BOULDER: Killed by Traffic Engineer author Prof. Wes Marshall & Megan Ramey (On-Bike Interview)

[@colleenharrison2942]

It is nice to see the quiet residential streets with calm traffic. They really need protected bike lanes on the wide busy roadways.

[@ActiveTowns]

Yes, indeed! 💯

[@JustClaude13]

I like the buffered lanes. They feel a lot safer than the standard bicycle gutter. Right now, I'll take whatever I can get. When we replace water mains we protect the bikes with "Share the Lane" signs. We have a ways to go.

[@ActiveTowns]

Yes. Y'all do have a long way to go down there... and probably the best overall riding weather, all year round, so there's no excuse for not having a world class "All Ages & Abilities" cycle network.

[@DougGrinbergs]

Since I discovered Mapillary (crowdsourced street-level image platform) at OpenStreetMap OSM State of the Map SOTM in Boulder Oct. 2017, I've been doing my best to document Boulder area bike / ped infrastructure (bike lanes, multi-use paths, sidewalks, intersections, repair stations, bike racks) on Mapillary, KartaView, Mapilio / OSM

[@ActiveTowns]

Yay! Thanks so very much, Doug! 🙏

[@BoulderHikerBoy]

That was delightful even though and, maybe, especially because I ride a lot of that infrastructure nearly every day. Seeing it all on video is almost like seeing it anew. What I'm struck by most is the difference between places like Iris (which seems bleak for drivers and hostile to cyclists) and the new stuff around 30th Street and Colorado (which just seems elegant, especially for a pathway not alongside a creek). And it was a great observation that many drivers in Boulder probably don't know that so many good bikeways exist in Boulder. I'm always surprised when I can get from South Boulder to midtown faster by bike than I can by car on a much less direct route because there are enough underpasses that I make up for a longer route and lower peak speed by not having to wait at lights.

[@ActiveTowns]

Excellent points on the power of a high-comfort route that leverages underpasses and thus, even though it might not be the most direct route, it might very well be more time efficient since you can avoid waiting at and navigating crowded intersections. Thanks join us on this ride. Cheers! John

[@DougGrinbergs]

59:20 the vision of Al Bartlett

[@ActiveTowns]

🙌 and a beautiful vision it is.

[@darelldd]

6:32 the "conflict zone" is so wide that it includes the buffer (with curb). After that conflict zone, the bike infra is significantly more narrow, with no V or anything else directing riders into the constricted bike infra. The chance of riding into the buffer and curb is a hazard that could so easily be mitgated (instead of amplified as it is here). There is NO reason to make the bike infra appear so wide with the green striping across the intersection.

[@ActiveTowns]

Yeah, I've always wondered why they did it that way. I can't recall ever seeing this treatment in any other city. Thanks so much for watching and commenting. Cheers! John

[@darelldd]

@@ActiveTowns Thanks for the response, John. I HAVE seen this in other places. In fact we have similar here in Davis.We wouldn't direct a car lane into a hazard, but that stuff is designed and installed by.... car drivers. Anybody who actually uses bicycle infrastructure would not have allowed this sort of thing. But I see it happening in many places. The idea is that somehow the blocks of green at the "conflict zones" is what makes us safe. If you will, now imagine this bike infra having the typical trait of a Dutch bikeway. The bicycle infra would be consistently and contiguously colored all along the path of travel to make it drop-dead obvious where one should ride. No "conflict marking" to confuse everybody about what's what and who goes where. But an obvious, red path that shows what pavement is for bikes and exactly where they go. (not into the buffer and curb!)

[@maumor2]

Watching with jealousy from SWFL. Your "bad" sections of bike infrastructure are way better than our good ones. My daughter's school have 2 bike riders! (and who can blame the kids if we barely have sidewalks) Boulder looks and feels more like a city, my area is just a bunch of gated communities with no links between them (real life example: two houses 100 yards away are only connected by roads, you have to drive 10 miles to get from one house to the other one)

[@ActiveTowns]

Yeah, I hear ya. This is why I emphasize the culdesac cut-through connector paths I profiled as being so essential. Thanks so much for tuning in. I really appreciate it. Cheers! John

[@mrgreasypig]

I love the 13th st bike lane but the Downtown bike network is lacking. Mostly sharrows and no real network.

[@ActiveTowns]

Yes! 💯 This was precisely the point we were making just before we headed down to 13th Street. As good as Boulder's off-street network is, the on-street network is lagging and has so much potential. Thanks so much for watching. Cheers! John

[@nithinravi9600]

I just don’t go downtown because it’s difficult to access by bike unless you live on boulder creek 😅

[@ActiveTowns]

@@nithinravi9600 What part of the city would you be coming from?

[@mrgreasypig]

@@nithinravi9600 Fortunalty things are getting better. The CAN (Core Artierial Network) is being improved witch has and will continue to create safe separated bike and pedestrian infrastructure on the main roads.