Unless city council decides to torpedo it, the Floyd Avenue bike-walk street is going forward (see RTD story here and a very detailed account of how it worked out in a blog post by Max Hepp-Buchanan here). The Planning Commission approved a modified plan yesterday. And although the General Assembly killed a few bike-friendly bills, they also approved a couple, and blocked some that would have been very unfriendly. We owe a huge thanks to the advocates from Virginia Bicycling Federation and Bike Walk RVA, along with many others, for these successes.
Modified Floyd Plan Passes
With Floyd, the city officials and consultants were apparently able to convince commission members that they had addressed concerns raised in the previous meeting, including: better signage etc. at some of the crosswalks; more specific plans for ADA sidewalk ramps, lighting, and filling tree wells; and making sure the street is marked as special corridor for people on bicycles and on foot.
The plan that passed also contained a couple of recent changes, most notably the replacement of four traffic circles with raised crosswalks at Strawberry, Rowland, Plum, and Harvie. They will look something like this:
It’s kind of like a speed hump, but not as high, and also serves to highlight the crosswalk.
I was hoping raised crosswalks would find their way into the plan anyway. They were included to address concerns of some local residents (and their council reps) and commission members.
I’m really not crazy about how much a few vocal property owners seem to be able to sway their council representatives, especially given the large majority of residents who expressed support for the plan earlier. (Along with the fact that the few “parking spaces” they are so worried about are actually illegal and dangerous). But getting involved more seriously in bike-ped advocacy has brought home to me the reality of what is so often said about government: it’s messy and you have to be prepared to 1) compromise, 2) to think long-term. It’s also crucial to be just as vocal and persistent as the opponents.
We have to work on many fronts to build up support for this kind of project so that it doesn’t continue to be a major battle. Educating and lobbying council members, electing folks who are sympathetic, having a master plan, and many other things will tilt the balance in our favor over time.
General Assembly Successes
This years successes prove especially clearly that persistence is key when it comes to the GA. Most of what was passed this year has been proposed before, but a bill getting past of the various hurdles depends on a bunch of things that have to align just right.
Check this VBF post for the full run-down, but here are the highlights:
• Vehicles can now legally cross a double yellow line in order to give the required 3 feet of space to people on bicycles and other slower road users.
• Localities that decide to do a road diet (reduce motorized travel lanes to create a bike lane) will not lose state transportation funding for doing so. (Previously the state only counted pavement used for motorized traffic).
• Existing law for following too closely now also applies to non-motorized vehicles.
A couple of particularly worrisome bills also died. One would have made it illegal for someone on a bicycle to be on a road if there is a bike path nearby. This would have banned cyclists from parts of Route 5 where the Capital Trail is, for example.
Some others, like imposing a penalty for dooring a cyclist, and requiring hands-free technology when using phones etc. will no doubt come back for another try next year.
Bikeable Richmond 