Bicycle Board Members,
Please review the Mon Blvd Bike Lane recommendations that I provided to Bill
Austin below and let me know if anything is wrong.
Frank
Cyclists fare best when they act and are treated as drivers of vehicles
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Re: WV DOH Response to Letter Concerning Closing of Rail Trail
Date: Sun, 23 Aug 2009 23:06:03 -0400
From: Frank Gmeindl <fgmeindl@verizon.net>
To: 'Bill Austin' <baustin@moncpc.org>
CC: Don Spencer <dspencer36@comcast.net>
References:
<!&!AAAAAAAAAAAYAAAAAAAAAAuYcVxyjk9GhP69k7n4dyXCgAAAEAAAAPz1QKWjjAhOgGPhxq7u/noBAAAAAA==@moncpc.org>
<8A27568BD739443A9C65CB9FB9D21F9C@donhome>
Bill,
It might help me to understand what we're trying to do if you shared with me
the WVDOH letter to which you and Don are referring. I was not aware of it
until I received Don's message below.
Does the MPO have a plan drawing of the existing Monongahela Blvd. between
Eighth Street and Patteson Drive? If so, could I get a copy and mark it up
to show the bike lane?
I would use the 1999 AASHTO Guide to the Development of Bicycle Facilities (
http://www.sccrtc.org/bikes/AASHTO_1999_BikeBook.pdf ) and the 2003 Manual
of Uniform Guidelines for Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) Part 9 Traffic
Controls for Bicycle Facilities (
http://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/htm/2003/part9/part9-toc.htm ) for guidance for
the markup.
Pages 22-32 of the AASHTO Guide deal with bike lanes.
Stripe width
Page 23 explains that a 6-inch solid stripe is common but some jurisdictions
have used an 8-inch stripe "for added distinction". I would recommend a
6-inch stripe to minimize resistance from the WVDOH. All markings on the
bike lane should be white.
Lane width
Page 23 and Figure 6 on page 24 indicate that we should designate a 5-foot
wide bike lane since parking is prohibited and there is a gutter and curb.
Marking Symbols
Clearly marking the bike lane as one-way is imperative. Figure 13 on page
31 provides templates for typical one-way arrows and bike lane symbols. The
arrow symbol and the bicycle symbol should be sufficient to communicate to
both motorists and cyclists that this is a bike lane and that bicycles are
to travel up it.
Symbol locations
Figure 14 on page 32 shows recommended locations for the symbols with
respect to intersections. The text on page 31 also says, "additional
stencils may be placed on long uninterrupted sections of roadway".
I would recommend placing the bicycle symbol and arrow symbol as shown in
Figure 14 beginning 6-feet from the north end of the driveway north of
Advance Auto. Because of the traffic volume entering and exiting Advance
Auto and the Exxon station, starting the bike lane further south would
jeopardize cyclists' safety and may present liability to the state and those
businesses.
I would recommend repeating the bicycle symbol and arrow symbol every 250
feet after their initial location. 250 feet spacing is consistent with
MUTCD guidelines for other markings and signs and will provide a frequent
reminder to motorists that there's a bike lane to their right.
Where to end the bike lane
Figure 10 on page 28 depicts typical bicycle and auto movements at major
intersections. This figure clearly makes the points I was trying to make to
you and Don when we were discussing where the bike lane should end near
Evansdale Drive. Page 29 shows preferred treatments for the bike lane when
it comes to a right turn lane as at the intersection of Mon Blvd. and
Evansdale Drive. I believe the treatment that is most likely to get WVDOH
buy-in is represented in Figure 10-d. This treatment requires no changes to
the existing markings. It is also least likely to discourage cyclists from
selecting correct lane positioning when going straight through or making
left turns.
The AASHTO Guide provides limited guidance on where the bike lane should
end. Fortunately, the MUTCD provides some guidance.
The MUTCD Section 9C.04 Markings For Bicycle Lanes states, "When the right
through lane is dropped to become a right turn only lane, the bicycle lane
markings should stop at least 100 feet before the beginning of the right
turn lane." While in our case, the right through lane is not "dropped" to
become a right turn only lane, the intent of this guideline is to provide
sufficient distance, 100 feet, for the bicyclist to merge into the right
through lane before autos begin to turn right. Therefore, I would recommend
that bike lane end 100 feet before the beginning of the right turn lane from
Mon Blvd. onto Evansdale Drive.
