Jefferson Avenue

Cycle Track Review / Proposal

Invited:
Councilman Sam Meldon - COT
Paul Rasmusson - COT
Doug Stephens - COT
Gary Stookey - COT
Babar Stelzer – COT
Lance Dasher – TMACOG
Danny Woodcock – Advocate
Jordan Justice - Advocate
March 31, 2020 Keith Webb – We Are Traffic
Keith Webb – Director
Steve Atkinson – Toledo Bikes!
567-225-4032
 Toledo Bike Meeting
In Attendance:
Councilman Sam Meldon
Councilman Nick Komives
Keith Webb
Steve Atkinson

January 14, 2020

Keith Webb – Director
567-225-4032
 Jefferson Avenue
Cycle Track Proposal
Examples of 1-way and 2-way Cycle Tracks in the Field

In Attendance:
Babar Stelzer - COT
Steven Day – COT
Jonathan Liu - COT
June 20, 2019
Keith Webb
Keith Webb – Director
Lance Dasher
567-225-4032
Recommendation Summary
• Based on the number of intersections (and curb cuts), a 2-way Cycle
Track would not be the best option. [See NACTO guidelines]
• Also, 2-way cycle tracks places one direction traveling against traffic.
This is counter to what we teach and current law. [See crash video]
• We feel that buffered bike lanes would be most appropriate, one on
each side of the road, due to the number of intersections and curb
cuts. See Cincinnati “Central Parkway Bikeway”. [2015 Toledo Bike
Plan proposed side-path, not cycle track]
• If Cycle Tracks are used, they should be 1-way, one on each side of the
road.
 Steve Atkinson
steevo.atkinson@gmail.com

Toledo Bikes! - Board VP

Maumee Valley Adventurers - Board Member
TMACOG Bike/Ped Committee
We Are Traffic - Advisory Board
Bike Commuter
 Keith Webb
keith@WeAreTraffic.org

• League Certified Instructor

• We Are Traffic – Director
• Toledo Bikes! – Board Member
• Ohio Bicycle Federation NW Director
• TMACOG Bike/Ped Committee – Vice-Chair
• Maumee Valley Adventurers – President ’17-19
• Ride of Silence – OH State Coordinator / Toledo Organizer
• Utilitarian Cyclist in Toledo, OH
 • Bike Month – May 2020
Bike to Work Day (15) / Bike to Work Week (11-17)
Ride of Silence – May 20, 2020

• Bike Parking
Biking in Toledo

Codified and now mostly enforced

Would like to streamline permit process (encroachment)
Would like to partner with COT Engineering for frontend

• ToleGO
Partner for bike classes (access to bikes)
Bike Rack Database used for mapping rack locations
Need to consider standard rack locations / funding

• TMC Updates
Need to review code and compare with ORC for consistency but definitely 373.11

• Facility Design Peer Review

More Coordination Between COT Engineering and TMACOG Bike/Ped
Proposed Jefferson Avenue Cycle Track
Artist Rendering from Downtown Transportation Study
 Cycle track
From Wikipedia
A cycle track, separated bike lane[1] or protected bike lane (sometimes historically[2] referred to as
a sidepath), is an exclusive bikeway that has elements of a separated path and on-road bike lane. A cycle
track is located within or next to the roadway, but is made distinct from both the sidewalk and general
purpose roadway by vertical barriers or elevation differences.[3][4]

Cycle tracks may be one-way or two-way, and may be at road level, at sidewalk level, or at an intermediate
level. They all have in common some separation from motor traffic with bollards, car parking, barriers or
boulevards.[3] Barriers may include curbs, concrete berms, posts, planting/median strips, walls, trenches, or
fences. They are often accompanied by a curb extension or other features at intersections to simplify crossing.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cycle_track
https://nacto.org/publication/urban-bikeway-design-guide/cycle-tracks/
National Association of City Transportation Officials
2-Way Cycle Tracks

https://nacto.org/publication/urban-bikeway-design-guide/cycle-tracks/two-way-cycle-tracks/
Jefferson Avenue
• Project Length = 1.23 miles
• Number of Intersections = 19
• Number of Intersections with Signals = 7
• Number of Curb Cuts (project side) = 28

Note: Funding only requires that a bicycle facility is included, it does not
specifically require a cycle track (1-way or 2-way) [Confirmed by TMACOG]
 2015 Toledo Bike Plan
Approved by Council 2016 Section 4 – Types of Facilities
1. Bike path
2. Side path
3. Bike Lanes (also described as Striped Lanes)
4. Sharrow Lanes
5. Share the Road streets

A “Side Path” was recommended as part of the 2015

Toledo Bike Plan. “Cycle Track” and is not the same as
“Side Path”. There is no fixed requirement to use the
proposed facility type and “Cycle Track” is not even
Typical Side Path Facililty included in the 2015 Bike Plan.

https://ruraldesignguide.com/physically-separated/sidepath

This slide was added for 3/31/20 meeting

Explaining the Bi-directional Cycle Track Folly
In Denmark, the on-street, bi-directional facility was removed from Best Practice for bicycle infrastructure over two
decades ago. That in itself might be an alarm bell to anyone paying attention. These two way cycle tracks were
found to be more dangerous than one-way cycle tracks on each side of the roadway. There is a certain paradigm in
cities... I'm not saying it's GOOD, but it's there. Traffic users all know which way to look when moving about the
city. Having bicycles coming from two directions at once was an inferior design.

