Charlotte trying to be more bike friendly

[southslider]

^Just buffer the cycle track with peak-restricted parking, dieting 6th to one through lane outside rush hour.

[Desert Power]

Really hope they don't do this to 6th street permanently.  Making even more of a mess of traffic and I have yet to see a soul riding a bike in it.

[kermit]

10 minutes ago, Desert Power said:

Really hope they don't do this to 6th street permanently.  Making even more of a mess of traffic and I have yet to see a soul riding a bike in it.

I saw a couple dozen (including myself) on it during my quick ride in Sunday. It does significantly improve the ride from one side of town to the other.

[southslider]

Frankly, 6th wouldn't be so critical, if Fourth Ward didn't have so many closed streets. 

 

[Bikeguy]

Rode it several times yesterday.  Most salient point regarding lower usage is that the primary connector between the Little Sugar Greek Greenway ( the protected segment on the 7th Street Bridge) was removed Sunday night by CDOT. Apparently NCDOT ( which has ownership of the bridge) couldn't stand the idea of leaving the protected  lane in place for a week.   So the bike counters that are in place at the bottom of 6th ( close to the Post Office on McDowell) are useless. The other issue that was exasperating the evening rush hour  drivers heading out 6th towards I-77, was the head-slapping closure of the curb lane for scheduled street maintenance near Elmwood Cemetery that, combined with the loss of a traffic lane for the protected bike lane, effectively necked down a three lane exit from uptown to one lane.   Uptown cycling took a big , damaging PR hit IMO. 

 

[kermit]

21 hours ago, cltcane said:

I know I'm in the minority here, but I can't wait for these temporary bike lanes to be removed, and I really hope permanent lanes are not added on 6th.  For those of us who rely on residential street parking in Fourth Ward, losing 20ish parking spots is a huge deal when there already aren't enough spaces.  Plus, I don't want to have to start dodging speeding, red light-running, non-yielding cars AND bikes while walking to and from work.

 

6 hours ago, Desert Power said:

Really hope they don't do this to 6th street permanently.  Making even more of a mess of traffic and I have yet to see a soul riding a bike in it.

How many bikers using the dedicated lane would it take to make the loss of car space acceptable?

20? (to replace the parking spaces you mention)
60? (allowing for parking space turnover?)
1,400? (the traffic count on one of the three lanes of 6th (east of Brevard) per this document)
>1,400 ? (why?)

Should bikes get 'bonus points' for being emissions free and creating fewer parking demands than cars? A public health bonus for bikes?
 

1,400 bikes is roughly one bike per minute  over an 18 hour day -- this is still going to look like a sparsely used bike lane (but admittedly much busier than the lane was this weekend)

 

 

 

Edited October 25, 2017 by kermit

[SgtCampsalot]

If word got out that there was a PERMANENT protected bike lane on those streets, Charlotte's regular cyclists would make it the preferred method of biking laterally across Uptown, for which there is not a good option currently.

I understand the sentiment from those who live right in 4th Ward, but there's a reason this road was chosen, because all of the other streets are dangerous as hell.

[UPNoDa]

Just back from a ride thru uptown on the 6th St protected bike lane just before 4:30 this afternoon.  

Started in NoDa, jumped on LSCG at Cordelia Park, followed that down to 12th St then over to McDowell.  Turned on 6th and trekked all the way to Rays Splash Planet. Passed only 2 other bikes around College St then 3 pedestrians that were meandering in the bike path near Trade/Tryon waiting for the cross signal.  Went relatively smooth until merging from 6th street onto 5th where autobots seemed to think a red light means you can merge onto 5th street headed to I-77 irregardless of bike traffic attempting to cross in the ped path.  Also, the city has placed the 5th St cones back over on the sidewalk from Post Gateway Place  stretching all the way down to the 77 entrance ramp. I suppose they were moved to allow for both lanes on 5th to be open due to rush hour heading out of town. No biggie, just turned right on Cedar towards cemetery to get to Splash Planet. Was a nice ride and all, but I prefer the  Greenways due to the abundance of cross traffic uptown.  

Other observances....I really really wish CDOT would fast track that proposed final elevated bridge connector from 12th St to 7th Street like we saw in the rendering a few weeks back. That 12th street zig zag back over to McDowell is horrendous for bike traffic.

[pathb]

Clay Grubb (CEO of Grubb Properties) making the case in the Observer for a more bike-friendly Charlotte:

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/opinion/op-ed/article182616741.html

A couple of notable quotes below (emphasis added):

 

Quote

The cost of construction for parking decks, and the high cost of land, are contributing to Charlotte’s distressing trend of pricing folks out of our urban areas. Sadly, Center City’s most recent vision calls for more parking underground. Each underground parking space costs $50,000. If we are going to get serious about affordable housing – not to mention improved lifestyles – we have to get serious about accommodating those without cars and promoting pedestrian, bike and mass transit options.

Quote

One measurable goal from our Scandinavian trip was that by 2035, 77 percent of all inbound commuting to Center City would be by some means other than car. We believe our newer and younger residents can help lead the way. The largest generation will come of age over the next decade and those young folks will shape our city. The cities that make strides to help them get out of their cars and find convenient, quality affordable housing will be the communities that best compete for talent over the next century.

