Charlotte trying to be more bike friendly

[southslider]

Thomas & Commonwealth

Central & Hawthorne

7th & Hawthorne

7th & Caswell / Pecan

[ah59396]

Hopefully the fine folks of Minneapolis can school our city leaders on how to develop a strong greenway/park and bike infrastructure.  I find this visit to be SUPER encouraging.  Our city leaders can learn a lot from what the Twin cities are doing!

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/blog/morning-edition/2014/06/twin-cities-leaders-welcome-charlotte-chamber.html

[CLTProductions]

Wow that can be very promising, I really hope they get a lot of great take aways and implement them. Minneapolis really is a FANTASTIC city to walk around in (for the 2 months of the year that its not freezing).

Edited June 19, 2014 by Jayvee

[15895]

Claire Fallon is so annoying...

[kermit]

So back in July [2013!] Bcycle announced  they would be adding four more stations (after New Bern) to the network within the year:

 

 

So 18 months later we got a new station at Tryon and Morehead and......

Sure would be nice if they would put stations at Presby (Gold Line end),  to 7th and Hawthorne, Pecan and 7th, Family Dollar (I wonder if there is room?) and Plaza/Central (municipal lot).

 

I have gotten the sense that Bcycle has gone silent as an organization. I would like to hear stuff like:

• Plans and fundraising for stations in appropriate Streetcar, BLE station locations (cross-county trail too)
• A program encouraging developers to pay/sponsor sponsor new station expenses (Cherry, Beaver or West Morehead perhaps?)
• Evaluation of low-performing stations so they can be redeployed to more productive spots (this would be facilitated by their regular release of use data)
• Work with neighborhood associations to promote use
• I would also like to hear about their financial condition.

I have my own bike, but I still use bcycle a couple times a week. I would use it significantly more if the station network were improved / developed. The Southend stations see heavy use on nice days and for Food Truck Fridays.

 

On a different note, the Southend Lowes actually sees a little bike traffic. My last few trips have seen 3-4 other bikes on the racks there each time. You really can't call yourself an urbanite until you take 5 2x4s home on your bike.

Edited April 4, 2015 by kermit

[Matthew.Brendan]

I dunno. I like the idea and all but $8 a ride is just a bit much. Recently walked from the Met to Freedom Park with my gf and afterward we rented the bikes to ride back to Met. It was fun but not $16 worth of fun to be repeated on any sort of regular basis.

[kermit]

^If you do it on a regular basis get a membership. It turns those $8 rides into $0 rides after the membership fee.

 

Its more of a commuter thing than a recreational thing. Bcycle would certainly be more recreational-user friendly if it allowed two bikes to be checked out per day pass.

Edited April 5, 2015 by kermit

[rugger62]

B Cycle Madison has an awesome and comprehensive annual report (found on the Bcycle national page). Maybe the issue in Charlotte is local and not National? 

[tozmervo]

It is noticeable that there haven't been any significant updates from bcycle recently, but I'm not concerned about them locally. Their staff are still pretty tied into local groups and working on expansion locations, but those stations ain't cheap. I would be interested to know what their annual membership levels are looking like.

[kermit]

It is noticeable that there haven't been any significant updates from bcycle recently, but I'm not concerned about them locally. Their staff are still pretty tied into local groups and working on expansion locations, but those stations ain't cheap. I would be interested to know what their annual membership levels are looking like.

 

I really hope you are right about their local stability:

 

San Antonio bcycle is teetering on the edge of oblivion: http://nextcity.org/daily/entry/san-antonio-bike-share-close-sponsor-money

[CLTProductions]

Yeah it is well sponsored and I always see people riding. I think it's safe here

[Guest]

It's the college student cyclists to me that are problematic. A bit immature, never wearing helmets, prone to using one hand at carrying a drink or supplies while riding, etc. I think a few students here at SCAD were killed blowing through stop signs and red lights. I have personally seen them blow through intersections and one that was run over (never knew who was at fault). The worst was when I walked down the sidewalk and I had to jump a bit out of the way of an art student cyclist on the sidewalk. I looked at her in the eyes and she just stared ahead not acknowledging me.

 

These clowns need to take cycling safety lessons, know the law more than a motorist, and possibly invest in cycling cams. The older riders seem to do all of that.

 

I hope to cycle in Charlotte or my next city one day. I hate driving but I know cycling can be dangerous; I just won't be the moron drinking coffee while cycling.

 

Until the cars slow down for pedestrian designed roads or more bike lanes are installed, it will be a few years till cycling in Charlotte can really take off, and I will join them.

[Guest]

It's the college student cyclists to me that are problematic. A bit immature, never wearing helmets, prone to using one hand at carrying a drink or supplies while riding, etc. I think a few students here at SCAD were killed blowing through stop signs and red lights. I have personally seen them blow through intersections and one that was run over (never knew who was at fault). The worst was when I walked down the sidewalk and I had to jump a bit out of the way of an art student cyclist on the sidewalk. I looked at her in the eyes and she just stared ahead not acknowledging me.

These clowns need to take cycling safety lessons, know the law more than a motorist, and possibly invest in cycling cams. The older riders seem to do all of that.

