While most of the focus at Huntsville City Hall last Wednesday night was on the budget hearings, I sat in on a Bicycle Advisory Safety Committee (BASC) meeting being held across the plaza. There, representatives of the Planning Department were presenting a bicycle infrastructure concept known as a "cycle track."
Cycle tracks are facilities completely separate from the travel lanes and, unlike your usual 4-foot bike lane is buffered from auto traffic by markers, raised curbs, or in some cases on-street parking. Cycle tracks are a fairly new concept for the United States despite being used in bike-friendly cities elsewhere like Montreal and Copenhagen for decades. New York City has built several of these cycle tracks in recent years with some success. In one especially controversial case in Brooklyn, a one-way street lost a travel lane to a cycle track. Speeding has decreased along the corridor while traffic volume and travel times have remained roughly the same (Source: NYC DOT).
Huntsville plans to place two 6-foot one-way protected cycle tracks on a proposed connector road between Governors Drive (at Harvard) and Lowe Avenue. This would link to Big Spring Park and allow for connections throughout downtown. It would also go through the proposed Councill Court redevelopment. Another route that has been discussed is Holmes Avenue, which would link Downtown and Five Points to Research Park and UAH.
What do you think about this proposal? Where would you like to see cycle tracks in the future? Check out some pictures of model cycle tracks in the links above and below.
Further Reading
The National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO) has created an easy-to-read Urban Bikeway Design Guide with a section about cycle tracks: http://nacto.org/cities-for-cycling/design-guide/cycle-tracks/
19 comments:
The entire length of Whitesburg, please!!!
UAH to everywhere else. All the other colleges too.
"The entire length of Whitesburg, please!!!"
Seconded.
Love the idea of cycle tracks from UAH to 5 points, passing through downtown. Also, what about next to the train tracks parallel to the parkway from downtown to South Hsv or the river. Excited to see our city thinking this way!!!
Although I'd prefer for cyclists and cars to "just get along," these lanes could definitely work in many thoroughfares.
Ditto to Whitesburg!! There are tons of cyclists who use Whitesburg and it is very narrow.
Whitesburg!!!
Agree with the entire length of Whitesburg. From 5 Points to Research Park including UAH as well.
Thank you for the suggestions and ideas so far. Seems like Whitesburg and Holmes are the favorites.
I'd like everybody to check out the Bicycling feature in Google Maps. Huntsville has its entire bike route map uploaded on there. Designated bike routes are more likely to be considered for additional infrastructure (bike lanes, cycle tracks, parallel greenways, etc). According to the map, Whitesburg isn't a designated bike route except for the stretch from Whitesburg School to just north of Lily Flagg. There is, however, a bike route that parallels Whitesburg via neighborhood streets.
The idea of cycle tracks on certain streets in Huntsville is a good one. Would love to see this city become more bike friendly.
Having these in downtown will certainly help. I also like the idea of linking with colleges and universities of the area.
Anyone with a link to google maps of these proposed tracks? Would the Holmes Ave be 2 one way tracks?
... and (cause you know it'll happen) what does HSVPD plan to fine for parked/driving autos in/across the bike lane?
The cost/benefits to such a proposal and further expansion to other streets needs to be evaluated against implementation of other cycling improvement needs and priorities. Oftentimes engineering infrastructure alone won't affect behavior change sufficiently to warrant the costs without education, encouragement, and enforcement.
Definitely UAH to 5 points.
I would love more Bicycle lanes in Huntsville. I don't think drivers will ever poperly share the driving lanes with Bicyclists. It would be great if we could start by connecting all the greenways in Huntsville with protected Bike Lanes.
1.) All of Holmes/Bradford from Five Points to Adtran.
2.) Old Madison Pike from Wynn Drive to Indian Creek Greenway.
I would use a 5points to UAH to Research Park connection almost everyday!
I like the connecting Greenways idea previously mentioned (as well as updating the 6 year old plan on the website).
I would also like to point out the bike "route" on Bradford Drive between Explorer Drive and Wynn Drive is certain Death on a bicycle. I know more people who would commute if they could get in to research park safely from the downtown area.
James... I just moved here and commute by bike. What happened to these plans!? I'm in!
What happened to this? I just moved here and sadly I don't see it.
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