 

[deleted]

I run and don't bike (yet) but fully support all efforts to make Charlotte more bike friendly.  However, the bike rental thing is completely out of control.  First, why is the city still approving significant subsidies for the lone docked offering?  It is by far the worst deal for users based on cost and convenience (unless you are a heavy user with a monthly pass).  And I rarely see these being used.  Second, the dockless bikes are awesome and much more frequently used.  However, we now have FIVE total options, four dockless.  On some corners, I see up to ten bikes.  They are becoming a nuisance and I see no reason for so many companies and bikes.  The dockless options all appear to have the same cost structure.  I'm all for competition but I can see the four good unsubsidized options failing due to oversaturation and the lone survivor being the poor option that gets tax money.  Am I missing something?   

[kermit]

55 minutes ago, JBS said:

I run and don't bike (yet) but fully support all efforts to make Charlotte more bike friendly.  However, the bike rental thing is completely out of control.  First, why is the city still approving significant subsidies for the lone docked offering?  It is by far the worst deal for users based on cost and convenience (unless you are a heavy user with a monthly pass).  And I rarely see these being used.  Second, the dockless bikes are awesome and much more frequently used.  However, we now have FIVE total options, four dockless.  On some corners, I see up to ten bikes.  They are becoming a nuisance and I see no reason for so many companies and bikes.  The dockless options all appear to have the same cost structure.  I'm all for competition but I can see the four good unsubsidized options failing due to oversaturation and the lone survivor being the poor option that gets tax money.  Am I missing something?  

[emphasis added by Kermit]

I do understand what you are saying and I also frequently have the gut reaction that poorly parked dockless bikes are 'in the way' or 'clutter' (particularly when they are tipped over). But, when I think about it,  cars are far worse offenders in cluttering the environment and we ALWAYS look the other way when cars are blocking our path (see the photo below).  As a runner, how often is bad car parking a problem for you? How does that compare to dockless bikes? 

So, yea, I really hope that Charlottean's get better about where they park their dockless bikes (one is in front of my house as I type), but I do feel like we are MUCH more critical of bikes than we are of bad car parking. 

FWIW: I used a dockless bike yesterday and I also renewed my membership in Bcycle since their current dock location is very convenient for my commute several days per week. This spring and summer its pretty likely that I will use dockless and Bcycle in the same day. 

Despite my membership, I do agree that public subsidies for Bcycle are silly now that dockless has arrived -- the timing of Bcycles CMAQ grant (which required a city match I believe) was unfortunate.

TLDR: parked bikes suck less than parked cars

Edited December 30, 2017 by kermit

[go_vertical]

If the city is subsidizing bcycle then it should at least fund the installation of bike racks where the dockless bikes tend to congregate. The cost would be pretty insignificant in the grand scheme of things. The businesses get a small amount of assistance, appearance of clutter goes away, and the expanded biking infrastructure could very well lead to higher usage. Win - win - win.

[JoshuaDrown]

13 hours ago, kermit said:

So, yea, I really hope that Charlottean's get better about where they park their dockless bikes (one is in front of my house as I type), but I do feel like we are MUCH more critical of bikes than we are of bad car parking. 

I am amazed at the special kind of narcissism that exists in some people today, and it is clearly reflected in how some of them “park” the dockless bikes. I love the dockless system, and I think it will play a vital role in the future sustainability of our urban environment, so I have taken to relocating the poorly parked bikes whenever I come across them, or standing up the bikes that have fallen over.

It is indeed fascinating how the car is so engrained in our culture that it is often perceived as being part of the built urban environment... four bikes on a corner get noticed as “clutter”, but the fifty cars in our field of vision somehow blend in. 

Edited December 30, 2017 by JoshuaDrown

[videtur quam contuor]

Overhead wires

[archiham04]

Plaza Separated bike lanes in Plaza Midwood are approved and moving forward

 

[tozmervo]

Took the "long way" from UNC to Uptown today down North Tryon, and appreciated that I saw two cyclists using the new bike lane that goes all the way down to Old Concord. Previously that road would have been a death trap. 

[Bikeguy]

Just to make aware any UP'ers who might have kids... this is an extraordinary program for both the kids and our community.  http://cltbikecamp.org/

[kermit]

Great article on San Francisco's lightening build bike lane development strategy.

https://usa.streetsblog.org/2018/02/27/lightning-fast-dirt-cheap-five-tips-from-sfs-protected-bike-lane-projects/

 

[kermit]

Not much advanced notice but the next open streets is PM, Villa Heights and NoDa on April 29

Be there or be square.

http://openstreets704.com/route/

 

[lit]

I thought this was interesting. Now you and your bike ride free? I’m still imagining scenarios where people use this as a loophole to exploit, like pushing an old bicycle around just to bum free rides?

[CLT2014]

44 minutes ago, lit said:

I thought this was interesting. Now you and your bike ride free? I’m still imagining scenarios where people use this as a loophole to exploit, like pushing an old bicycle around just to bum free rides?

This only lasts one week to celebrate National Bike Month. It ends May 12th. 

[lit]

2 minutes ago, CLT2014 said:

This only lasts one week to celebrate National Bike Month. It ends May 12th. 

Dang. Still, maybe this will help Charlotte become more bike friendly?

[Crucial_Infra]

5 hours ago, lit said:

I thought this was interesting. Now you and your bike ride free? I’m still imagining scenarios where people use this as a loophole to exploit, like pushing an old bicycle around just to bum free rides?

No need to push an old bike around, just pickup a brand new dockless one. Don't even have to unlock it. The bikeshare companies will be so perplexed: "Our bikes are traveling but no one is unlocking them??" 

[pathb]

 

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/article213534314.html

Charlotte Bikes on the front page of the Observer this morning.  I think it's excellent to see the Bicycling program getting this much publicity, and (finally) having funding restored after so many years without funding. 

[deleted]

https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/NCCHARMECK/bulletins/2001751