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RE_ Proposed Boulder_Lyons bikewayFrom:k0dk@q.com To:OSBT-Web Subject:RE: Proposed Boulder/Lyons bikeway Date:Thursday, May 9, 2024 4:36:17 PM Attachments:US36_Bikeway_5-5-2024.pdf External Sender Notice This email was sent by an external sender. Attached comments. -- Richard Kiefer Don't complain, vote! Safe Bicycling on US 36 Boulder to Lyons Richard Kiefer 303-449-4700 May 8, 2024 Boulder County is planning to construct a separated 11 mile multi-use bikeway alongside US 36 from the Broadway junction in North Boulder to the Highway 66 junction at Lyons. Only this section of road is under consideration. For bicyclists, the best safety im provement on US 36 between Boulder and Lyons is a wider shoulder not a separate bikeway. 1 What is the Boulder County argument for constructing the bikeway? Boulder County and some cyclists claim that this section of US 36 is unacceptably dangerous and uncomfortable for people on bicycles primarily because of the possibility of being struck by a passing motor vehicle. Being hit from behind, or sideswiped, by an ‘overtaking’ car or truck is the greatest fear of most bicyclists on any road. This is because most cyclists do not know what is happening behind them, resulting in a perfectly rational fear of the unknown. Elimination of the this overtaking type of bike/motor vehicle accident is the primary justification for constructing a separated multi-use bikeway. The theory is that bikes become safe if they are removed from the highway thereby eliminating the possibility of the overtaking accident. There have been four overtaking accidents between north Boulder and Hwy 66 in the 14 year period between 2009 and 2022 according to Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) crash data. One of the four overtaking accidents was caused by a drunk driver. There has also been one death of a cyclist who in 2017 jumped out of the cone zone in a race and was struck by a truck. All other recorded bike/motor vehicle crashes have been at intersections with roads or driveways. It is the CDOT data which is used by Boulder County to justify the proposed multi-million dollar separated multi-use bikeway along side US 36. This information comes from accident reports created by the Colorado State Patrol (CSP) which responds to bicycle/motor vehicle accidents on state highways. In addition, Boulder County reports that there are about 90,000 bike trips per year on US36, and about 12,000 motor vehicles per day traverse the roadway. While eliminating the extremely low probability overtaking type of accident is important, several additional factors should be considered in making the decision to construct a separated bikeway. First: Bike collisions with motor vehicles are far more likely at intersections and will be exacerbated by the more complicated road and driveway crossings of the separated multi-use bikeway. Second: Some accidents are caused by the willful reckless behavior of som e bicyclists. It is inappropriate to use such accidents as a justification for a separate bikeway. Transportation engineers don’t design roads to accommodate reckless drivers. Third: A separated bikeway will cause an increase in bike accidents which are not with motor vehicles, but which can be as dangerous. Fourth: Many experienced cyclists will not ride the bikeway because of the added risk and discomfort. Neither Boulder County nor CDOT track bike accidents which are not with a motor vehicle. 1 But, we know that cyclists are getting hurt in a variety of non-m otor vehicle accidents from hospital emergency room admissions tabulated by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). In 2023 there were about 405,000 emergency room admissions for bicycle related accidents across the US. I suspect that the actual num ber of these accidents is 2-3 times higher per year as many don’t show up in the ER. 2 When all types of bike accidents are considered, a separated bikeway is more dangerous for bikes than riding on the existing roadway shoulder. The proposed separated bikeway forces bicyclists into an unfair trade between the elim ination of the motor vehicle overtaking type of accident and an increase in all other types of bicycle accidents. I base this assertion on my 54 years and over 100,000 miles of bicycling experience. The dangers on a separated bikeway will exceed those on the US 36 roadway and are in three categories, collisions at intersections, collisions on bikeway, single operator crash. Collisions at intersections: Every experienced bicyclist knows that intersections present the highest danger, and that there is no such thing as the ‘bike has the right of way’ at any intersection. Cyclists must always take special care to be seen and have the attention of all other vehicles at intersections. Having the undivided attention of other vehicles is m uch more likely when on the roadway at a normal intersection. Bikeway crossings with roads are always m ore dangerous because they are located where drivers are not expecting bikes. As a result bikeway intersections become ‘negotiated’ crossings in all cases, similar to a four way stop. In my experience this increases the probability of