safe routes to schools respecting the road - Marin County Bicycle ...

Fostering Safety
and Harmony on
Marin County
Roads and Paths
(cont.)
features articles on this topic from a variety of sources,
including MCBC members and supporters. Furthermore,
in addition to speaking with local press outlets
on this subject and giving testimony in public forums,
MCBC has reached out to neighboring San Francisco
Bay Area Bicycle Coalitions, asking them to help spread
the word to their members who ride in Marin.
MCBC also offers classes and programs intended
to improve the safety of cyclists and other facility users
by providing guidance and information on sharing the
road and better developing basic safety street skills.
Through our Share the Road program, we educate
bicyclists and motorists on how to share the road
courteously and safely. This is accomplished through
educational classes and workshops, informative print
and online materials, bicycle check-points, and target
audience presentations. Our Basic Street Skills-Bicycle
Safety Class is for cyclists wishing to learn more about
riding safely on the road. Cyclists are one of the most
vulnerable users of public roads; this class will teach
you how to ride and drive defensively and how to avoid
conflict on the road. If you have received a bicycle citation
recently, you can get your citation fee reduced by
attending this class. We also offer Women on Wheels
classes, bicycle education classes just for women,
taught by women. We offer Riding with Youth classes
as well. Currently, we are offering free Family Biking
Workshops that can be taken as a series or individually.
These two-hour workshops will teach your family how
to safely navigate streets with the proper equipment
and behaviors.
As you can see, fostering harmony on Marin’s
roads and paths requires a variety of approaches
and constant diligence. So, the next time that you’re
out riding around town, please remember that a little
courtesy and respect goes a very long way in helping
to create greater awareness, appreciation and sense
of community amongst all roadway and path users, as
well as helping to ensure the effectiveness of MCBC
advocacy. We greatly appreciate your support and
participation in this effort!
East-West Corridor Becomes More Bike Friendly
If you’ve cycled through the East-West Corridor
(Route 24) lately, you’ve likely noticed some very cool
improvements to Greenfield Avenue in San Anselmo.
The entire western end, between Spring Grove and the
Hub, formerly in terrible condition, now has a beautifully
repaved surface. In addition, traffic lanes along
this section were narrowed, to facilitate traffic calming.
Also, it’s impossible to miss the impressive new
white sharrows backed by vibrant green rectangles.
These pre-formed, thermoplastic pavement markings
are not only very visible, retroreflective and skid
resistant, they are also extremely durable. According
to the manufacturer, they have a lifespan six to eight
times longer than paint.
Did you also happen to notice the new reverse
diagonal parking on Greenfield, between Lincoln Park
and the Hub? Reverse diagonal parking is considered
a safer type of angle parking. Instead of going forward
into the parking spots, cars back into them. This allows
drivers to make eye contact with oncoming road users
when exiting the parking space.
Overall, back-in angle parking improves the safety
of cyclists and drivers by increasing visibility and making
access to your car easier and safer. The many
benefits of reverse diagonal parking include: improved
visibility and increased field vision; decreased number
of collisions, improving safety for cyclists and pedestrians;
increased safety for children exiting cars (when
car doors open they direct children to the rear of the
vehicle, away from the street); improved handicap
parking; improved loading and unloading; and traffic
calming. The parking itself is simple; it is easier than
parallel parking, and easier than blindly backing into
an active traffic lane.
So, all of this sounds great, but is it really safer?
Yes, according to a growing number of studies in pilot
communities. Tucson, Arizona reported an average
of three to four bike/car crashes per month along
two blocks near the University of Arizona before they
implemented back-in angled parking there—and none
in the five years following the implementation of this
type of parking. We are extremely thankful to the
Town of San Anselmo’s Department of Public Works
Director, Sean Condry, for his creativity and ability
to “think outside of the box” when necessary to help
ensure the safety of all facility users.
MCBC continues to have a productive dialogue with
San Anselmo’s Department of Public Works about
the multi-modal possibilities and potential funding
opportunities for the eastern segment of this significant
east-west bicycle corridor and active commercial
area. Mr. Condry has noted that in considering any
modifications to Greenfield Avenue, staff is taking
into careful consideration the needs and safety of all
stakeholders. Any future designs for this section are
pending until further evaluation can be pursued. Given
the impressive work completed on western Greenfield
so far, we’re very eager to see what transpires on its
eastern end.
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