More Buffered Lanes!

For Richmond standards, we’re on a roll.  Buffered lanes were installed on the MLK Bridge/Leigh Street viaduct a few weeks ago; bike lanes were striped on part of Forest Hill that was repaved recently; and now we have buffered lanes on Brookland Park Boulevard!

I took my camera along on my morning commute yesterday to snap a photo of the new lanes, but thought the better of it because they’re not actually done yet.  Phil Riggan over at Richmond.com has a number of photos and some coverage of what’s been done so far, including sharrows (shared lane markings) on Brookland Parkway east of Brook.  (The buffered lane is between Hermitage and Brook).  It should become more clear where the bike lane is once there are hash marks in the thin “lane” near the middle and bicycle icons in the lane itself.

I’m excited about this — and just a bit bummed.  I’m excited because this happened with plenty of community support — and despite some fairly loud opposition from a few residents.  I’m also excited because this project will demonstrate a number of things: 1) giving space to bicycles brings benefits, not just to people on bicycles — in this case, traffic calming; 2) removing a travel lane does not produce a local version of “carmageddon”; and 3) riding on a street with real space for bikes feels great, and so we need more of this!

The bummer is that the traffic people in Richmond who still exert a lot of control over these projects seem to invariably find a way to do less when they could easily do more when it comes to bike accommodations.  In this case the lane ends at Brook Road.  So if you’re traveling east, Brookland Park Boulevard/Brookland Parkway will go from one lane from Hermitage to Brook, change back to two lanes between Brook and Hawthorne, and then go back to one lane from there on.  It would have been quite feasible and more consistent to extend the buffered lane to Hawthorne.  Hopefully the absurdity of such decisions will become so apparent that we can go back and fix it later.  And while we’re at it, we could make the Brookland Parkway commercial district east of Hawthorne a safer bike-walk street instead of just putting down sharrows and calling it good.

With all of that said, I still feel like celebrating.

Complete Streets Coming to RVA?

Long Beach, CA: One way to make a street “complete” is to create bicycle lanes in which people of any age or ability can feel safe. From la.streetsblog.org.

Another step toward transforming our streets was taken last week in Richmond city council.  Our representatives unanimously approved a Complete Streets policy.  It didn’t get much if any attention in the mainstream press, but this is yet another measure that signals clearly that we’re moving — if still a bit slowly — in the right direction.

What is a Complete Streets Policy?

As worded in the policy (full text here) adopted on October 13:

Complete Streets are designed and operated to safely accommodate street users of all ages and abilities, including pedestrians, bicyclists, transit passengers, and motorists.

Complete Streets policies serve, in essence, to rebalance the approach taken to street (re)design to give all of those users not in cars a fair shake.  In most U.S. cities for the last few decades the main focus has been accommodating cars.  Prioritizing the efficiency and convenience of car travel did a lot to discourage other forms of transportation — and made a lot of cities less inviting in general.  Suburban areas with multi-lane, highway like arterial roads — without sidewalks or bike lanes — are the epitome of this, but even in downtown Richmond there are plenty of places where it’s just not pleasant or safe to walk or bike.

So now, in technical terms, the manual that Richmond’s traffic engineers and planners use when they are doing anything to a street has to be revised to ensure a better balance.  This is especially important in Richmond because some of the people making decisions about such things have yet to fully embrace the idea of shifting priority away from cars.

Battling Misconceptions and Motorist Privilege 

Changing Richmond’s streets is clearly a long-term process — as is changing the culture that shapes how we see and use our streets.  There can be a good bit of animosity between “us” and “them” — usually car drivers versus people who bicycle.  Some things that bicyclists do contribute to that tension, but a lot of it comes from the fact that motorists are used to being the privileged majority.

That helps explain why Complete Streets policies and bike lanes are sometimes interpreted as anti-car; anything that questions or limits what has otherwise been the overwhelming dominance of cars looks like an attack on driving in general.  If you look at how much money and space is still being allocated to cars, it’s hard not to chuckle (or sigh) at the anger sometimes provoked by giving a bit more priority to others.

That’s why I was so pleased to read Phil Riggan’s retorts to a range of, well, let’s say “somewhat misinformed” responses to a recent “Why, Richmond, Why?” piece dealing with bicyclists’ and motorists’ gripes about each other.  Apparently Riggan got a proverbial ear full in response, and at least a few of them show signs of what I’m calling “motorist privilege.”  In the follow-up he does a very nice job of pointing out some of the skewed reasoning that this engenders.

A lot of it boils down to complaints about bicyclists doing “illegal” things that are actually not illegal (and are in some cases done for the cyclist’s own safety), blaming cyclists for unsafe conditions that they did not create, and — this is my favorite — cluttering up the city with their parked bicycles (!).  Riggan’s response to the latter:

One more complaint, a reader can’t stand all the bikes locked up on sidewalks, blocking pedestrian walkways. Ahem. Cars. Are. Parked. Everywhere. I must ask, where else should the bikes be parked? Dark alleyways?  Richmond needs plenty more places to lock up a bike (yes, we need to lock them to something, not just parked on the side of the street).”

