BIKEPGH MESSAGE BOARD ARCHIVE

I've just skimmed the PDF study - it's pretty good. It even uses the phrase "perceived safety" which I like as being more accurate since cars and bikes still interact at intersections, etc. One thing that is lacking within the study, however, is how to handle bus stops and driveways. This is an important omission for us since any cycle-track put in downtown Pgh. will have to consider how to deal with bus stops and bus passenger access.

Noted in NYC Streetsblog: "[I]n Portland... the city removed one travel lane in each direction in order to add buffers for the bike lanes and, at some midblock locations, 21 new parking spaces. Of 492 nearby residents who returned surveys about the project, 30 percent said that the changes had made it harder to park on the street."

hello Marko - I suspect that a downtown Pgh cycle-track will not have to interact with bus stops - as it will displace a bus route. (Completely unwarranted projection of personal insecurity and apprehension)

I don't see major problems. Bike lanes take away parking spaces, but downtown is not residential in the sense that residents park their cars on the street in front of their houses. It's all folks who could easily use a parking ramp. Taking Smithfield as an example. There's three lanes. One is bus going south, one is cars going north. Plus a parking lane. If the parking lane becomes bike lane nothing really changes. The same idea applies to other one-way streets. And not every street needs a bike lane. We just need a couple of cross-town bike lanes. Up and down would include Allies, Liberty, and Ft. Duquesne. Maybe Forbes and 7th(?), with are one-way/three-lane. Remember, not every street needs to be converted (as long as the rest are sharrowed, say). Accommodating to other uses (bus, alleys, driveways) should just mean that the bike lane markings disappear for a bit or turn into dashes. Not a big deal. My impression is that if you have at least three lanes to work with you're good. Downtown Pittsburgh is like that. As an example, here's a street in Brooklyn:One two-way lane for bikes, parking lane, one-way for cars, and even parking on the other side! (Given there's 4 lanes.)

Is there any word of the time table for Jail trail to point connector or smithfield