"Even though we ride non-polluting bicycles to save mankind, we lock our bikes because we can't trust mankind"
Untitled Document
BROADWAY TO ELM STREET
DOWNTOWN BIKE ROUTE
Connecting Broadway to Elm Street presents particular challenges. Significant bicycle traffic enters Broadway from both the left (Tower Parkway) and from the right (Howe St via Elm). Nevertheless it is essential to the advancement of bicycling in New Haven that we find a way to comfortably accommodate bicyclists through this key corridor. There exist alternate routes for people bicycling toward downtown neither from the existing bike route on Tower Parkway nor from future bike routes on Howe St, Dixwell Ave, Goffe St, and Whalley Ave. For this reason, Elm City Cycling asks for your assistance in choosing the best way to accommodate bicycle traffic in this corridor.
We have provided the following four alternatives as a starting point for this discussion. They need not be the ending point. Feel free to combine ideas, connecting sharrows on one block to a bike lane on the next, placing sharrows alongside cycle tracks or even alongside other sharrows. You might propose a multiphase solution, with one plan for the short term and another to have ready in order to apply for federal and state grants. Whatever you envision, share it on the SeeClickFix, for the four alternatives ECC selected for this page are merely a synthesis of what has so far been expressed at seeclickfix.com/issues/15932, for this page is but one piece of a larger campaign to close the remaining gaps in our city's bike network.
DESCRIPTION: Broadway and Elm Street would be marked shared lane markings (sharrows) between Tower Parkway and College Street. Sharrows are bicycle route markings painted onto the roadway surface within the automobile travel lane. They provide wayfinding assistance to bicyclists, serve as a reminder that bikes belong, and help bike riders to properly position themselves on the roadway. ECC recommends sharrows along all bike routes in absence of a dedicated bike lane.
BIGGEST ADVANTAGE: Low design cost; very low construction cost. Could include improved signal coordination and a raised intersection at Elm and High to moderate vehicle speeds and enhance safety.
BIGGEST DRAWBACK: May not be suitable for young children and other riders uncomfortable riding in the same lane as automobile traffic.
ALTERNATIVE 2:TRUNCATED CYCLE TRACK -- right-hand option
DESCRIPTION: Elm Street's right-hand travel lane would be replaced by a "truncated" physically separated bike lane (cycle track). A curb would separate the lane from traffic between York Street and College Street. At intersections, the lane would be shared with turning vehicles in order to minimize changes to the road layout and eliminate the need for specialized traffic signals. The left turn option depicted in the third image under Alternative 4 could allow the route to take College St to Wall in order to avoid the New Haven Green bus stop area.
BIGGEST ADVANTAGE: Moderate design and construction costs.
BIGGEST DRAWBACK: Curb could create issues for street sweeping and snow removal.
ALTERNATIVE 3:TRUNCATED CYCLE TRACK -- left-hand option
DESCRIPTION: On-street parking on the left-hand side of Elm Street would be replaced by a "truncated" physically separated bike lane (cycle track). A curb would separate the lane from traffic between York Street and Church Street. At intersections, the lane would be shared with turning vehicles in order to minimize changes to the road layout and reduce the need for specialized traffic signals. A dedicated bicycle signal head would be employed at the intersection with State Street in order to allow bike riders to safely return to the right-hand side of the street.
BIGGEST ADVANTAGE: Moderate design and construction costs.
BIGGEST DRAWBACK: Same as Alternative 2 + alignment interferes with Trumbull and Berkeley College dining hall loading zones and a fire hydrant in front of Calhoun College (either of which is probably a deal-breaker).
ALTERNATIVE 4:FULL CYCLE TRACK
BIGGEST ADVANTAGE: Would serve bike riders of all ages and comfort levels.
BIGGEST DRAWBACK: Very high design and construction costs due to the possible need for utility relocation, changes to the stormwater system, new signals, and numerous complex changes to the roadway and curbs (Elm Street would need to be redesigned and rebuilt from the ground up).
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
Please surf over to SeeClickFix.com and let us know what you envision for this corridor. If you can think of another alternative not listed, all the better! Thanks!
Over the course of 2011, professional transportation planning consultants will also consider how best to accommodate bicycles on Elm St. Informed by our input, recorded at http://seeclickfix.com/issues/15932 and synthesized on this webpage, they will develop detailed proposals that will allow the city of New Haven to apply for federal and state grants to close this key gap in our city's bike network.
