Four things need to happen to make Mayberry’s 3 lane design a success:
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RTC needs to finish the paint and signage. Some curbs need to be painted red around Roy Gomm Elementary School and a few signs need to be installed. The flashing caution sign near Edgewater needs to be removed, too. These changes need to happen soon so that a true test of the design can begin.
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Edgewater residents need to learn to make a two-stage left turn to leave their neighborhood during higher traffic times. The first stage is a left turn into the center turn lane. The second stage is to leave the center turn lane and merge with eastbound traffic. Contrary to popular belief, this turn has been legal since 2005. In the old design they had to deal with 3 lanes of traffic at once to make a left turn. In the new design they have to deal with 1 motorist lane and a bike lane at once.
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Roy Gomm parents need to get comfortable dropping their children off at school in the new design. Engineers call the area in front of the school a “chaos zone” for good reason. It’s a slow motion free for all that should benefit from the increased organization of the new stripping.
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Recreational and commuting bicyclists need to be seen using the new bike lanes. This design was implemented partially in response to high demand from bicyclists on Mayberry. If bicyclists aren’t seen using these bike lanes, residents in opposition will claim that these lanes are unnecessary. They will be missing the point, of course. The bike lanes are there to make the fearful bicyclist feel safer and encourage them to get out of their cars and on to bikes. They are not there to accommodate the experienced Sunday cyclist who will ride Mayberry with or without bike lanes.
Change is challenging for everyone. Everyone involved need only change their behavior a little to make this new design for Mayberry a success.
Maybe we should do Critical Mass on the bike lanes this Friday, instead of downtown. What say you?
Hey, Nico,
I think it’s a bad idea.
The current bike lanes were painted with temporary paint that should fade in 2 or 3 months. The idea is that everyone who uses Mayberry can evaluate the design and it can be changed when it needs to be repainted if opposition is strong.
Of course there is already plenty of opposition. Some don’t like this design and some want it back the way it was with no bike lanes at all. And with no bicyclists. Anything that MIGHT anger local residents, be it giving parking tickets to Gommie Mommies who illegally park in the bike lanes or a critical mass ride, will motivate them to work harder to oppose this design.
The Verdi CAB meets this week and the West Truckee Meadows CAB meets next week. Both have bicycle issues on their agenda. Their recommendations are taken seriously by the RTC, the Reno City Council and the Washoe County Commissioners. I don’t want them to have fresh ammunition to oppose this very bicycle friendly design for Mayberry.
Let’s do critical mass downtown this month.
Terry
Good luck…. I hope its a sucess. Hey Mayberry get out and ride!