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Charlotte trying to be more bike friendly


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After spending the past two plus weeks in Europe, I have come to the conclusion that Charlotte will never be bike friendly. We are so far behind we will never catch up. Over there it is a way of life, here it is just an annoyance. 

I used to ride on the road a lot ("retired" triathlete...broke my neck riding a few years ago and haven't ridden since) but on the best of days, I would be tolerated on the road. Most days I was an annoyance and would be honked at, yelled at, swerved at (I love teenagers), and had things thrown at. I took the rules of the road (written and unwritten) very seriously as to not piss people off. And yet it was never enough. All it takes is one asshole to make you fear for your life.  We have way too many assholes.

 

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3 hours ago, InSouthPark said:

After spending the past two plus weeks in Europe, I have come to the conclusion that Charlotte will never be bike friendly. We are so far behind we will never catch up. Over there it is a way of life, here it is just an annoyance. 

I used to ride on the road a lot ("retired" triathlete...broke my neck riding a few years ago and haven't ridden since) but on the best of days, I would be tolerated on the road. Most days I was an annoyance and would be honked at, yelled at, swerved at (I love teenagers), and had things thrown at. I took the rules of the road (written and unwritten) very seriously as to not piss people off. And yet it was never enough. All it takes is one asshole to make you fear for your life.  We have way too many assholes.

 

I unfortunately agree.  We are not only woefully behind from an infrastructure standpoint, we also need a cataclysmic cultural change that I don't foresee.

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On 3/1/2017 at 5:51 PM, SgtCampsalot said:

If that was in NoDa or PM, you would have tow happy wreckers all over the place. They couldn't tow them fast enough.

I believe SF boots though if I'm not mistaken.

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  • 3 weeks later...

With whom should I be more upset? The CATS driver who decided to wait out his time (apparently ahead of his schedule), the bikers who want a bike lane, or the designers of this 'diet' who didn't create a turnout lane for the bus stop?  They even installed a concrete center divider in the center of the road to prevent traffic from going around a stopped bus. And, how is a bicyclist supposed to negotiate this? 

P.S> Quite a cacophony of of horns after a couple of minutes of no riders getting on or off...

diet.jpg

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FYI... the City of Charlotte has purchased and now demolished the house at the corner of Selwyn & Park Road for an access point to the Cross Charlotte Trail/Sugar Creek Greenway.  Further downstream, construction between Tyvola Rd. & Huntingtown Farms Park is well underway.     

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1) Cordelia Park segment of the Little Sugar Creek / Cross Charlotte Trail has its ribbon cutting on May 3. https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/NCCHARMECK/bulletins/18971f6  This started construction two (?) years ago -- long time to build a trail

2) Mary Newsome has a nice writeup of the two proposed protected bike lanes through uptown  http://plancharlotte.org/story/protected-bicycle-lanes-bikeways-through-uptown-charlotte (one is proposed for the Stonewall area (will be part on street and part trail)

 

 

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11 minutes ago, kermit said:

1) Cordelia Park segment of the Little Sugar Creek / Cross Charlotte Trail has its ribbon cutting on May 3. https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/NCCHARMECK/bulletins/18971f6  This started construction two (?) years ago -- long time to build a trail

2) Mary Newsome has a nice writeup of the two proposed protected bike lanes through uptown  http://plancharlotte.org/story/protected-bicycle-lanes-bikeways-through-uptown-charlotte (one is proposed for the Stonewall area (will be part on street and part trail)

The Cordelia park segment has been open for a while, actually. Most of it was done quite awhile back, the underpass under Parkwood was completed more recently (3 months ago maybe?) Otherwise you can get pretty safely from 24th street to 10th street now on greenway, with only some road crossings on smaller residential streets.

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Ely has a brief article at the O today on development in the Stonewall corridor, there is an interesting map attached: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/business/biz-columns-blogs/development/article142687489.html

 

This screams for the need for better bike and ped connections over 277. From NW to SE there is:

Mint Street: Not horrible for bikes but the bike lane on Mint stops at Morehead and the overpass and tracks near the stadium make for poor visibility and maneuverability for bikes. There is also poor access to the Irvin Creek Greenway around the stadium.

Church: A one-way speedway that is totally inhospitable to bikes:

Tryon: Nice bike line across bridge but it abruptly ends at Stonewall where on street parking begins -- get doored here!

College: Just like Church (awful)

railtrail: Does not cross

South: Nice wide sidewalks but the ramps to 277 are a deathtrap for people using them

Euclid / McDowell: I have never ridden this since getting off Morehead around here is a total nightmare due to average speeds.

