[Carfreeliving] Fw: BoS Land Use -- Market/Octavia freeway ramp

[Mike Sallaberry]

Dave, you like the idea of funneling cyclists, many of whom are going 
around 20mph, into a 4'-5' wide channel with raised sides that may 
suddenly end up with a car across the end of it?

Such a median could not be designed to prevent right turning cars from 
going onto the freeway.  It would probably reduce the incidence of the 
illegal turns, but it would concurrently decrease the ability of a cyclist 
to avoid any cars that do turn.

That plus problems with debris gathering and not being swept up by regular 
street cleaners, or the increased odds of cyclists striking a raised 
island that they space on or don't look for/expect.  This type of design 
is also expressly prohibited by transportation design manuals.  Not that I 
always agree with these manuals, but I do in this case.

We can argue about this forever.  The only way to find out who is right is 
to actually build it, but you won't find me supporting it...or riding 
through it.  Maybe I'm completely wrong on this topic, but if I'm not, the 
lesson is going to be learned by someone who may not be around to talk 
about it afterwards.

On that melodramatic note...
Mike

----- Forwarded by Mike Sallaberry/DPT/SFGOV on 11/03/2005 06:17 PM -----

Dave Snyder <dave at livablecity.org> 
11/03/2005 03:14 PM

To
Joshua Switzky <Joshua.Switzky at sfgov.org>, Mike Sallaberry 
<Mike.Sallaberry at sfgov.org>
cc
Carfreeliving at livablecity.org
Subject
Re: [Carfreeliving] BoS Land Use -- Market/Octavia freeway ramp




Thanks, Josh, for this suggestion below:

>Intersection designs ... to make the right turn are
>not only totally possible, they have been discussed  ...  it would 
>take a bit of
>reworking a curb and throwing in a very short median, extending into the
>crosswalk, between the bike lane and the righthand traffic lane.

This is an idea worth trying.

Dave
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