Meghna Krishna Bondili 🦋’s Post

⚠️ Make King Street Less Chaotic ⚠️ In the ongoing King Street debate, the one thing that it seems we can all agree on is the utter chaos that the stretch of pavement and cobblestone from Calhoun to Broad Street has become. Currently, King Street consists of two narrow lanes shared between cars, delivery trucks, and cyclists, with the inevitable overflow of bikes and skateboards onto the sidewalk. It is not safe, and it isn’t working. We firmly believe that to bring order to the chaos, the safest option moving forward is a “complete street” with designated space for cyclists. A space separate from both pedestrians and vehicles: a buffered bike lane. Picture a King Street that has one lane for vehicles, one lane for bicycles (and other forms of nonmotorized transportation), and the sidewalk reserved for pedestrian use only. With a designated lane for bikes, cyclists would have no reason to ride on the sidewalk or in the primary travel lane, leaving room for pedestrians to walk safely without sidestepping into the street and less chaos in the primary travel lane. The risk of vehicle and cyclist collisions would lower considerably, and traffic would move more efficiently. It just makes sense. Designated lanes for each category of transportation would create order where it is lacking most. If we want a less chaotic King Street the path forward is clear: Add a Bike Lane! #kingstreet #downtowncharleston #charleston #biking #cyclist #transportation Graphic credit: South Carolina Department of Transportation

Despite heavy opposition, Seattle completed a bike trail gap with an on-street bikeway. It doubled bike traffic at the expense of one second of motor vehicle travel time. As with all Seattle bike infrastructure, it has some wonky design that result from compromises in favor of motor vehicle traffic and being cheap, so I wonder what would happen if we started designing infrastructure first for pedestrians and cyclists, then transit… with all the compromises coming at the expense of the remaining modes. https://lnkd.in/gDS-VtCv

#BikeSafety | This Bike Safety Month, how are you making city streets safer for cyclists? Sometimes, existing roadway redesign projects can open up critical opportunities to improve #ActiveTransportation safety. When Fern Hollow Bridge collapsed, the City of Pittsburgh not only rebuilt it within a year, but also took the opportunity to investigate walking and #biking safety on the corridor leading to the bridge, reducing speed limits and installing a multi-use path and protected #BikeLane to support cyclists, who had previously contended with high-speed vehicle traffic. In the video below, see how they analyzed #RoadSafety along the corridor and worked quickly to rebuilt this important neighborhood connector. ⬇ #bridges #BikeSafetyMonth

This story demonstrates the challenges government agencies face in decision-making. In this case influential people, businesses, and special interests opposed changing road design despite both traffic data and safety outcomes demonstrating both feasibility and improved conditions by repurposing an excess lane of vehicle travel for a protected cycle track.

Some great insights out of the Journal of Transport and Health: Building protected bicycle lanes is not only safer for people riding, but also for all road users. 🤯 Based on 13 years of crash data from the US, the research contends more bicyclists on the road is not as important as the infrastructure we build for them. This is because cycling infrastructure may have a traffic calming effect and promote safer road environments for all users. 🚲🚶♂️🧑🦽🛵🚗 Their analysis suggests that improving bike infrastructure with more protected/separated bike facilities is significantly associated with fewer fatalities and better road safety outcomes for all road users. ✅ Sounds good to me! 😘 Source: Wesley E. Marshall, Nicholas N. Ferenchak, "Why cities with high bicycling rates are safer for all road users"

A great video on the hugely successful REV express bike route in Montreal. There are 8 lessons from the project - bike lanes should incorporate: #1: Parking protection, no one wants to get "doored" #2: Wide bike lanes #3: One-way lanes with traffic #4: Long and direct route (one 10km bike route is better than 5 separate 2km bike routes) #5: Central through neighborhoods #6: Incorporated into a network #7: Density is good #8: Bike-share helps too With Palo Alto's Pedestrian & Bike Plan being updated, these are some key points to think about in the next few months. https://lnkd.in/g3qXQDRn

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Planning your bike route is important for safety, but it’s often difficult to know where to start or how to do it. Cycle Toronto has shared tips and resources to help you stay safe: https://bit.ly/45nE6wc   #CycleToronto #BikeSafety #TLLawCanHelp

The Strip District is growing, and is already choking on cars. If people don’t have an alternative to driving, then traffic and parking will become much worse while walking and biking becomes less safe. Currently, there are no safe, continuous biking routes through the Strip. This combined with the chaos and confusion caused by drivers looking out for parking instead of people leads to dangerous conditions. Traffic studies show that a safe and effective street redesign would reduce the travel lanes on Penn Ave between 31st and 22nd Street, from two to one. This is primarily for pedestrian safety, and has the added benefit of creating space for a protected bike lane that is a safer alternative to biking on any other street in The Strip. 🔗 Support #SafeTripsintheStrip via the link in our bio.

A great video on the hugely successful REV express bike route in Montreal. There are 8 lessons from the project - bike lanes should incorporate: #1: Parking protection, no one wants to get "doored" #2: Wide bike lanes #3: One-way lanes with traffic #4: Long and direct route (one 10km bike route is better than 5 separate 2km bike routes) #5: Central through neighborhoods #6: Incorporated into a network #7: Density is good #8: Bike-share helps too With Palo Alto's Pedestrian & Bike Plan being updated, these are some key points to think about in the next few months. https://lnkd.in/g2TJwE87