In short there are a ton of reasons why both sides of 277 should be connected, but every potential path is deeply flawed one way or another. A rail trail bridge (with improved connections on the uptown side) or a cap, or (more realistically) extending the Tryon street bike lane though uptown needs to happen if we are going to take bike mobility seriously.

/End Rant/

 

 

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49 minutes ago, kermit said:

 A rail trail bridge (with improved connections on the uptown side) or a cap, or (more realistically) extending the Tryon street bike lane though uptown needs to happen if we are going to take bike mobility seriously.

I agree with all this except this one point. I don't feel a bike lane (protected or not) is necessary on Tryon St. It's a perfect street for safety compared to every other street, and the street parking is part of that. Now I DO think they need a better insection/transition from the Tryon bridge bike lane into Uptown through Stonewall.

I'd like to see protected bike lanes along Church and College.

Did anyone see that update from Sustain Charlotte on the proposal from the City for a protected lane down 5th and 6th? I saw a map of it somewhere...

Edited by SgtCampsalot
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I have ridden my bike from Dilworth to downtown many, many times. My route was to the rail trail until Carson the cross over to Morehead Square Drive and thence to South Tryon and on Tryon to the square. South Tryon is usually slow traffic because of so many parked and double parked vehicles with deliveries. I always proceed with traffic lights only. Also the sidewalk is broad so I have that if necessary. My danger issues were on South Tryon from Bland going south and the cross streets in the CBD.

So I agree with Sarge above regarding Tryon

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  • 1 month later...
12 hours ago, Bikeguy said:

Perfect weather tomorrow for Open Streets 704.  An exceptional event that showcases our community like no other.  http://openstreets704.com/route/

And y'all don't forget to check out the protected bike lane on The Plaza, it'll be in place all week with car counters on the road and all the side streets in hopes to make it permanent.
 

Bike Lane.jpg

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1 hour ago, SgtCampsalot said:

And y'all don't forget to check out the protected bike lane on The Plaza, it'll be in place all week with car counters on the road and all the side streets in hopes to make it permanent.
 

Bike Lane.jpg

It seems like it easily could be permanent on this section of Plaza. I've never felt that the traffic levels warranted 4 lanes. The problem is that it connects Central and Parkwood/Plaza, 2 notoriously bike un-friendly stretches that are going to be harder to fix, without any clear east/west alternatives. There may be room to add a bike lane to Parkwood/Plaza but certainly not Central...I think that both will eventually reach a level of density and natural traffic calming where riding in the road is no longer as daunting as it currently is, but it will be a while. 

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  • 1 month later...

City Council Agenda material from Monday's meeting covering the Parkwood/The Plaza Road Diet (page 3) and a dedicated Uptown bike lane (page 4).

https://charlottenc.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=A&ID=518100&GUID=F501F057-F225-42F7-BD42-0EB160A2A8D0

Includes the recommendations that were made to the City.  For the Parkwood/The Plaza Road Diet, I am encouraged that they incorporated concerns from the neighborhood around the difficulty for pedestrians crossing the street in this corridor by modifying signals to include Leading Pedestrian Intervals at several of the existing crossings, and protected bike lanes between Hawthorne and Belmont. 

One interesting thing to watch if this is fully implemented over the next three years is how drivers react to the step down from two to one lane at Hawthorne, and how improvements are implemented at the intersection of Parkwood and The Plaza, which currently is a disaster of an intersection from both driver, pedestrian and cyclist perspective, in my opinion.

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Word has it that CLT Bike Camp has sold out and closed registration for their First Wheels ( youngest riders) this month and Rolling Ready in July.  There are only just a few remaining for the Hard Gears camp ( most experienced riders ) to be held in August .   www.cltbikecamp.org 

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  • 2 weeks later...

CLT Bike Camp is in the middle of its first week.  The beginner and intermediate camps were sold out.  Kids on two wheels safely navigating and exploring all that our community has to offer.  There may be no better entry that can better reflect "Charlotte trying to be more bike friendly".   

 

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Macon, Georgia recently created an 8 mile long temporary bike -network- of striped lanes. Ridership was up 800% during the trial. 

If it works in Macon it would certainly work in Charlotte.

http://usa.streetsblog.org/2017/06/28/macon-georgia-striped-a-good-network-of-temporary-bike-lanes-and-cycling-soared/

 

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  • 3 weeks later...
14 minutes ago, KJHburg said:

I saw this and it is interesting not sure how I feel about it. http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/jul/17/first-bicycle-tax-nation-deflates-oregon-riders/

I know exactly how I feel about it. Oregon should be paying bicyclists because they're saving a fortune on road construction and maintenance

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