clear.
>>
>> Greg
>>
>>
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Tom
feels absolutely ridiculous now.
On Jul 9, 10:19 pm, "Greg Good" <gg...@wvu.edu> wrote:
> Ron, I've cc'd you a few times. But I don't know if you have seen this email. This is NOT a trivial problem. This has transformed a major plus for Morgantown into an absolute laughing stock or worse. Our railtrail is no longer a Cadillac. It is now a Yugo. It must be fixed.
>
> Greg
>
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