May 11, 1995 To: Wendell Morse, USU Campus Planning Director Fred Hunsaker, USU V.P. for Administrative Affairs Rod Blossom, Logan Public Works Director Darla Clark, Logan Mayor cc: Val Potter, North Logan Council Member Al Moser, North Logan Mayor I appreciated the opportunity to learn about the 12th East improvements during the USU Master Plan meeting on May 9th. That route is already a major corridor to and from the University. The redesigned junction with 10th North should improve traffic capacity and safety. The changes in the entire right-of-way are intended to accommodate motor vehicles, bicycles and pedestrians to and from the campus. I would like to encourage the designers and planners of this project to consider one change from the specifics that I have seen proposed. Rather than provide the first bike lane to appear on a roadway in Cache Valley, I would suggest a "bike route" designation. This change will do more than save the City a few gallons of paint. While the inclusion of a bike lane is probably intended to be a safety feature, I will provide supporting evidence that a "bike route" designation would be safer. Bike lanes conflict with the traffic engineering principles of channelization of traffic by speed and destination (Forester, 1994). Bike lanes represent channelization by vehicle type. This results in traffic flow conflicts at intersections and driveways. Right turning motorists will find themselves in a lane to the left of bicycle through traffic. In this situation, negotiating the exchange of road position presents some completely new challenges to local motorists and cyclists. Garder, Leden, & Thedeen (1994) show that putting a bike-path along a road will result in a 40% increase in accident rate for cyclists at intersections as opposed to leaving the road as an unsegregated facility (based on Scandinavian studies). Wegman's (1990) review of the Dutch experience also shows an increase in accidents at intersections of about 30% for such facilities. Janko and Hollo (1990) show that cyclists fatalities went up at intersections with the implementation of a program of "cycle tracks" in Hungary. The recently released "National Bicycling and Walking Study" corrects some of the design problems of the 1982 AASHTO facility designs with respect to traffic flow problems and consequent risk factors. The North Central Texas Council of Governments rejects marked bike lanes in favor of wide curb lanes in their "Bicycle and Pedestrian Design Manual." That position has been endorsed by the Texas Bicycle Coalition. Bike lanes accumulate road debris because they are denied the benefit of the sweeping action of motor traffic. Wide curb lanes permit motor traffic to make full use of the lane width when bicycles are not present. Bike lanes encourage motorists and cyclists to embrace a "yours versus mine" attitude in conflict with the engineering principles and traffic laws that entitle them both to use all parts of the roadway under various conditions. Bike lanes are endorsed by some as a means to encourage more use of cycling for transportation. To the extent that such an encouragement works, it results in an increase in unskilled and inadequately trained vehicle operators on the public right of way. Even a prohibitively expensive, complete system of bike lanes cannot provide "protected" transportation for untrained travellers who must negotiate the increasingly complex traffic flow patterns at intersections. The addition of a single bike lane to one road in our community will result in uniquely increased risks, costs and traffic complexity on that road. 12th East should be improved to match the bicycle-friendly design of many of Logan's wide two-lane streets. Encourage the use of 12th East as a corridor by improving the surface, width and curbing. Improve major intersections, as at 10th North. Remove on-street parking, designate the wide curb lanes as "bicycle routes." Maintain the roadway so that its full width is available for the legal travel of all vehicles in accordance with the channelization principles that are already in use on all other roads in the community. I would appreciate a response to my comments from all parties to the design of this project. Sincerely, Robert Bayn USU Computer Services Logan, UT 84322-4410 797-2396 Literature cited: American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (1982). Guide for the Development of New Bicycle Facilities. Washington: American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. Forester, John, (1994) Bicycle transportation: a handbook for cycling transportation engineers. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press. [MERRILL LIBRARY CALL NUMBER: HE5736 .F67 1994 ] Garder, P., Leden, L., & Thedeen, T. (1994). Safety implications of bicycle paths at signalized intersections. Accident Analysis and Prevention, 26(4), 429-39. Janko, Domonkos and Peter Hollo (1990). "Research and Practical Experience Concerning the Safety of Cycle Tracks in Hungary." International Study Week for Traffic Engineering and Safety. (16th: 1990) Roads and traffic 2000: 16th International Study Week for Traffic Engineering and Safety. Theme 4 E, Safety aspects of cycle ways. no pagination. Wegman, F. (1990). "Safety Effects of Bicycle Facilities: the Dutch Experience." International Study Week for Traffic Engineering and Safety. (16th: 1990) Roads and traffic 2000: 16th International Study Week for Traffic Engineering and Safety. Theme 4 E, Safety aspects of cycle ways. no pagination.