Add to that the fact that you can park about 10 bicycles in the same space required by the average car.  Never mind the incredibly expensive parking decks that also generally create dead space in what could otherwise be a lively street.

Some cyclists in Latvia recently came up with a very creative way to show just how much space cars take up on the road and elsewhere compared to bicycles (see article here):

From designboom.com.

Just imagine how much nicer our city would be if we didn’t have to devote so much space for car parking and wide streets.  With the right infrastructure, bicycling, walking, and mass transit could be just as convenient if not more so than driving.  Hopefully we can make sure that the Complete Streets policy translates into streets that truly have space for everyone.

Halloween Bike Parade Sat. 10/25

The response to the last Bike Parade aka Kidical Mass in Bellevue back in May was very positive, so here we go again!  It should go without saying, but you don’t have to live in Northside to come.

Getting Bikes to People Who Need Them (Updated)

The standard “face” of biking in Richmond is probably a VCU student — at least in the photos that tend to appear alongside stories on the Floyd Avenue bike boulevard.  A big percentage of cyclists and advocates (though certainly not all) are white, middle-class men.  And a lot of what I write here, I admit, is directed toward people who might choose to ride a bicycle instead of driving.

But there are lot of low income Richmonders who do not have many other options: depending on where you want to go and when, walking or biking — possibly combined with a bus ride — can be the only real option for getting to work, to the store, or to visit people.  As I’ve noted here many times, a car is a more significant expense than we often realize: between 7 and 11 thousand dollars a year.

Two things made me think about this recently.  One is this Washington Post story that appeared about a week ago — part of a series about efforts to reduce poverty in Richmond.  The first installment introduced readers to Jarrell Miller, a Richmond man who, with help from the city’s Center for Workforce Innovation, was trying for several months to find a job (see an RTD piece on the Center here).  Jarrell did eventually find a job at a nightclub, but his workday ends at around 4 in the morning, when no GRTC buses are running.  So for a time he spent over an hour walking home from work in the pre-dawn hours.

Local bike advocate Amy George of Ride Richmond saw the article and put out the word: How can we get a bike for this person?  I don’t know the whole story behind it, but within 24 hours Jarrell was equipped with a bike, lock, and lights.*

*Today I got that back story courtesy of Brantley Tyndall of Ride Richmond: Brantley posted the request to the Ride Richmond Facebook page.  Brantley ended up working together with Daniel Pritchett, Whit Brooks of Riverside Outfitters,  city Bike-Ped Coordinator Jake Helmboldt, and Jamison Manion of the Center for Workforce Innovation to get Jarrell connected with a bike.  

Local Co-op Expanding

No doubt there are plenty of other people who could really use a bicycle too.  Besides buying a cheap or used one, the other option is Rag and Bones Bicycle Co-op.  In addition to learning to fix your bicycle and using their tools, you can exchange volunteer hours for a bicycle of your own.  Word is that a relationship between the co-op and the Center for Workforce Innovation might be in the works, which could help connect people who need transportation and those who can provide it.

Added to that is the news that Rag and Bones in opening a second location on Brookland Park Boulevard (their current location is in Scott’s Addition).  To help raise funds for the new location, Rag and Bones is hosting a benefit bike ride this coming Saturday, October 18.  Suggested donation $5-35.  The ride will go from their first location at 3110 W Leigh St to the new one on Brookland Park.  Meet at 2, ride at 3 — free coffee and pastries for riders!

Calling All Women Cyclists

From mattsbikeblog.co.uk.

Local advocate Amy George is aiming to mobilize women in Richmond — those who use a bicycle to get around already, and those who might consider doing so.  The Richmond Women’s Cycling Summit is coming Thursday, October 23, at 7 pm to the Virginia War Memorial.  Here’s the scoop from the Facebook invite:

Creating strong,inclusive, and empowered cyclists. The joy of riding a bicycle transcends background and can change lives, families, and communities for the better. Join the conversation. Whether you’re riding everyday or want to get started, this is the place to learn, connect, and be inspired!

The agenda will include a moderated discussion to ask questions, solicit support, pose ideas, and start the conversation into how we can encourage and empower more women to cycle in the Richmond area.

We want to build and create connections across the cycling community, and bring new riders into the fold, so there will be a panel of diverse women cyclists who will discuss their insights and experience, as well as conversation between attendees. Bring your questions, bring your ideas, bring your experiences.

This is only the beginning of a movement. We’re not aiming to tell you how to ride your bike. We want you to become a “roll model”, an advocate, and a confident cyclist.

We’re also planning to have a group ride through the arts district to the event, to showcase how much fun it can be to incorporate biking into your daily life!

On the streets and in bike advocacy circles, men tend to outnumber women.  It’s not that men and women cyclists are so fundamentally different, but there are reasons for this disparity.  For most advocates, seeing a good percentage of women among bike commuters is a sign that you’re getting it right in terms of creating safe bikeways that also feel safe.  It’s also been determined that, because of the way childcare and house duties still tend to be divided up, some women find it more difficult to use a bike instead of a car.  All of this is simply to say: more women’s voices in the conversation is a good thing.

Hope this is the beginning of a new and strong movement of women riding bikes in RVA!