Danger Ahead: Novice Cyclists Beware - Main Street is Not for You

Dangerous Choice for Cyclists

The Concord New Hampshire City Engineer appears prepared to perpetuate the dangerous choice for cyclists on Main Street. Front-in diagonal parking presents a danger to all cyclists sharing a travel lane with motor vehicle parking movements. The lack of support from City Engineering endangers public safety.

Unfortunately, the Central New Hampshire Bicycle Coalition (CNHBC) has failed to represent the novice, elderly and child cyclists in our community [To be fair, CNHBC was active prior to release of the 17 member Committee report to City Council. CNHBC could still act, perhaps with the political will to insist on safe access to Main Street for all cyclists].

City Council should act to uphold the promise of Complete Streets and reject any plan which continues to exclude the most vulnerable cyclists from Main Street. 

Read more details at: cyclemainstreet.blogspot.com/2013/04/danger-ahead-novice-cyclists-beware

TPAC and Diagonal Parking

Front-in diagonal parking has been identified by the Transportation Policy Advisory Committee (TPAC) as inconsistent with Complete Streets Design. The TPAC report of 10/25/2012 had the following to say:

If the Council opts to retain angle parking on either or both sides of Main Street, TPAC recommends that back-in angled parking be considered rather than front-in angle parking. ... Design guidelines now recommend against placing bike lanes behind front-in angle parking but permit bike lanes in front of back-in angle parking.

Will the City Engineer Address All Users?

Following the 4/16/2013 Design Review Meeting, I asked the City Engineer, Ed Roberge, how the current design is a Complete Streets solution, without providing safe access for novice, elderly, and children cycling on Main Street. I was told these users could choose to use the shared bike lane, and that this was sufficient.

The TIGER Grant Application (authored by Ed Roberge) stated the following:

With on-street parking and limited overall travelway width, larger vehicles limit sight distance to back out of parking spaces and encroach upon the area typically used by bicycles. Bicyclists have noted their discomfort with Main Street conditions and often ride their bikes on the sidewalk.

The discomfort that novice, elderly and children cyclists encounter with vehicles blindly encroaching upon the lane will remain as it is today.

My Experience: Repeatedly I have talked with people who bicycle in other places but would never ride here, and others who would like to bicycle in Concord but would not consider it because the traffic.

I shepherd my daughter around Concord on bicycle. If we travel from home to school, the library, the park, downtown, or the grocery store on Storrs Street, I should not have to put her life at risk to do so. Is it too much to ask, to leave my car at home, one mile from downtown, and have safe passage around town by bicycle, with or without my daughter?

The promise of Complete Streets, The Comprehensive Transportation Policy and the TIGER Grant - is to provide multi-modal infrastructure which is safe, so people have alternatives to choose the transportation mode which works for them.

Bottom line, the new design will not serve any more cyclists than it does now. 

The US Secretary of Transportation, Ray LaHood, recently had this to say:

"When I say that safety is this Department's number one priority, there's no exception for bikes. With more bicyclists on our streets, helping them ride safely is not a luxury; it's part of our obligation." 

CNHBC, City Engineer and City Council - It's Up To You, and The US DOT

CNHBC, please represent the needs of novice, elderly, and children bicyclists by advocating for their safe access to Main Street. To the City Engineer, please bring a revised plan which enables safe access to Main Street for all users, of all ages and abilities. To City Council, please do what is right and appropriate, by rejecting any plan which does not accomplish the promise of Complete Streets, to safely accommodate all modes for all users, of all ages and abilities.

This decision is too important to the future livability of Concord to abdicate this to a 17 member committee which is per-biased to focus on parking. Constructing a street which endangers novice cyclists, with a dangerous choice to use Main Street, is not acceptable.

Details, as well as my letter to Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood, and links to city documents mentioned above are at: cyclemainstreet.blogspot.com: Danger Ahead - Novice Cyclists Beware