Cycle Task Force To Get Sharrows, Safety Video Presentation

posted: January 26th, 2010 07:21 am | 8Comments

What’s it like to be a cyclist, riding through Corona del Mar, dodging motorists and car doors flinging open into your lane as you make your way through town?

County bicycle advocates attended the Monday meeting of the Newport Beach Task Force on Cycling Safety, offering to put together a video presentation for the next meeting scheduled for Feb. 8.

“We could do a half-hour video presentation that shows what Coast Highway would like like with sharrows, what it’s like from a cyclist perspective,” said Brian DeSousa, a board member on the Orange County Bicycle Coalition. Video would be shot from a helmet camera, he said.

DeSousa and board member Pete van Nuys attended the task force meeting and applauded the group’s efforts. But they cautioned the group that current Caltrans standards would require traffic studies before making changes like adding sharrows — painted, marked lanes that indicate that cycles and motorists will be sharing a traffic lane. (Read our story about sharrows here.)

Van Nuys added that sharrows might not work in a community that didn’t already embrace a cycling culture.

“Basically, they turn it into a sandbox,” he said. “If you drop it down on PCH, it may be a little too much at this time,” he said.

The task force committee agreed that a presentation will be part of its next meeting, scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. Feb. 8 in Council Chambers.

In other developments, the task force committee discussed the need for bike racks throughout the city.

“If Santa Claus came and gave you 100 bike racks, you could sprinkle them all over town,” said Corona del Mar resident Frank Peters, who is a citizen member of the task force.

Task force members suggested that city parking studies should look at bicycle parking demands, and that green building codes should include bike racks. The group decided to create a list of places that needed bike racks — including City Hall, where task force members often lock their bikes on hand rails because there are no outdoor racks.

“And certainly wherever there’s coffee,” added City Councilwoman Nancy Gardner, who sought the creation of the task force last autumn.

The task force also discussed “hot spots” or dangerous areas where cyclists are especially vulnerable. The task force may find ways to help the problems, including adding signs, speed bumps or special lanes. Or, Gardner said, they could create a map that cautions cyclists that some areas are risky.

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