SA Doesn't Make The List/There will be no Bike Lane on Broadway.

Every two years, Bicycling Magazine releases their list of the 50 Best Bicycle Cities in the United States of America, and guess what, we're not on this list.  I can't say that I'm surprised at all because back in 2014 I predicted that San Antonio wouldn't make the list and Austin would be on the top 10 of that list. Well Austin is at number 7 in 2016. Back in 2014, it was at number 11.

Gone are the days that to get on this list, all you had to do was build a bunch of hike and bike trails. Today, there's hike and bike trails galore stretching hundreds of miles. If you ever get the chance to visit a small town in Iowa, you are very likely to come across one. In southwest Ohio, there are several trails stretching from Cincinnati to to just north of Dayton, even to Columbus. Every city/town in the United States is basically copying Austin, Texas to improve their community.

A friend of mine ask me to ask you to help him get a list of bicycle friendly businesses so they could be asked to contact The League of America Bicyclists. If you know of any business that would like to be listed as a bicycle friendly business, please have them visit http://bikeleague.org/business.

Now if you ever read "Why San Antonio Don't Deserve Bronze," you would know how I feel about the League's grading system. Although having more bicycle friendly businesses would help to expand San Antonio standing, it will not be enough to make San Antonio make the list in 2018. If San Antonio is to be back on the Bicycling Magazine bicycle friendly list, we are going to have to build protected bicycle lanes. If this recent Rivard Report story on the Broadway is any indication, we'll never be on this list ever again.

60.1

In the report from The Rivard Report, "Renderings of a Reimagined Broadway," they show several concept visions of Broadway that will be built if the Bond is passed in May. Except for one cross section referred to as Upper Broadway Cultural Corridor, Tuleta to Allenswoth, (Image 60.2) all the cross sections lack even a simple bicycle lane.  Compare them to my cross sections that I did back in 2014, (Image 60.1) and you would see that I found plenty of space for a 6 ft protected bicycle lanes on both sides of Broadway including on street car parking/bus stop island.

60.2

Below, you'll find the cross sections that were featured on the Rivard Report story with my cross sections right below them. In Each and everyone of them, I show how there's plenty of room to put a two way protected bicycle lane. I'll be going in order, from north to south.

Starting at Hildebrand, we have a 100 feet to work with.  In the proposed rendering, you see a bicycle lane at either end.  Well this doesn't have to be for there's plenty of room not for just a two way protected bicycle lane, but also for on street parking. (Image 60.3)

60.3

The next one is from Allensworth to Tulet. Even though they have a 10ft protected bicycle lane, it is recommend by NACTO that bicycle lanes are at least 6ft wide.  I decided to add on street parking,  because there's plenty of room for that too.  And keeping with having trees in the turn lane, I did that too. (Image 60.4)

60.4

I don't know why they couldn't even add the protected bicycle lane that they started from Allensworth down to Josephine.  There's plenty of room for that too. (Image 60.5)

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Any proposals that are made south of Josephine must be able to incorporate the yearly Battle of Flowers Parade.  In their proposal, there's no bicycle lanes.  But if we remove the center turn lane, we will gain the room to put in either bicycle lanes or a protected bicycle lanes with removable planters or barriers. Knowing the City of San Antonio, they won't do this. (Image 60.6)

60.6

As We go further south, again we see no proposed bicycle lane, nor on street parking, the reason why this part of Broadway had it's bicycle lane removed back in 2010.  Again this is where the Battle of Flowers parade goes down and taking that into account, we can have the protected bicycle lane with the removable barrier and what the businesses want, on street parking. (Image 60.7)

60.7

Even From Houston To 3rd, there's plenty of room for both parking on both sides of the street and a two way protected bicycle lane.  (Image 60.8)

60.8

If these illustrations that were featured on the Rivard Report tells me anything, it tells me that the City is not serious about Vision Zero,(#VisionZero) but are for making sure that driving a car as enjoyable as possible.