In the recently published OECD report about Cycling Health and Safety you can read much of the same. Bi-directional
are not recommended for on-street placement. One way cycle tracks on either side are the Best Practice that should
be chosen.

The City of Ottawa installed some bidirectional cycle tracks against the best advice of their Dutch
consultants. CBC looked into it and found that the City chose the "least safe" option and are now suffering
cyclist injuries.

http://www.copenhagenize.com/2014/06/explaining-bi-directional-cycle-track.html
Federal Highway Administration
19.5 Practices To Be Avoided

Two-Way Bike Lane This creates a dangerous condition for bicyclists.

It encourages illegal riding against traffic, causing several problems:

• At intersections and driveways, wrong-way riders

approach from a direction where they are not
visible to motorists.

• Bicyclists closest to the motor vehicle lane have

opposing motor vehicle traffic on one side and
opposing bicycle traffic on the other.

• Bicyclists are put into awkward positions when

transitioning back to standard bikeways.

https://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/PED_BIKE/univcourse/pdf/swless19.pdf
Example of 1-way Cycle Track / Protected Bike Lanes in Cincinnati

Central Parkway
Bikeway
Love it or hate it?
R d S cc or
D a ?
Jim Coppock, P.E., LCI
Wye Design, LLC
Cincinnati Ohio
www.WyeDesign.net

http://www.dot.state.oh.us/engineering/OTEC/2016%20Presentations/Tuesday/36/Coppock_36.pdf
 Example of 1-way Cycle Track / Protected Bike Lanes in Cincinnati

https://www.cincinnati-oh.gov/bikes/bike-infrastructure/bike-lanes/
 Example of 1-way Cycle Track / Protected Bike Lanes in Cincinnati

https://www.cincinnati-oh.gov/bikes/bike-infrastructure/bike-lanes/
 Example of 1-way Cycle Track / Protected Bike Lanes in Cincinnati

https://www.cincinnati-oh.gov/bikes/bike-infrastructure/bike-lanes/
 Example of 1-way Cycle Track / Protected Bike Lanes in Cincinnati

https://www.cincinnati-oh.gov/bikes/bike-infrastructure/bike-lanes/
 PROTECTED BIKE LANES
in Columbus, OH

“Protected bike lanes help

eliminate perceived risk and fear
of collisions; reduce the risk of
crashing into car doors; and add
a level of predictability making
streets safer for everyone.”

https://www.columbus.gov/publicservice/bicycle-program/Protected-Bike-Lanes/
Summit Street 2-way Cycle Track – Columbus, OH

The survey showed a range of opinions about the lane. Of particular concern, according to Squires, is the low
visibility that drivers experience when turning onto Summit from side streets. Many drivers are forced to pull
into the bike lane to see if cars are coming, and some don’t realize that bike traffic in the protected lane is
traveling in both directions.
The potential for conflicts with cars, combined with other issues like debris in the lane, has caused some
regular cyclists to choose other routes for their commutes.

https://www.columbusunderground.com/protected-bike-lane-on-summit-seeing-high-ridership-but-city-not-planning-to-build-more-bw1
Crash on Summit Street Cycle Track in Columbus
https://vimeo.com/371912353

This is the type of

conflict that will be
present in a 2-way Cycle
Track design.

Generally, motorist
turning right are not
expecting traffic from
the right. One of the
reasons we teach not to
bike on the wrong side
of the road (against
traffic).
Ottawa opted for 'less safe'
O'Connor Street bikeway
design to make way for cars

The City of Ottawa bypassed the

advice of international consultants
when designing the O'Connor Street
bikeway in order to make more room
for cars, choosing an option the firm
described as "less safe" for cyclists.
This image from a YouTube video shows a cyclist being struck by a left-
turning van on O'Connor Street. The consultant's report says the option
chosen by the city for the bike lane creates intersections that are more
"difficult." (YouTube)

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/city-of-ottawa-chooses-less-safe-option-for-o-connor-bikeway-to-make-room-for-cars-1.3855100
Ottawa opted for 'less safe'
O'Connor Street bikeway
design to make way for cars

Consultant hired by city concluded

lanes on either side of street safest
for cyclists
There were three reported collisions between bicycles and vehicles in the
three weeks after the O'Connor Street bikeway opened, including one on the
day of its official inauguration.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/city-of-ottawa-chooses-less-safe-option-for-o-connor-bikeway-to-make-room-for-cars-1.3855100
Four tweaks to further improve the First Street NE cycletrack

1. Improve entry point (local)

2. Ban right turns on red
3. Help cyclists turn the corner
(turning bike boxes)
4. Add bike signalization

https://ggwash.org/view/34905/four-tweaks-to-further-improve-the-first-street-ne-cycletrack