TPCBAC move gives bike boulevards added weight in RTA rankings

Posted on March 24th, 2010 by Michael McKisson (Publisher/Editor)

TPCBAC members discuss bike boulevards in their special meeting Wednesday night.

In a special meeting Wednesday night, the Tucson Pima County Bicycle Advisory Committee unanimously approved a motion to make it easier for bike boulevards to receive funding through the Regional Transportation Authority.

The motion encourages the RTA’s Bike and Pedestrian Working group, which controls which projects get funded, to give equal standing to bike boulevards when evaluating bikeway projects.

Additionally, the TPCBAC motion also encourages the Bike and Pedestrian Working Group to allow the city to add 10 bike boulevard projects to the original list of projects that were approved by voters in 2006.

Currently, when a project it being evaluated by the Bike and Pedestrian Working Group, they assign points based on various criteria. One criteria is whether the project was one of the original projects approved by the voters. If it was, the project automatically gets extra points.

While the move does not make boulevards a priority over other bike and pedestrian projects, Gabe Thum, a transportation planner for the Pima Association of Government said it will help bike boulevards receive RTA funds.

“It is going to give them more points in the application process,” Thum said.”It is going to help them.”

Tom Thivener, the City of Tucson Bicycle and Pedestrian Coordinator said he knew getting the TPCBAC to recommend prioritizing bike boulevards above other projects was a long shot, but said the motion sends a good message to the RTA.

He said he will continue to look for funding to create boulevards in the city.

“My main priority is pitching bike boulevards as the future for Tucson,” Thivener said. “The RTA is one possible funding source.”

Thivener said he’d like to see the TPCBAC support bike boulevards, not when it comes to RTA funding, but as a general solution for the region.

“I think we have some compelling statistics that say that they work, that they are safer and that they are going to get a lot more people biking,” Thivener said.

Discussion lasted for over an hour and included several members of the public, many of whom came to support bike boulevards.

Jerry Shapins, who recently moved to Tucson from Boulder, Colo. said, “You really need to pay attention to bike boulevards as a key attribute of your system in the future.”

“I thought the support that the community showed for the bike boulevards tonight was fabulous,” Thivener said. “I really hope those people stay involved.”

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Post a comment below or discuss in the Tucson Velo forums

Posted on March 24th, 2010 by Michael McKisson (Publisher/Editor)

Coghauler

The BAC acknowledged the value of bike
boulevards with its unanimous support
for their equal standing in funding
consideration. During the discussion.
however, some revealed that they felt
that the streets designated to become
the first boulevards were already quite
ridable and sufficiently car-free. The
BAC understood that adding another
group of possible projects could delay
projects that have had a great deal of
effort already invested.
I think their unanimous vote was a
demonstration of HOPE. Way down
in their inner-most cog, they really
want more cyclists on the streets with
facilities they can feel comfortable on.
It’s a gamble that the boulevards will be
an enticemement enough to make the
investment worthwhile. Some feel, though,
that it may take the boulevards AND
$10 a gallon gas.
Coghauler

The BAC acknowledged the value of bike
boulevards with its unanimous support
for their equal standing in funding
consideration. During the discussion.
however, some revealed that they felt
that the streets designated to become
the first boulevards were already quite
ridable and sufficiently car-free. The
BAC understood that adding another
group of possible projects could delay
projects that have had a great deal of
effort already invested.
I think their unanimous vote was a
demonstration of HOPE. Way down
in their inner-most cog, they really
want more cyclists on the streets with
facilities they can feel comfortable on.
It’s a gamble that the boulevards will be
an enticemement enough to make the
investment worthwhile. Some feel, though,
that it may take the boulevards AND
$10 a gallon gas.
Paul

Sounds like the gamble is banking on the river paths and traditional bike lanes to get more people biking. How much does a mile of bike boulevard cost compared to a mile of river path anyway? I thought there was a definitive difference between a normal residential street and a bike boulevard?
Paul