I hope to cycle in Charlotte or my next city one day. I hate driving but I know cycling can be dangerous; I just won't be the moron drinking coffee while cycling.

Until the cars slow down for pedestrian designed roads or more bike lanes are installed, it will be a few years till cycling in Charlotte can really take off, and I will join them.

You went to SCAD too??? Neat

[15895]

Most of The bike lanes that we do have ate really narrow and cars drive in them anyway. Not just straddling either.

[nonillogical]

Yeah there is a bit more adrenaline involved in a basic across-town trip here than there should be, and more pressure to keep up pace with traffic than in most places. My route to work is 80% quite bike friendly but with 2 or 3 unavoidable sections that are not at all. 

 

You went to SCAD too??? Neat

So did I. Weird

[Guest]

If anyone finds anything in Charlotte more charming than Johnson Square in Savannah, I will eat my socks. As for biking in Savannah, it's great until you get run over on Monty street.

[ITRE_NCSU]

The North Carolina Department of Transportation is conducting a survey to find out what North Carolina residents think about various services provided by NCDOT.

North Carolina residents can take the survey here: http://go.ncsu.edu/ncdotsurvey

Results from this survey will be used to identify ways we can make North Carolina transportation safer, more efficient, and customer focused.

[kermit]

 

^Kenilworth and East really needs a bcycle station! (as does Mint St around Sumit or Bland). I don't know how to fix it but the four lane portion of East blvd is really an impediment to biking in an otherwise well designed area.

 

On another note, I remain shocked that our code does not appear to require bike racks for new businesses (particularly in high desity (for Charlotte) areas such as Dilworth and Southend. (the Southend Publix does have a rack but its is too close to the wall to be usable, Chipotle has none and Bakersfield's is a nearly unusable afterthought).

Edited May 31, 2015 by kermit

[tozmervo]

They are required by the city zoning ordinance. Depending on the building type the city requires either short-term racks, long-term storage or a combination of both. The ordinance also goes into quite a bit of detail about what's acceptable for racks, storage and rack location.

 

If Publix's rack is not usable it should be reported to city zoning, although that project is new enough it may already be a known issue that just isn't fixed yet.

[Guest]

I don't like how the city is forcing businesses to get bike racks and storage, but it's no-where near the catastrophe that was paved parking.

 

Also, I imagine the following conversations....

 

"Hey, boss, I'm really sorry but it would be very helpful for me and a few other guys here if we just had a little bike rack in front."

 

"Hey, boss, I'm really sorry but it would be very helpful for me and a few other guys here if you could tear down half of the store, pave it over, and let me park in it for half of the day."

[Third Strike]

This really sucks.

 

Buried in a N.C. House of Representatives bill is a section which could limit a city’s ability to add bike lanes to their streets.

 

Under section seven of House Bill 44, if a road has traffic of more than 20,000 cars per day and would result in reduced lane space for motor vehicles, then the local government would need approval from the N.C. Department of Transportation to add a bike lane.

 

The bill has passed a third reading in the Senate and will soon be headed to the House for a vote. If this bill is passed with section seven intact, it will become more difficult for local governments to create bike lanes and ensure that bicyclists in their area have access to safe travel on roads.

 

North Carolina has the country’s ninth-highest rate of bicyclist and pedestrian fatalities, according to the Alliance for Biking & Walking’s 2014 report. Bicycling need not be a mode of transportation that results in so many fatalities. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, 4,735 people were killed in crashes involving a bicycle and motor vehicle in 2013. Adding bike lanes seems like a natural first step to lowering this number.

 

 

Looks like this is specifically targeting road diets. Might be time to contact your local reps, and get this section from the bill removed.

 

http://www.dailytarheel.com/article/2015/06/opinion-local-governments-know-better-what-to-do-about-streets

[Bikeguy]

^ New Belgium is certainly doing their part in Asheville...  

 

"New Belgium, which was instrumental in developing this section, strongly supports multimodal transportation, says Susanne Hackett, the brewery’s community and media relations specialist.

“We believe in diverse modes of transportation, and safe and accessible public pathways for pedestrians and bicyclists,” she says. “In addition to improved safety and quality of life, these pathways improve economic vitality for communities.”

For these reasons, she continues, the company recently took a public stand opposing House Bill 44, a proposed state law that would restrict local governments’ ability to install bike lanes. “Right now there is legislation on the table that threatens our local communities’ ability to make their own choices for bicycle infrastructure and threatens partnerships like the ones we’ve been able to make,” says Hackett"

 

 

http://mountainx.com/news/step-by-step-new-belgium-greenway-plans-finalized/

[HopHead]

The NC State Legislature is at it again... Now they want to eliminate the ability to take away car lanes in favor of bike lanes.

 

Yes, we need more room for more cars on the road. (end sarcasm)

 

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/article25722919.html

[dcharlotte]

Cities don't know what is best for cities - lawmakers in Raleigh know. We should trust their judgement.

 

/sarcasm

[archiham04]

I feel like every time I turn around the NCGA is doing something to undermine any glimmer of hope for a better future.  I think their next step may be to outlaw ice cream.