“WALKABLE AND BIKABLE” AND “WALK AND
BIKE FRIENDLY”—WHAT THEY MEAN IN AMERICA AND WHAT THEY DO NOT
……..Some Vermont examples
Today an emerging paradigm defining
busy urban streets and nodes which safely and comfortably serve all populations
who walk and bike can summed up, in addition to the presence of sidewalks:
cycle track (protected bicycle lanes) along street segments and roundabouts at
intersections equipped with bicycle pathing.
Most busy urban streets can be
retrofitted to cycle track and roundabouts with Carmel IN (80,000 population
with several freeway exchanges) and Manchester Center, VT well on their way
toward all roundabout intersections with a varying potential for further
installation of cycle track. One other
variation of the paradigm comes in the form of “shared space”, a European
innovation, where for a block or in an intersection all modes intermingle at
walking speed (walkers with right of way), perhaps the safest environment for
all modes. Separate street parallel bike
or multi-user paths also meet “walkable and/or bikable” which otherwise would
be supplied by cycle track and/or sidewalks.
However, to date the bulk of multi-user paths do not connect at busy
intersections served by roundabouts thereby their service, safety and
accessibility are diminished. However, cycle tracks just now are being
adopted in North America with major investments completed or under way in San Francisco,
Chicago (100 miles), Seattle and Montreal.
The roundabout provides two common elements
vital to both modes at intersections—safety and service without delay. The
roundabout uniquely provides a high level of safety for those who walk and when
properly pathed offers a far higher level of safety and service to those who
bicycle versus a signal. Already the
roundabout is the preferred or only intersection treatment for three U.S.
departments of transportation (New York since 2005, Virginia and Florida) and
two Canadian provincial departments (British Columbia and Alberta).
Applying the roundabout/cycle track
criteria to existing American street systems quickly leads to the conclusion
the presence of either remains infrequent and the presence of both—something
common in many European nations—remains a vision only. One noticeable missing treatment which does
not meet the test of “bikability” is the unprotected bicycle lane or any shared
vehicle/bicycle street space. The
problem with simple bike lanes comes from the fact that less skilled bicyclists
in general as well as most old and young bicyclists are uncomfortable much less
safe—therefore not choosing bicycle for trips on lanes with moderate to high
levels of traffic. When the Dutch
retrofitted many of their busy streets with cycle track, already high bicycle
volumes increased 25-50%, presumably resulting from lane averse
populations. The Dutch cycle track
installations were part of a major bicycle and walking infrastructure
investment in response to increasing car traffic sending child bicyclist
fatalities to more than 400 annually—and attained a drop to just over a dozen
following the major infrastructure investments.
While the term “bicycle friendly” and
“walk friendly” remains in common usage, those phrases signify more an attitude
than the presence of safe and comfortable infrastructure usable by all
populations.
Looking around the State of Vermont
there exist a few examples of bikable and/or walkable street segments, short
corridors or nodes.
Walkable examples:
1.
Manchester Center With two new roundabouts
completed November 2012, the three roundabout corridor—first in Vermont—along
Main Street, one of the two major streets in the upscale shopping area truly
deserving its claim “Fifth Avenue of the Mountains.” The village center roundabout is a
mini-roundabout dubbed a “button” by the locals. This roughly four block long village center
and dense retail area completes half of a 1995 town center plan calling for
roundabouts on Main Street and the other street leading to the U.S.
interchange, Depot Street. It becomes
the first walkable town/city center corridor in Vermont open to all modes.
2.
Burlington Church Street
Marketplace Although a walker plaza, this four-block
street turned over to walking only does involve three “shared space”
intersection with all modes. Bicycles
are not allowed during the normal retail hours of the day.
Walkable and Bikable Examples
1.
Montpelier Stonecutter’s Way
Winooski West path provides a multi-user pathway along most of its length from
the old Montpelier and Wells River station on Main Street east and parallel to
the Winooski River with a lumber yard and major food coop on the west end. It is part of an eventual multi-town
multi-user path stretching about nine miles. A portion of the Winooski East Path from
behind Main Street to Montpelier High School via the State House area parking
lots also serves a multi-user transportation function.
2.
Burlington A multi-user path along
Riverside Drive from the Winooski River Bridge connecting to the center of
Winooski extends about a mile to the Community Health Center near the
intersection of US 7.
3.
South Burlington Burlington and South
Burlington possess extensive primarily recreational multi-user path systems
mostly located so as to serve a limited
transportation role, although a very important transportation for those
who are able to use sections of the paths for transportation purposes. Two parts of the South Burlington bicycle
network qualify for consideration as walkable and bikable, though lack of
roundabouts at major intersections limit safe and comfortable connectivity to
nearby development which ranges from major schools, government facilities,
shopping centers and residential developments.
Kennedy Drive from Dorset to Heineberg Road is served by a multi-user
path o the north side. And Dorset Street
is the only joint grade separated sidewalk/bike track on each side of the street
with the walk and bike section distinguishable by pavement coloration.
Certainly there are other examples of
nodes, multi-user paths, and roundabout corridors either in place or well along
in the development stage. Brattleboro,
for example, screened the bulk of its built up intersections in 1993 for
roundabout conversion and the Putney Road corridor (one roundabout in place)
has Town and State approval for plans to provide all roundabouts along with
walking and bicycling infrastructure which may well be the first both walkable
and bikable corridor with full service roundabouts. Montpelier’s Main Street is another candidate
for a roundabout corridor. And, the
Middlebury Town Center roundabout with some calming measures along Merchants
Row is a good candidate for retrofitting to a walkable and bikable downtown
area. Depot Street roundabouts along
with cycle track in Manchester Center might move that area into the
walkable/bikable category.
The next step for walkable and
bikable downtowns and village centers require comprehensive planning efforts to
identify at the same feasibility and priority for roundabout/cycle track nodes
and corridors. Investment dollars to
carry out plans require tens of millions of dollars yearly, but the payoff will
be increased walking and bicycling as well as public transit usage. These changes enhance the value of commercial
and retail center areas, and households have long been know to choose their
housing in part on the availability of quality walking and bicycling infrastructure.
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