Prop 409: What it means for bikes

November 21, 2012 • Posted by: Michael McKisson

Bicyclists could see some benefit from the city’s proposition 409 roadway resurfacing bond, which officially passed this week.

The $100 million bond package will resurface tucson streets and bicycle lanes will be restriped on the roads where the exist today. Additionally, if a street that is resurfaced has the ability to add a bike lane when restriping it, the city will do so.

Tucson’s bicycle and pedestrian program manager, Ann Chanecka said 15 percent of the money will go toward resurfacing neighborhood streets. The bond committee, which will be made up of Tucson residents, will receive recommendations from the city staff and will decide which residential streets get repaved.

“I’m hoping that some of the residential streets that get repaved are high capacity bicycle corridors,” Chanecka said.

Check out the other FAQs and see a larger version of the resurfacing maps.

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15 comments

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What about lanes stripped for 11 and 10 feet to make room for bicycle lanes?

Nate

I hope 5th between 14th and 22nd gets repaved. Such a pretty street with horrible conditions and huge potholes.

mickelsp

I asked this on the Bike and Pedestrian Facebook page, but haven't gotten an answer thus far. Since it's related to repainting and resurfacing, I thought I'd post it here. Anyone know the answer? -- Pascal ---------------- Why are the road lines painted the way they are on the Campbell Avenue bridge which spans the Rilitto River? There are two lanes for both north- and south-bound traffic, along with a shared middle turning lane that is assuredly never used because it's on the bridge! At the same time, the crossing for bicyclists isn't very appealing or safe, with no bike lanes and very narrow sidewalks on the side (which bicyclists shouldn't ride on anyway). Usually, I wait for traffic to lighten up and then take the entire lane. However, it seems like the middle turning lane could be eliminated in favor of adding bicycle lanes on the outsides of the bridge, and all that it would take (from my layperson's point of view anyway), would be the re-painting of the lines on the road. Is there an underlying reason why this solution is not possible?

tucsonvelo

There have been proposals to do that. I believe the entire issue is the complex there on the north side of the Rillito at the bridge. That left turn lane is used to get into that office park in the morning. It's also used for people turning left out of Trader Joe's to get halfway across the street, though I THINK that is illegal, though common practice.

Rob Lane

It is a legal maneuver to take a left into the road and store in the TWLTL. It can be found in the Driver License Manual and ARS 28-751.4(b).

mickelsp

Thanks. Keep in mind, I'm only proposing to shrink that turning lane ON the bridge, but maybe there are certain minimum distances that must be observed. In my head, the turning lane would stay where it is on "land" and there'd probably have to be a lane shift for the cars going onto the bridge as the turning lane goes away. The only other reason I thought of was that emergency vehicles might require access across the bridge (that isn't the main lanes of the roadway) in the event that the road is stopped up with traffic.

A real big part of safety is courtesy. I don't think we're ever going to see any major changes to the Campbell bridge, so, open some access to the sidewalk like was done on Speedway at the I-10 underpass and users just yield to those that are on the bridge (sidewalk). You may have to wait a minute or two, but if the current situation does not meet your standard of safety, it's a pretty cheap and effective way out. It seem to be de facto legal anyway.

mickelsp

Thanks for the insights, Rob. Nice to better understand some of the underlying issues.

Rob Lane

There are several potential issues with forcing cars to weave back and forth on a "straight roadway". While it is a good thing to have for traffic calming on a low speed "local" roadway, it would not be good on a higher speed, higher capacity roadway. If you look on and aerial map, you'd see that they actually transition the curbing to "create" the paved shoulders outside the bridge section. The TWLTL is probably kept through the bridge to keep proper lane spacing (as it is on the approaches). Though what it does is mess up the bike route continuity which bites.

Orvis

If the BAC Downtown Subcommittee posted minutes to the clerk's website you could read the June 12, 2012 minutes and see the explanation that Matt Zoll from Pima County gave regarding the bridge and bike lanes and the left turn lane. Unfortunately the minutes aren't there. I'm sure Matt will weigh in on this eventually. Mike's right about the office complex being one of the problems. If I recall correctly there is another parking lot entrance to the east that is also problematic. It sure would be nice if it could get solved short of a bridge widening.

Red Star

It's important to note that the grandiose "officially passed" Prop 409 will not address longstanding deadly potholes on Tucson's bike boulevards, including the moonscape on "3rd Street Bike Boulevard" between Richey and Dodge. That and other deadly bike moonscapes can be best corrected and quickly corrected by the most basic and simple routine street maintenance: fill the deadly potholes. Apparently COT DOT planners and implementers, mayor and council prefer to hope and dream, unprofessional and unconscionable as that may be.

And...this is something that could be restarted immediately....SWEEP THE BIKE LANE/STRIPED SHOULDERS.

Martha Retallick

I'm with ya there, Zeez. It's getting a bit tiring. All that broken glass, sand, gravel, dead bodies, and everything else in the bike lanes. Just kidding about the dead bodies part.