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.  The new standard signs may well be sufficient for drivers, who are in little actual danger, and for motorcyclists, whose training informs them of the hazard of steel deck bridges.  However bike riders are at extremely high risk, they generally have no training and no organized method to inform them, and there are numerous annual newcomers.  Feedback from concerned riders has been strongly in favor of clearer signage warning bike users of the hazard, because the standard signage now in place likely will not be noticed or interpreted correcty by bicycle users.

It seems to me that staff needs support in order to proceed with the obvious correct course, namely to add to the signage at the Clinton Street bridge so that it will effectively warn bike riders and prevent further injuries.  With the community feedback, the BPAC resolution, and the research on alternative surfaces which has been volunteered, staff may be armed enough to take the necessary action, including talking to NYSDOT if necessary.
Therefore I propose the resolution below (with at least one less typo than in the previous message).
–Dave Nutter

1) Whereas, the East Clinton Street bridge over Six-mile Creek has a history of bike crashes, and

2) Whereas, the steel deck has caused serious injuries to bike users who fall on its slippery surface, including severe cuts and broken bones, and

3) Whereas, the Ithaca Police Department has requested warning signs about the bridge to prevent further bike crashes and injuries, and

4) Whereas, standard warning signs reading “steel deck bridge” have been erected a standard distance away, and

5) Whereas. feedback from several bicycle users in the community has been that the signs are too far away, that they do not appear relevant to bike riders, that they do not make clear the hazard, and that they do not indicate an alternative to the danger, and

6) Whereas, staff has indicated its reluctance to change or add to the signage or to make a safer way for bicycle users to cross before the bridge deck is replaced some two years in the future, and

7) Whereas, staff has indicated that “Any change to a warning sign that can be considered more than a minor modification, or a unique warning sign, shall be approved by the NYSDOT before it is used,”

Now therefore be it resolved that

1) BPAC requests staff to leave the standard “steel deck bridge” signs in place at the standard distance away, and

2) BPAC requests staff to add separate signage closer to or on the bridge
a) which includes the word “bicycle” or a depiction of a bicycle, and
b) which indicates that there is a hazard and the nature of the hazard, and
c) which indicates a safer alternative for bike users,
e.g. “bicycle hazard, slippery when wet, dangerous surface, walk bikes.”
and

3) BPAC requests that staff contact NYSDOT, if necessary, in order to
a) discuss and preview the City’s proposed signage,
b) explain that solo bicycle crashes with no tickets involved typically go unreported, so BPAC and staff only recently became aware of the seriousness of the problem,
c) inform that IPD requested signage here because of a history of bike crashes including a college student who had multiple fingers broken and his face amputated on this bridge this fall;
d) inform that at least one more bike crash occurred there this fall requiring several days of hospitalization with serious cuts, bruises, and possible fractures;
e) inform that the BPAC and several members of the bike riding community indicate that the standard signs do not adequately alert bike riders to the relevance, nature and severity of the hazard to bicycle users here.
and

4) BPAC requests staff to investigate the suggestion of a non-slip plastic surface which could be put on the sidewalks of the bridge.

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