03-27-1990 PTRC Meeting Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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Page 2 ** Rural Design Bike Lane Standards-- Fairly clearly established safety standards [MNDOT Bikeway Design Manual--1983] for bikeways on rural roads-- • those having through lanes, shoulders, and drainage ditches. These vary according to the ADT (Avg. Daily motor Traffic) , the width of the thru lane, and the type and width of shoulders. Ratings of unsatisfactory, poor, fair, and good are given. ** Municipal Design Bikeway Standards-- Safety standards for bikeways on urban roads--those having curbs and gutters which abut the traffic lanes. These are based on parking configurations along with number and width of through lanes and ADT. [Ed. comment: The current rating system assumes that bikes will share the traffic lanes with cars. The maximum ADT allowed with FAIR safety rating is about 12000--for 4-lane divided road with no parking. ] Off road paths alongside urban roadways with frequent intersections/ driveways present special problems for bicyclists. Motorists often are not looking for bicyclists when they approach an intersection or make a turn. A safety rating system for these off-road bicycle paths (similar to that used for rating roadways as bikeways on the state bicycle maps) does not exist. 2 . Bicycle Policy Jim Dustrude outlined some of the key aspects to the new Minnesota Bike Comprehensive Plan, which is currently under review. He pointed out that the popularity and safety of biking is influenced by public policy more than any other factor. Minnesota adults bike at twice the national average and nearly half of that is for transportation. State wide 73% of the state road • are good or fair for biking. On urban arterials, only 24% have good or fair safety ratings. are: Some of the objects of the comprehensive bicycle plan 1. Increase bike miles travelled by 10%. 2 . Decrease fatality rate by 50% 3 . Achieve 100% bicycle registration by 1999 . A high priority is to make the bicycle part of the public community. Bike re P policy in every registration and legislation requiring making upgraded roads "bicycle friendly" are two other priorities. The State Bicycle Advisory Board is taking the responsibility for broad policies involving biking. They do not want to get involved as a "review board" in specific situations, such as "What is the best bikeway configuration for a given area?" Their expectation is that resources and general policy provided by them can be applied by the various jurisdictions to work out the best solution to a problem and hence the best trail configuration for a given situation. To reduce liability, a jurisdiction should carefully consider the guidelines in the AASHTO "Guide for Development of New Bicycle Facilities-1981" when designing a route. [Copies were provided by Greg Pates. ] 3 . Facilities for In-Line Skating John Uban of DSU talked about the rapid emergence of the sport of in-line skating ("RollerBlading") . Trails guidelines for in-line skating are barely a year old. This sport was born in the Twin Cities and now there are over one million users. A smooth continuous belt of off-road asphalt trail is the preferred configuration and these can be effectively shared with bicycle traffic. The "bikelanes" (on-road) although preferred by most bicyclists are not considered safe for in-line skating. Adaptability to adverse trail conditions varies widely according to user skills--especially the ability to check speed on hills.