Sam,

I hope your trip to Nashville was productive. Thanks for clarifying your desires. The Bike Board met tonight and considered them vis-a-vis the Bike Board's February recommendations to the Traffic Commission.

*Road Signage* The Bike Board agrees that pole signage would be a good adjunct to stencil signage and can probably be installed sooner. We agree with the routes that you suggest. Most of them are the same as those the Bike Board recommended in February. We will recommend to the Traffic Commission that they supplement the routes that we recommended with the different routes that you requested.

All the roads that both you and the Bike Board want to sign are state roads. Getting the state to install either type of sign will probably take more than a letter from the Traffic Commission recommending them. We discussed lobbying the District Engineer, Donnie Williams but nobody volunteered to do that.

For the pole signage, the state would probably want to conform to the Federal Highway Administration's Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices standards. This link: http://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/HTM/2003r1/part9/fig9b-03-2_longdesc.htm shows the standard for Share-the-Road signs. While black letters on yellow background is specified, a maximum size is not and that may represent an opportunity.

We would like to pilot both pole signs and stencil signage on a roadway that the City controls but we have yet to identify an appropriate road. Certainly, the Bike Board will respond to the Traffic Commission that it supports your request in concert with the Bike Board's February recommendations. Nothing will probably be done though, until we can give them specific detailed recommendations that they can implement within their scope of control.

*Trail Signage *The Bike Board will recommend to the Traffic Commission that a broken stripe be put down the center of all paved trail. The Board will also recommend signage at all points of entry to the trail. For sign verbiage, "keep right" was favored but a Board member will research for commonly used effective verbiage and provide a recommendation by next Tuesday. We are aware that standards such as height, distance from the trail edge etc. exist for such sign placement and we hope our research will identify those as well. As far as placing the signs every quarter mile, the Bike Board observed that so many signs could detract from the trail aesthetics. Our planned recommendation to place the signs at all points of trail entry may change upon discovery of standard practice.

*Board Membership*

You may recall that the City asked you to serve as a member of the Bike Board when it formed the Board last year. Tonight, the Board decided to ask you to join the Board as a member. Of course, we serve at the pleasure of the Traffic Commission. If you were to reply to this message that you are still willing to serve on the Bike Board, we will recommend you to the Traffic Commission at its meeting next Wednesday. Will you join us? We meet the first Thursday of every month. Our next meeting is 5-July. Being a member entails much more than attending the monthly meeting. Currently, all members are challenged to keep the wheels turning and make substantive progress between meetings.

Frank

Sam Stone wrote:

Frank - In response to you email dated June 2, 2007, I will be in Nashville, Tennessee and unable to attend the monthly meeting of the Bike Board on June 7, 2007. However, the Bike Board and I have very similar desires. I will try to clarify mine as follows:

1. Whatever the specific design, use flourescent lime green color

like the pedestrian crossing signs recently installed on High Street and do not use the color of the existing bike signs approaching the Star City bridge toward Morgantown. Stencil signage on the roadway is preferred but pole signage can supplement that and can be installed now. 2. The location should be at all major entrances to town and as otherwise appropriate. 3. The trail signage *is* to reduce interference of the various modes and could use the same signage but perhaps add "keep right" or "walk on right, pass on left" or "slower traffic must keep right", or something similar. I am forwarding a copy of the current WV Code provisions regarding bikes. Both bikers and drivers need to be educated on bike rights and safety. Roads needs to be repaired, potholes filled and drains leveled to accommodate bikes. 4. It is obvious that the Bike Board has done a great amount of work in planning; however, many of the recommendations can and must be implemented now to prevent accidents and save lives. Please advise me of the next Bike Board meeting and I will make every effort to attend. I appreciate your considering my input.

I went to City Council with Ralph LaRue from BOPARC and Cliff Sutherland approximately a year ago and Council approved the signs for the trail. They told me to work with Dan Boroff to get it done. There are funds available and no reason the signs aren't up already. I suggest that the Bike Board push _NOW_ to get the signs up on the trail and then get them in the roads ASAP. The rest of your plan is great but the road stenciling and lanes is a long way off.

§17C-11-2. Traffic laws apply to persons riding bicycles.

Every person riding a bicycle upon a roadway shall be granted all of the rights and shall be subject to all of the duties applicable to the driver of a vehicle by this chapter, except as to special regulations in this article and except as to those provisions of this chapter which by their nature can have no application.

§17C-11-5. Riding on roadways and bicycle paths.

(a) Every person operating a bicycle upon a roadway shall ride as near to the right side of the roadway as practicable, exercising due care when passing a standing vehicle or one proceeding in the same direction. (b) Persons riding bicycles upon a roadway shall not ride more than two abreast except on paths or parts of roadways set aside for the exclusive use of bicycles. (c) Whenever a usable path for bicycles has been provided adjacent to a roadway, bicycle riders shall use such path and shall not use the roadway.

(Also see West Virginia Code 17C-11 in its entirety and West Virginia Code 17C-11A in its entirety for additional bicycle laws.)

Thanks, Sam Stone

Samuel Spencer Stone Attorney At Law 221 Willey Street Morgantown, WV 26505 Phone: (304) 296-2553 Ext. 1 Fax: (304) 292-4034 fax

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