Ohio City Bicycle Co-op

We are often asked about the most important infrastructure improvements cyclists need to "use their bikes as much as they can". Though we are not an advocacy organization (ClevelandBikes does that), here is a list we submitted to the City on that topic:

Robert Brown

Director, Planning Department

City of Cleveland

February 28, 2005

Dear Mr. Brown,

We are pleased to offer the following “Top Ten” list in response to your request for our recommendations of measures the City could take to make bicycling a safer and more attractive mode of transportation here. May I stress that these suggestions represent just a sample of many ideas we have about how the City could help foster our mission of encouraging safe, practical bicycling, and, as such, are just that – ideas – and should not be seen as an endorsement of a particular policy by the members of the Ohio City Bicycle Co-op (OCBC), or any other organization with which we may be associated.

Though the OCBC expressly avoids “bicycle advocacy” as a program activity, we teach safe cycling, and implementing the following ideas will make our job easier, and, we hope, improve safety and enjoyment of the City’s streets for all. We would welcome the opportunity to discuss with you and your staff the practical effects of these measures, and the many other recommendations we could not include here.

Reccommendations:

All road surfaces should be safe and practical for cycling.

Set and enforce standards for pavement repairs (including temporary measures like steel plates) that ensure no longitudinal cracks wider or with relative difference in surface heights of greater than 1/2 inch, and no perpendicular bumps or holes greater than 1”. Diagonal railroad tracks should be made as flush as possible, bascule bridge deck surfaces smoothed, and all longitudinally-slotted storm drains modified or replaced. Special attention is also needed for storm-drain aprons, bus-stop pads, and any other concrete-asphalt interfaces.

Traffic control devices should accommodate cyclists.

Magnetic and video vehicle detectors should recognize bikes, preferably with a “bike box” where that is accomplished. Amber light times should be calibrated for approach speed of 12 MPH. Red light times should not be excessively long (as are most downtown signals) to make compliance reasonable.

City bicycle ordinances should be reviewed to ensure they conform to best practices.

Models are available from local and national sources.

Police should enforce existing traffic laws vigorously, equitably and consistently.

Bicyclists who ride illegally should be warned, and then ticketed, and motorists who endanger cyclists should be cited appropriately. Education of police officers will be required to ensure consistent interpretation of, for example, the legal cyclists’ position “as far to the right as practicable” on the roadway.

Bicycle ownership license procedures should be revised.

Purchasing a City bike license should be of some help in case of theft of the bike, and could offer other possible benefits like discounts, or at least information, on a helmet, lights and a lock.

Bicycle education should be available to all citizens, but especially to those most likely to pose risks to themselves or others.

Fund free BikeEd courses at City Recreation Centers. Require BikeEd course for motorists convicted of reckless driving or any infraction involving a cyclist and for cyclists cited for illegal operation, and offer incentives for them to motorists with suspended licenses.

Shared or unshared status of curb lanes should be made evident where possible.

        Bicyclists usually share space with motorists in lanes that are 15' wide, with no adjacent parking; and should not do so in lanes 11’ wide or less – this could be made clear with signage in many cases.

Strategic investments in bicycle-specific and multi-purpose facilities should be made, where clearly warranted.

Many cyclists do not endorse bike paths or lanes for safety reasons, but often there are instances where they are clearly needed: make all highway pedestrian overpasses safe and practical for bicycles; address the deficiencies of the recent improvements to the Veteran’s Memorial bridge; re-design the Lakefront Bikeway as an off-road path; and complete the extension of the Towpath Trail as soon as possible, even if it means making it mostly an on-road route for now.

Bicyclists should have a channel for dialogue with the city.

A bicycle advisory committee, a bicycle coordinator position at City Hall, a yearly Bike Summit, and a hot-line for cyclists are ideas.

The City should promote cycling with City-sponsored events, and visible endorsement of this healthy, socially-responsible behavior.

Bikes for use of City employees, City officials on bikes at press opportunities, and an event here like Pedal Pittsburgh would all help.

We would like to again invite anyone with the City to call or visit to discuss details of these recommendations, or to join us for our regular, open group ride on Saturday mornings to look at some of these issues from a cyclist’s perspective.

Thank you for valuing our opinions on this matter which is very important to us, and, we feel, to the citizens of Cleveland as well.

Sincerely,

Jim Sheehan

OCBC Director