New Bike Lanes In Reno
RTC gave Arlington Ave and California Avenues a Road Diet last week. I know several people who have said that those streets weren’t necessarily priorities for bike lanes. But I’ll point out that RTC is being strategic about the road diet both from a public visibility and cost standpoint. They are re striping as part of routine maintenance and trying to ease the city into a more progressive kind of street.
I own a house on Arlington Ave and ride or drive both Cal Ave and Arlington every day. This has so far been an improvement for me. For riding, the bike lanes improve safety and ease of use. For Driving, the center turn lane makes it easier and safer to wait for a opening to turn onto my street. As a pedestrian, having 2 fewer lanes on Arlington and California makes it easier and safer to cross both streets to get to Newlands Park.
So who you gonna believe? Traffic Engineers w documented studies or “Blue Plates…”
- RTC Washoe: Road Diets/Sharrows: A New Look and Improved Safety for California Avenue, Arlington Avenue, Holcomb Avenue and Mill Street
- Reno Gazette Journal: Transit officials try to make Reno more bicycle friendly
- Wired Magazine: Equation: Factors for Predicting Phantom Traffic Jams
I saw this reported today and I’m really happy to see RTC getting out in front of this issue. I occasionally ride Arlington and have always found drivers there not giving cyclists enough space and the lack of left-turn lanes meant drivers swining right (often without looking for bicycles) to get around someone waiting for a break in traffic. Can’t understand why people are so opposed to this, slow down, take a deep breath and relax.
I have been honked at on Arlington at 6 AM when NOONE else was around, and these new bike lanes rock my world. Even if this area was already relatively safe for cyclists, the bike lanes send a message to traffic that this is a major cyclocommuter thoroughfare.
Coincidentally watched the striping in action one night last week. Now I want one of those machines.
“Our culture has come to see bicycling as a sport rather than as transportation. This helps gives us the feeling that bicyclists are “in the way” rather than fellow travelers on city streets.” http://bikeforth.org/the-case-of-the-rude-bicyclists/