Signage
The MUTCD Section 9B.04 Bicycle Lane Signs also provides valuable guidance
on signage. I would recommend placing the following signs at the following
locations (the letters and numbers in parentheses after the sign text
designate the specific sign number that can be found in the MUTCD):
1. BIKE LANE (R3-17) AHEAD (R3-17aP) 6 feet after the intersection of
Eighth Street and Mon Blvd.;
2. BIKE LANE (R3-17) at the beginning of the bike lane and every 1000 feet
thereafter (the MUTCD requires BIKE LANE signs to accompany bike lane
markings but "the signs need not be adjacent to every symbol to avoid
overuse of the signs";
3. BIKE LANE (R3-17) ENDS (R3-17bP) at the end of the bike lane;
4. BEGIN RIGHT TURN LANE, YIELD TO BIKES (R4-4) at the beginning of the
right turn lane;
5. SHARE THE ROAD signs (SHARE THE ROAD (W16-1) plaque in conjunction with
the W11-1 (bicycle in diamond shaped sign) sign every 250 feet on both sides
along Don Knotts Blvd., Beechurst Av., the west side of Mon Blvd. between
Eighth St. and Evansdale Drive, both sides of Mon Blvd. between Evansdale
Dr. and the Edith Barrill (Star City) Bridge. (Please note that the Bicycle
Board recommended and the Traffic Commission approved these share the road
signs at the same time that the Bicycle Board recommended and the Traffic
Commission approved the Mon Blvd. bike lane.)
I'm sure I overlooked some things. I hope you've discovered and noted them
as you read the above.
I look forward to the next step.
Frank
Cyclists fare best when they act and are treated as drivers of vehicles
On 8/23/2009 1:48 AM, Don Spencer wrote:
Bill – Sorry to be absent from my computer so much this week. I appreciate
your meeting with us last Monday to work on the bike lane. I promise to stay
out of your way on this issue - as far as the MPO structure is concerned.
If a local drawing is needed, I would rather have the Bicycle Board create
the drawing first and then have it taken to the City Manager and Engineer
for their review and action. The Bicycle Board has more experience in
understanding cycling issues than do the Engineering personnel – even though
they have resources which they can use to check out and confirm standards.
The DOH will have their own opinion too, but it is important for us to say
what we proposed…first.
Frank Gmeindl needs to be the point person – in my opinion.
Don
________________________________
From: Bill Austin [mailto:baustin@moncpc.org]
Sent: Friday, August 21, 2009 2:24 PM
To: 'Bill Austin'; dspencer36@comcast.net
Subject: RE: WV DOH Response to Letter Concerning Closing of Rail Trail
Don,
I wasn’t sure you got this the last time I sent it. One key question I have
is will the City be able to provide a drawing of the typical section we are
proposing? Do you need to have the City Manager request it from the City
Engineer? I will be happy to work with the appropriate person on the
specifications. Please let me know who that is.
Thanks,
Bill
From: Bill Austin [mailto:baustin@moncpc.org]
Sent: Tuesday, August 18, 2009 9:52 AM
To: 'dspencer36@comcast.net'
Subject: FW: WV DOH Response to Letter Concerning Closing of Rail Trail
Don,
Thanks for meeting with me yesterday. I was rereading the attached response
from DOH this morning and had several thoughts. Please take a look at the
next to last paragraph and the last paragraph on the first page. We need to
do several things, first we need to note the City Managers commitment to
placing the striping. Secondly, we need a drawing of THE typical
cross-section of the striping that needs to be installed. It should probably
be based on an ASHTO standard facility that has been constructed in West
Virginia. I am looking into that now. We will need a draft engineering level
product to share with the new technical committee by mid-September.
Please let me know your thoughts.
Thanks,
Bill
From: Bill Austin [mailto:baustin@moncpc.org]
Sent: Monday, July 27, 2009 4:18 PM
To: 'Bellcom21@aol.com'; 'David Bruffy'; 'dspencer36@comcast.net';
'gvmayor@comcast.net'; 'jlgoodwi@access.k12.wv.us'; 'Joe Fisher';
'dulaneyoil@comcast.net'; 'Keller, Perry J'; 'bill@byrnehedges.com';
'scmayor@comcast.net'; 'Moncom@aol.com'; 'djhstarcity@hotmail.com';
'dulaneyoil@comcast.net'; 'statler4board@hotmail.com'
Cc: Mike Paugh
Subject: WV DOH Response to Letter Concerning Closing of Rail Trail
Board Members,
Please find attached a letter from Robert Pennington of the West Virginia
Department of Highways responding to the MPO’s recent correspondence
concerning the closing of the Rail Trail. We will continue to work to
coordinate with DOH on this issue.
Regards,
Bill Austin, AICP
Executive Director
Morgantown Monongalia MPO
180 Hart Field Road
Morgantown, WVA 26508
304-291-9571
304-692-7225 Mobile
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