TABLE OF CONTENTS:
WHEELIE BAD PLACEMENT: A Critique of Certain Bike Lanes in Los Angeles (not ALL bike lanes.)1/24/2019 WHEELIE BAD PLACEMENT: A Critique of Certain Bike Lanes in Los Angeles (NOT ALL bike lanes.) Bike lanes are one of the most common features of multi-modal transportation systems, usually implemented as part of “great streets” or “road diet” programs in urban areas. Bike lanes provide a dedicated space for bicyclists and other small-wheelers to travel at top speed, while also being (somewhat) separate from cars and freeing up the sidewalks for foot commuters. However, the selection processes are flawed for some bicycle lanes in Los Angeles. There are a few inherent effects brought on by the placement of bike lanes in busy commercial areas. First, it reduces the amount of parking in proximity to businesses. If these spaces are not replenished in some way, that particular block or stretch of roadway develops a reputation for scarce parking, and so folks park their cars (and possibly shop) elsewhere. Second, traffic builds up in the “dieted” area, making circulation more difficult—from left turns, to lane changes, to clearing lanes. This in turn can make dispersal more difficult in the case of an emergency, like an auto and/or pedestrian involved accident, and subsequent arrival of emergency vehicles. ___________________________ I would make the case that bike lanes should be placed along predominantly residential thoroughfares. This method of implementation would benefit residents, pedestrians, and drivers. There are several major thoroughfares in Los Angeles along which the built environment is primarily residential. Examples include: Coldwater Canyon Avenue, Fountain Avenue, Van Ness Avenue, Arlington Avenue, Los Feliz Boulevard, Highland Avenue south of Beverly, and much of 3rd Street West of Western Avenue. There are countless others. Most of the major streets in the Valley, too. These arterial residential corridors have two characteristics in common: 1) all, if not most, lanes are dedicated to vehicular travel, and 2) there are greater distances between stoplights. Coldwater Canyon Avenue and Los Feliz Boulevard are prominent examples of travel-only thoroughfares along residential neighborhoods. People, whether consciously or unconsciously, use these types of streets like their little private freeways. The maximum speed limits on most of the aforementioned thoroughfares is 35 mph (56 km/hr). The incidences of vehicular collisions near intersections on streets (like the above-mentioned ones) substantiates a disregard for speed. Have you ever tried to pull into a residential driveway off of these streets? People honk up a damn symphony! The road dieting and lane reduction on predominantly residential thoroughfares (this is exhausting; I will just say “PreDomResTho” from now on) benefits pedestrians and bicyclists in synergy. Pedestrians have their dedicated places to walk (the sidewalk) whilst bicyclists and other small-wheelers have their dedicated spaces to travel. This is important because foot pedestrians tend to be annoyed by the presence of bicyclists on sidewalks, and dodging pedestrians while trying to bike efficiently is a hassle anyway. c Drivers, on the other hand, don’t really benefit or lose from this alternate type of bike lane placement, but it demands some changes of driving and parking habit, and it certainly makes traffic travel more slowly. It also requires consideration on the part of transportation planners. Just as with commercial corridors, placement of bike lanes in residential areas should be selected carefully. Don’t lay a bike lane where parking cannot be replenished, or where parking would be pushed too far away. In fact, if selected carefully, in some areas of the City, blocks of dieted streets could be connected to form contiguous networks of bike paths. ___________________________ The points of view of pedestrians, drivers, and small-wheelers taken into consideration, let us not forget the unforgotten spaces of urban areas that have much potential for reuse in their own right: alleyways.
[ALLEY REUSE ARTICLE COMING SOON; PROJECTED RELEASE IS 31 January 2019]
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
June 2020
Categories |