 The 73-page report by California-based design firm MIG and Parsons Brinckerhoff of Canada at http://therivardreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Final_Broadway_Corridor_Plan_web.compressed.pdf


Images:
60.1: My cross section featured in my Story, Streetcar Part III, No Need for Streetcars Down Broadway. Source for cross section:  https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0pdZd2edg57C1cNWNzHpY3ynffhx_I3Xmw2glW4QkM5_fsSjV_SukwOjoFX3MknRwyFvOntfIjqKxE4qcVef8ICKRaBCJCTP8DS7P2imiM5LSAVnpAZ1ffwXUzm70j-fdnuXJKeQBl2Q/s1600/Midtown+Broadway+Ideally+Bus+Stop+West.jpeg

60.2: Source of image https://therivardreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/upperbroadway-road-diet.jpg

60.3: Source of the top: https://therivardreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/upper-broadway-to-hildebrand.jpg, Source for the bottom: http://streetmix.net/BikeSanAntonio/63/allensworth-to-hildebrand-wparking

60.4: Source of the top: https://therivardreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/upperbroadway-road-diet.jpg  Source for Bottom: http://streetmix.net/BikeSanAntonio/71/allensworth-to-tuleta-wparking

60.5: Source for top: https://therivardreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/upper-broadway-road-diet-josephine.jpg   Source for Bottom: http://streetmix.net/BikeSanAntonio/72/josephine-to-tuleta-wparking 

60.6: Source for top: https://therivardreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/lower-broadway-josephine.jpg  Source for bottom: http://streetmix.net/BikeSanAntonio/72/josephine-to-tuleta-wparking

60.7: Source for top: https://therivardreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/lower-broadway-3rd-road-diet.jpg
Source for bottom:  http://streetmix.net/BikeSanAntonio/61/3rd-to-i-35

60.8: Source for top:  https://therivardreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/lower-broadway-road-diet_centro-MIG.jpg  Source for bottom:  http://streetmix.net/BikeSanAntonio/70/houston-to-3rd 

San Antonio Removes Bicycle Lanes Again

67.1 

I'm starting to notice a frightening trend here in San Antonio. Bicycle lanes are being removed from parts of San Antonio. The two so far that I am aware of is the northbound lane on Broadway at Jones and the second one, not a bicycle lane, but a shoulder nonetheless on Fredricksburg Rd.

If you read my previous posts on improving Broadway, you would have seen my cross-section on that part of Broadway which I called it the 281 Section.  Today, the new development decided that we don't need a bicycle lane. (Image67.1) That on street parking is more important than providing a safe place for `people to ride their bicycles.

67.2 

I contacted several people and since I was talking off the record , I am unable to provide contact info. This is what I learned when I talked to these individuals. City Council had no way to stop the removal of the bike lane. San Antonio Transportation and Capital improvements are designing a pretty sign to tell you, the cyclist to go onto the sidewalk. I didn't get a chance to ask if SAPD will give us tickets if we go onto the sidewalk but I'm assuming no. If you happen to get a ticket for riding on the sidewalk, please contact me. The main thing that will make this lousy solution not work is that there will be no ADA ramp back into the bike lane that is already left. (Image 67.2)

If you want to complain at somebody, call the district 1 Councilman Robert C Trevino (Info at the bottom) and the private engineer firm (Image 67.3) that said that removing a bicycle lane was okay.  That's the only thing I can tell you what to do in protest.

67.4

The second is the new park at the intersection of Fredricksburg and De Chantle (Image 67.4). Where there was a shoulder to ride in safely, now a curb and a tiny sidewalk was built. For the record, they only removed the northbound shoulder. Instead of leaving well enough alone, they decided that the space surrounding the left turning vehicles needed extra protection, so they created these painted barriers directing traffic around the center turn lane. (Image67.5) I find it ironic that if you go up just one block to Williamsburg, (Image67.6) you'll see the original paint pattern, and there seems to be no need to remove a shoulder to protect left turning cars. 

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As Halloween rolled around I came across this picture tweet from David Killmon.  He wanted to dress up in the most frightening costume he could think of, so he dressed up as a construction sign saying the bicycle lane is closed. (Image67.7) I have a saying that goes, it takes a dead person to put in a traffic light and a crosswalk.  I can only hope that it doesn't take a tragedy  to fix this mistake.

District 1 Robert C Trevino
City Hall
P.O. Box 839966
San Antonio, TX 78283
Office Line: 210.207.7279
Constituent Office
1310 Vance Jackson
San Antonio, TX 78201
Field Office Line: 210.207.0900

Images:
67.1: Viewing South on Broadway showing newly constructed parking where a bicycle lane use to be.
67.2:  Showing the end of the sidewalk construction where no ADA ramp was installed. 
67.3:  The Engineer Consulting firm info advertising their destructive work.
67.4:  Viewing North on Fredricksburg Rd showing the Shoulder disappearing.
67.5:   Viewing north on Fredricksburg Rd Showing added painted lines around the center turn lane at De Chantel.
67.6:  Viewing north on Fredricksburg Rd Showing the intersection at Williansburg.
67.7:  Tweet from @kohidave with him wearing his Halloween Costume. Link to tweet: https://twitter.com/kohidave/status/792946517443092480

Suburbans Complain about Useless Sharrows

A friend of mine posted this news story from KSAT news about a suburb next to O.P. Schnabel Park whining about useless sharrows that were recently painted. In the video, they called the newly painted sharrow, graffiti, which made me laugh, and then made me wonder, where did I hear about bicycle infrastructure being called graffiti?

