Washington County will install bike fix-it stations at five locations

Some notes from last nights’ meeting:

In general, changes planned so far, look to be a big improvement for biking on the subject roads. They include:

A full, street grade painted line bike lane for ninety percent of Murray between TV highway and Farmington Rd, as opposed to no bike lanes, and and an off road funky asphalt MUP presently on half this section of the road.

Farmington Rd Between Murray and Hocken, will have 6′ wide street grade painted line bike lanes, as opposed to its currently having only main lanes, and the adjoining curb separated asphalt paved MUP. At the conception of its long lifetime, the curb separated MUP was a kind of innovative idea, but it’s never been very good for biking or walking.

Painted line bike lanes aren’t as good for a wider range of people biking as grade separated cycle tracks can be, but considering the present conditions for biking on these roads, the changes, I think, are a great improvement. A far improved road surface to ride on, less hazard from driveways and people walking, and less conflict from motor vehicle traffic.

The Hocken between TV Highway and Farmington Rd section of the project, is an important part of the project, whose final details remain yet to be fully worked out. It’s a two year construction project, giving hope that something satisfactory will able to be devised come time to build.

Basic situation for bike travel needing to be dealt with, is that for example, southbound, from the north of TV Highway, given that Hocken T’s at Farmington, either a left or right turn is obliged there. Current but not final plan is to have both a left and a right bike lane in the south bound lane of Hocken, straddling a main lane. A person traveling on a bike, entering this section of Hocken, must be able to negotiate a safe, efficiently timed lane change across the main lane to the left bike lane, to prepare for a left turn on Farmington. People with the county and the engineering company, said they’re still thinking about the situation to see how to get this section of the road to work its best.

I stayed an hour. Small, but good turnout, everybody there very interested and asking many questions about how it’s all going to work.

Hear hear.