Sounds like the gamble is banking on the river paths and traditional bike lanes to get more people biking. How much does a mile of bike boulevard cost compared to a mile of river path anyway? I thought there was a definitive difference between a normal residential street and a bike boulevard?
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Coghauler

I think if a non-cyclist looks at a bike
boulevard compared to a normal residential
street, they’re going to say, “Is that all?”.
3rd street east of campus is almost a bike
boulevard as it exists. Pavement improvement
consists of a 4-5 foot strip of new asphalt in
the travel lane each way. Add some trees, way-
finding signage and traffic circles with yield
instead of stop signs and that’s about it.
Enhanced traffic control signals at major
intersections really drive the overall cost
up. The 3 miles for the 4thAve/Fontana bike
boulevard will be $300,000. The cost of river
paths, I don’t know, but could be highly variable.
River paths get a lot of people cycling who normally
wouldn’t because there are no cars on them.
Coghauler

I think if a non-cyclist looks at a bike
boulevard compared to a normal residential
street, they’re going to say, “Is that all?”.
3rd street east of campus is almost a bike
boulevard as it exists. Pavement improvement
consists of a 4-5 foot strip of new asphalt in
the travel lane each way. Add some trees, way-
finding signage and traffic circles with yield
instead of stop signs and that’s about it.
Enhanced traffic control signals at major
intersections really drive the overall cost
up. The 3 miles for the 4thAve/Fontana bike
boulevard will be $300,000. The cost of river
paths, I don’t know, but could be highly variable.
River paths get a lot of people cycling who normally
wouldn’t because there are no cars on them.
colby

Good summary of the meeting Mike and good insight in the comments.

In my experience on the river/multi-use paths, I see more recreational/exercise cyclists. My hope for the Bike Blvds is that it will encourage more bike commuting – going to a destination (work, school,store) rather than just riding around.

Not that one is better than the other, but I think what we have now serves pretty well for recreational cycling and the next step should help with people who want to use bikes as standard transportation.
colby

Good summary of the meeting Mike and good insight in the comments.

In my experience on the river/multi-use paths, I see more recreational/exercise cyclists. My hope for the Bike Blvds is that it will encourage more bike commuting – going to a destination (work, school,store) rather than just riding around.

Not that one is better than the other, but I think what we have now serves pretty well for recreational cycling and the next step should help with people who want to use bikes as standard transportation.
http://zendudesmusic.blogspot.com/ Zen

Mike, check out this project. Could we do something similar for Tucson? I like the idea this guy from Vancouver has of a google map he set up where local cyclists can post notes and put pins in the map as to where cycling infrastructure could be improved. We could do this like velolove and point out the problem areas or we could contribute to the bike blvd discussion in some way. What do you guys think?
http://zendudesmusic.blogspot.com/ Zen

Mike, check out this project. Could we do something similar for Tucson? I like the idea this guy from Vancouver has of a google map he set up where local cyclists can post notes and put pins in the map as to where cycling infrastructure could be improved. We could do this like velolove and point out the problem areas or we could contribute to the bike blvd discussion in some way. What do you guys think?
http://tucsonvelo.com/ Tucson Velo

Zen, do you have a link to the Vancouver map?

I’d imagine it would at least a little useful to planners to know where and what cyclists see as being a problem for them. Maybe we could do some sort of rating system so that it would show which areas were the priority to the most cyclists.
http://tucsonvelo.com Tucson Velo

Zen, do you have a link to the Vancouver map?

I’d imagine it would at least a little useful to planners to know where and what cyclists see as being a problem for them. Maybe we could do some sort of rating system so that it would show which areas were the priority to the most cyclists.
http://zendudesmusic.blogspot.com/ Zen

Nice, I forgot to post the link. Her ya go:

http://pedalpundit.blogspot.com/2010/03/veloloves-got-to-do-with-it-google-our.html
http://zendudesmusic.blogspot.com/ Zen

Nice, I forgot to post the link. Her ya go:

http://pedalpundit.blogspot.com/2010/03/veloloves-got-to-do-with-it-google-our.html
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