accidents com pared to well controlled normal intersections. Collisions on the bikeway: There are no laws and few rules which govern behavior on bikeways, it’s the wild west. Two way traffic on a 12 foot wide concrete path presents the likelihood of head-on collisions. Bikes, especially e-motorbikes, can easily collide head-on with deadly force. Head-on collisions can happen as a result of passing slower bikeway users, cross winds, loss of control at high speed, carelessness, or recklessness. Boulder County and the Colorado Department of Transportation acknowledge that the proposed Boulder/Lyons bikeway should not be used by some cyclists because it would present a danger to themselves and others. Specifically, some of the dangerous cyclists are the athletes who are training for events such as triathlons and bike races, and the club pelotons of 10-30 riders. This problem of dangerous cyclists who should not use the bikeway begs the question - if speed is the only significant difference between elite cyclists and the average bikeway user, what speed is ‘safe’ for the ‘normal’ bicyclist? High speed e-motorbike traffic also increases the probability of serious accidents on a narrow two way lane. If the elite athletes traveling at 18-28 m ph are a danger, heavy e-motorbikes are even worse. Many e-motorbikes move at 20+ mph, are massive, unstable at high speed, and are often operated by incompetent drivers including children. And, since the Boulder/Lyons bikeway is planned as a multi use path, people on foot are another collision problem for people on bikes. Pedestrians, pedestrians with dogs, and runners should have the right of way but present a nuisance and a danger to bikes. The bikeway will also be perfect for the skate-skiers I encounter training in Left Hand Canyon. For the cyclists who stay on the highway most of these problems are greatly reduced. 2 Single bicyclist fall: Even though a bike collision with a motor vehicle is a disaster and gets all the attention in safety discussions, a single bicyclist fall is the m ost likely type of bike accident, consisting of about half of all bike accidents. The danger of falling down with a bicycle is greatly underestimated. For example, I personally have known many bike users who have fallen or collided with another bicycle and suffered injuries such as road rash, broken wrist, broken collar bone, head trauma, broken pelvis, broken femur, broken hip, broken shoulder, multiple broken ribs, broken arm and elbow, internal injuries, and death in four cases. None of these serious injuries and deaths resulted from a collision with a motor vehicle. A bicycling friend fell down recently breaking his pelvis. After the pelvis was repaired and had healed somewhat, he required a hip replacement. After the pelvis and hip had healed somewhat he required a hernia surgery, all on his left side. He told m e the experience has been the worst eight months of his life, all because of a simple solo bike crash. None of the types of accidents which I describe here, including the deaths, have appeared in the statistics which are used as metrics for bike safety. To count as a bike accident with CDOT, Boulder City or County, the event must involve a motor vehicle which creates a police report. So the vast majority of bike accidents, including unreported collisions with a m otor vehicle, do not show up in the data upon which public policy regarding bikes is based. This is a major oversight. The bottom line is this. If the US 36 bikeway is constructed, we will trade a small number of overtaking accidents for an large increase in intersection accidents and all other undocum ented bike accidents. And, because the bikeway will not safely accommodate all bicyclists, there will still be some accidents with motor vehicles on the US 36 roadway. As a mater of public policy this is not a fair safety trade off, not to mention the huge expense of construction and long term maintenance of the infrastructure. 3 A much better bike safety upgrade to US 36 is a wider shoulder with modifications. The best way to reduce the probability of overtaking accidents on US 36 is to widen the shoulder on both sides of the road. The shoulder should be wide enough that most motor vehicles do not feel the need to cross the center line to pass a bike safely. This width is about 10 feet. A 10 foot shoulder also feels plenty comfortable enough for most bicyclists, particularly those who maintain situational awareness behind. The shoulder width north of Nelson road is already a uniform 8 feet and is nearly adequate. Much of the highway south of Nelson road could also be widened without great expense. In some places an extraordinary amount of fill is required to widen the roadway, like just north of Broadway. In places like this a one way bike lane could leave the road to follow the terrain and rejoin where the lane and road meet in elevation. In a very few places between Boulder and Lyons where there is not enough width, and where a short section of separated one way bike lane is not possible, using the existing shoulder would be acceptable. This wider shoulder approach is much safer for all bicyclists, comfortable enough for most, and would be less costly. 3