Russell from Denver writes, “What’s driving you loopy? Why are the bike lanes on Yale Ave between College Blvd and Colorado Blvd designed like they’re? The lanes at the moment are very restricted, and oversize automobiles steadily are over the double yellow line. With plastic posts on all sides of site visitors, there’s nowhere for a automobile to maneuver out of the way in which of an opposing automobile that’s over the road. Moreover, the protected lane ends on the east certain aspect at Jackson Road dumping cyclists and scooter riders into the best lane for Yale Ave. It appears harmful for folks exiting the bike lanes. With winter on the way in which, will snow elimination be a priority for town now that it’s rather more restricted?”
There was a bicycle lane on this part of Yale Avenue in Denver for a lot of, a few years. To be honest, the bike lane doubled because the parking lane, together with when it handed McWilliams Park. I’ve Google Maps pictures going again to 2007, displaying a twin parking/unprotected bike lane on this space. At the moment, the parking/bicycle lane was separated from the automobile lane by only a single white line painted on the street floor giving little or no area for bicycle riders. There have been additionally middle-of-the-street left flip lanes at most intersections alongside Yale at the moment.
Quick ahead 10 years or so, town separated the parking lane from the bicycle lane utilizing new paint traces on the roadway, however the metropolis felt like extra needed to be completed. After listening to from bicycle riders and a few residents, the choice was made to create a devoted, protected bikeway. Town defines them as, “Bikeways on streets which have each a horizontal and vertical buffer between an individual bicycling and motor automobiles and are usually constructed on busier streets with greater pace limits.”
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The horizontal buffer is a separated area between the bikeway and the roadway. Sometimes, the separation distance is 3 toes or extra. The vertical buffer contains both plastic bollards and rubber curbs or concrete boundaries that present a bodily barrier between bicyclists and automobiles. Town mentioned, they create these protected lanes to “higher manage the roadway in order that individuals who trip bikes or scooters have devoted area to journey safely.”
After I despatched your query to town for remark this was the response I received:
“The automobile volumes on this stretch of Yale Avenue between College and Colorado name for a protected bike lane to help the protection and luxury ranges of individuals biking. The automobile lanes are inside normal width and journey security is additional supported by a decrease pace restrict of 25 mph on that stretch.”
Wanting again at road information, the 25 mph pace restrict has been in place on Yale for not less than 20 years.
Town mentioned, this bikeway design additionally included adjustments in any respect the neighborhood intersections designed to decelerate automobile site visitors, make pedestrian crossings shorter, and make it simpler for all road customers to see oncoming site visitors. From my expertise, the structure of the protected lanes does make rushing extra uncomfortable, and as you identified, powerful to remain in your personal lane. Town instructed me, the longer term bike community plans would prolong the bike lane a pair extra blocks to Colorado Boulevard on either side of Yale.
“We took the set up to Jackson Road, the place wayfinding indicators level to a neighborhood bikeway and secure north/south connection,” town mentioned.
That’s the place the entire safety of that bike lane ends. Nevertheless town instructed me, adjustments would must be made to the intersection of Yale the place it useless ends at Colorado. Town mentioned, it could must determine funds to pay for the reconfigured design and development earlier than the extension of the bike lane can occur. Town didn’t present a timeline for the work that might prolong the bike lane to Colorado Boulevard.
So far as winter and snow elimination is anxious, alongside different roadways in Denver with a protected bikeway, town will transfer snow out of driving lanes with a giant plow and use a smaller tractor with a plow within the protected bike lane. The place there’s a bike lane with simply paint and no bollards, town first plows the driving floor after which will come again at a later time to clear the buffered bike lane. What appears most probably to occur is the road plow will push snow into the bollards and subsequently into the bike lane and wait to usher in the smaller tractor to clear that snow, in addition to the fallen snow from the bikeway.
Finally town wish to rework the whole lot of Yale Avenue from simply east of Interstate 25 to Downing Road.
Why are the bike lanes on Yale Avenue east of College designed like that?
Denver7 Visitors Skilled Jayson Luber says he has been masking Denver-metro site visitors since Ben-Hur was driving a chariot. (We consider the precise quantity is over 25 years.) He is obsessive about letting viewers know what’s taking place on their drive and one of the best ways to keep away from the issues that spring up. Observe him on Fb, Twitter or Instagram or take heed to his award successful Driving You Loopy podcast on any podcast app together with iTunes, iHeartRadio, Spotify, Podbean, or YouTube.
