A reply from the British Columbia Minister of Transportation

Last summer (2009) I had some unpleasant experiences with rumble strips in British Columbia while doing a bike tour around the Glacier and Waterton national parks. For an interminable part of the route in BC, we were caught in a narrow, hazard-ridden path between a ferocious rumble strip on the left and some even worse hazard on the right. It was possible to ride, but it made me nervous and on occasion demanded that I face the bucking of the rumbler. When we got to Fernie, we got into a conversation with some local folks who turned out to be cyclists and, on the topic of rumble strips, they begged us to write to their authorities to register our complaints. They were particularly despondent because their main annual ride had been canceled because too many of the participants felt the roads were too hazardous. (The photo shows a rumble-stripped stretch at its very best.) Well, I wrote various government agencies and officials — including, impudently, the premier of the province. Yesterday, I got a response from the BC Minister of Transportation, Shirley Bond.  Read the rest of this entry »

Recently there was a “leaked” report that the New York State DOT is about to revise its policy regarding the installation of rumble strips along state roads — whereas previously rumblestrips were an option to be considered, henceforth rumble strips will be default, to be added to every road project unless otherwise specified.

I found it a really disturbing prospect and expected cyclists around me to rise in protest. But no such protest seems to be materializing; most people I’ve talked to have said it’s not a big deal; if there is sufficient space left Read the rest of this entry »

This is Andy Goodell’s summary of discussion regarding the “Cheese Grater Bridge” at the BPAC meeting on 11/19/09.

We spent a looong time discussing the bridge on Clinton St last night. Several options were discussed, and there was no straightforward action that can be taken to fix the problem, but there are some things that can be done. Essentially, this bridge has been in place for at least a few decades with very few issues reported (reported being the key word here) so there had been some reluctance to put a lot of money into it for the last 2 years of its life. Obviously, the two known incidents this year are tragic enough that many are concerned about this bridge. Read the rest of this entry »

Dave Nutter, a very-long-term cycling advocate and member of Ithaca’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Council, has introduced a resolution to be passed by BPAC. It fulfills the committee’s mandate to advocate on behalf of cyclists and pedestrians. The text of the resolution is below Dave’s remarks.

Riders don’t just fall on the East Clinton Street bridge.  They are maimed. It has happened repeatedly, but because no tickets are issued there is seldom a record.  As IPD has indicated, and as we now see, there is a real and ongoing hazard.  Read the rest of this entry »

Passing this on for consideration as a cycling issue for Ithaca. Quite a few comments have appeared on the Cornell and FLCC email lists — generally unflattering to the authors of grate-bridge technology. The point would be to think about all the hazards around town that are particularly problematic for cyclists.

dear fellow flcc-ers and cu-cyclers -

i was just cleared from the hospital following a bike accident i had saturday morning, while commuting. the roads were a little wet, no biggie… i was riding downhill, but not very fast since i was approaching an intersection. anyways… as soon as i rode on the steel bridge by the police department on clinton street, by bike skidded sideways and i immediately lost control. i fell dead on my right knee, then my right hip, and my right elbow swept the ground for what seemed to be an eternity (15ft slide). Read the rest of this entry »