Now back in September 2015, I came across a video from the Late Late show with James Corden, where he did a piece about the residence of Coronado, California complaining about the expanding bicycle lanes where the rich old white ladies called the bicycle markings pollution, and graffiti. 

Fast forward to 2016 and you pretty much hear the same complaints about how these useless sharrows are going to make the traffic worse and yet the city states, quote: "Unlike bike lanes, sharrows don't change where people can drive or park. TCI Assistant Director Terry Bellamy said that's why the city doesn't have to ask neighbor permission."  And that's the thing, it ain't going to make a difference. 

Now if you want to know why I say a sharrows are useless, it's because the Dutch say's their useless because the way we use them.  For all of my travels, I haven't yet seen any decent sharrows at all.  A recent story in Streetsblog USA reporting on a study by the University of Colorado Denver telling how Sharrows not only don't make a difference, but makes things worse. Quote: "the results strongly suggest that sharrows are ineffective as a safety strategy."

53.1

Now I've been pretty much been stating since the beginning of this blog that the city isn't serious about bicycles or for that matter, every other form of transportation that don't include a car and this story seems to prove my point yet again. You see, when you have residence like Thomas Korenek coming out against everything that don't include a car going as fast as it can, then you'll have people like TCI Assistant Director Terry Bellamy, not able to do anything about improving bicycling or Vision Zero, because the person Terry is counting on to back him up is councilman Chris Medina and judging by the councilman's voting record, I doubt that Terry would stand up and put his job on the line to actually do something to make the neighborhood safer, which is to lower the speed limit to 25 miles per hour.  And I'm not blaming Terry, I'm blaming the councilmen Chris Medina for not having a backbone for Vision Zero or for actually allowing his people to actually create significant changes that would make the neighborhood safe for walking and cycling.  So in the end, we get a bunch of useless sharrows instead of an actual improvement, slower speeds in a neighborhood.

So here's my advice to all the parties involve, do nothing.  Cris Medina needs to say, we're sorry for the sharrows, but we are not going to remove them.  To do so will be a waste of tax payer money and will let nature take it's course.  

Now before I go, I'll be leaving you with this quote from a San Antonio Bicycling Activist after I said how useless they are. He said that sharrows are....

It helps us on our group rides. Gives us a feeling of solidarity when riding close together. It may have limited effect on car drivers, but cyclists are effected in a positive way (in my experience). Safety is always up to us not the folks behind the wheel.

Images:
53.1:  A chart showing how speed plays a roll in pedestrians surviving crashes with cars. 

Protest to make Statement

52.1

While surfing Facebook, I came across a post in one of the many bicycle groups asking that a protest ride to  be organized to complain about the current riding conditions people experience riding their bicycle.(Image 52.2)

52.2

Well when someone did organized a protest ride called critical mass a few years back but only a handful of people showed up. I joke to this day that we were critical, but we were no mass.  The ride that is referred to in the picture is the Downtown Highlife bicycle ride.  It's less of a protest and more of a fun ride which meets at the Alamo every last Friday of the month at 9pm. 

If you're really angry and really want to make a point, I would avoid making the same mistake with the critical mass ride. Instead, might I recommend that you crash the Walk & Roll rally that is held every May.(Image 52.1) This event will take place Friday May 6, 2016 at 8AM.  This event celebrates the action taken by the city to encourage walking, biking and riding VIA. But as I wrote two years ago in the posting San Antonio isn't Serious about Bicycles, this event is simply a lie.

So if you choose to make a point, I recommend the following signs in the memes below. Please inform me that your doing this, I'll be happy to spread the word.  And If I do manage to show up, I'll be carrying this image (Image 52.6)

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52.4

52.5

52.6

Images:

52.1:  The official Walk and Roll Rally.  More info can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/events/1686470051592907/
52.2:  The FB conversation that I'm referring to in the post.
52.3-52.6:  Memes that I recommend that you download and/or make similar protest signs.