Bike Lanes in the Hilltop but none on High St? « Columbus Underground Messageboard

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Bike Lanes in the Hilltop but none on High St?

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Started 9 months ago by Coley
Latest reply from johnwirtz

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Coley
Highland West
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I heard about this "plan" to put bike lanes in the Hilltop on W. Broad St. This would take away parking along the street (at least one side). I know there are not many businesses along the strip now, but wouldn't this hinder business development? If I were thinking about opening a business on W.Broad with the possibility of no on street parking in the future I would consider this a deal breaker. In addition I see a saftey issue here- W. Broad traffic is out of hand in terms of speed. I myself wouldn't ride on Broad St. Why aren't there bike lanes on High street in South Clintonville/North Campus area? It seems this would be a more appropriate place to install bike lanes.

Just throwing out the topic for discussion- thoughts?

Posted 9 months ago # |
roy
Downtown
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Here is a link: http://www.hilltopmobility.com/

Posted 9 months ago # |
lifeontwowheels
Suburbia
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In a word High Street is too narrow. The typical recommendation for a bike lane is 5 feet. I played with this on google maps and you can see where the issue is.

Here is the West Broad solution, from the above linked website, that probably better clarifies the width issue. (PDF)

Posted 9 months ago # |
lifeontwowheels
Suburbia
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I clicked send post too quick, here is a good map of the off street parking in the area. (PDF)

You can see on some of the above links that in trying to squeeze everything in you will have to sacrifice something. I really don't think making an area more bike friendly will have any negative impact on the area. If anything, it will hopefully get more people out on bikes and exploring the various communities. It is a lot easier to quickly pull off the road on a bike, lock it up and walk around popping into neighborhood stores than to do it by car.

Considering the issue we have with narrow city streets, bike lanes are going to be difficult to implement given the parking and transit issues. If we are going to do specific infrastructure projects, it would be far better to spend the money on improvements to benefit the greater community-complete streets, 2 way conversions and bike boulevards-than on projects that 1-2% of the population would use. Though I am hoping that percentage goes up, quickly.

If we are going to consider bike lane, let's consider a bike and bus only lane like Paris.

Posted 9 months ago # |
misskitty
WestSide
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I think bike lanes would be great in the area. Parking is not an issue by any means There are lots of places to park. Lots of off street that don’t require Permits :ick: .I love the way it is now the only thing I would love to see is a little traffic calming in Franklinton and the Hilltop areas. It’s real easy for people to hit 50mph driving in those areas.

Posted 9 months ago # |
Coley
Highland West
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misskitty wrote >>
I think bike lanes would be great in the area. Parking is not an issue by any means There are lots of places to park. Lots of off street that don’t require Permits :ick: .I love the way it is now the only thing I would love to see is a little traffic calming in Franklinton and the Hilltop areas. It’s real easy for people to hit 50mph driving in those areas.

No kidding- especially the stretch from 70 to Highland- that is what concerns me. People are going 50-60mph or more. I agree that area is very wide- up to 7 lanes of traffic total- I'm concerned about the stretch from the Health Center to Terrace Ave- a little narrow and not much room for error. Does the Health Center allow parking in their lot for non health center clients?

Posted 9 months ago # |
misskitty
WestSide
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Have you seen the lot ? My goodness it is huge. I am sure it’s suppose to be for Health Canter Visitors but I doubt that anyone would say a thing about someone parking there. I think the only time you would see any opposition is during something like Red, White, and Boom.
Speeding is insane on Broad. Something should be done to control that first. I avoid it for my commutes to work (downtown). I use the super special back way and avoid Broad from the Hilltop all the way Downtown.

Posted 9 months ago # |
Coley
Highland West
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misskitty wrote >>
Have you seen the lot ? My goodness it is huge. I am sure it’s suppose to be for Health Canter Visitors but I doubt that anyone would say a thing about someone parking there. I think the only time you would see any opposition is during something like Red, White, and Boom.
Speeding is insane on Broad. Something should be done to control that first. I avoid it for my commutes to work (downtown). I use the super special back way and avoid Broad from the Hilltop all the way Downtown.

I use the secret agent way to 670 as well! I see more people biking along McKinley than I do on Broad!

Posted 9 months ago # |
sik

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This document might be helpful to understand the consultant's recommendation for bike lanes on W Broad St. W Broad info
By striping parallel parking on one side and bike lanes on both sides of the road in the Hilltop commercial area, the width of the road for cars during peak hours will decrease from 60 ft to 40 ft. This change will calm traffic on W Broad St, contributing to a safer road for bicyclists and pedestrians. There is sufficient off-street parking that is underutilized.
An image of the consultant's recommendation in the Hilltop commercial area is here W Broad image
We have heard from some existing bicyclists that they currently take Eureka over to McKinley in order to get downtown. During our public input from over 900 people in the Hilltop, we also heard that many people want to bike, but do not currently. The number one place where Hilltop residents wanted to be able to bike more easily was on W Broad St. When the amount of bicycle infrastructure increases, the number of bicyclists increases, which leads to increased safety.
Josh Sikich
Hilltop Community Mobility Plan study team

Posted 9 months ago # |
Matthew
Highland West
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sik wrote >>
This document might be helpful to understand the consultant's recommendation for bike lanes on W Broad St. W Broad info
By striping parallel parking on one side and bike lanes on both sides of the road in the Hilltop commercial area, the width of the road for cars during peak hours will decrease from 60 ft to 40 ft. This change will calm traffic on W Broad St, contributing to a safer road for bicyclists and pedestrians. There is sufficient off-street parking that is underutilized.
An image of the consultant's recommendation in the Hilltop commercial area is here W Broad image
We have heard from some existing bicyclists that they currently take Eureka over to McKinley in order to get downtown. During our public input from over 900 people in the Hilltop, we also heard that many people want to bike, but do not currently. The number one place where Hilltop residents wanted to be able to bike more easily was on W Broad St. When the amount of bicycle infrastructure increases, the number of bicyclists increases, which leads to increased safety.
Josh Sikich
Hilltop Community Mobility Plan study team

Over 900 people? Which business owners on Broad contributed please? ALL of the offstreet parking shown is on private property. Tell me, does the city plan to help those owners carry liability insurance? What about delivery zones? As a homeowner I want to see a listing of these 900 people. You have a dot on top of my house. My neighbors 3 houses in each direction have never heard of it, nor have I.

Posted 9 months ago # |
lifeontwowheels
Suburbia
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Thanks for the comments, Josh. Where is the Hilltop Mobility Plan now?

Posted 9 months ago # |
lifeontwowheels
Suburbia
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Matthew wrote >>

sik wrote >>
This document might be helpful to understand the consultant's recommendation for bike lanes on W Broad St. W Broad info
By striping parallel parking on one side and bike lanes on both sides of the road in the Hilltop commercial area, the width of the road for cars during peak hours will decrease from 60 ft to 40 ft. This change will calm traffic on W Broad St, contributing to a safer road for bicyclists and pedestrians. There is sufficient off-street parking that is underutilized.
An image of the consultant's recommendation in the Hilltop commercial area is here W Broad image
We have heard from some existing bicyclists that they currently take Eureka over to McKinley in order to get downtown. During our public input from over 900 people in the Hilltop, we also heard that many people want to bike, but do not currently. The number one place where Hilltop residents wanted to be able to bike more easily was on W Broad St. When the amount of bicycle infrastructure increases, the number of bicyclists increases, which leads to increased safety.
Josh Sikich
Hilltop Community Mobility Plan study team

Over 900 people? Which business owners on Broad contributed please? ALL of the offstreet parking shown is on private property. Tell me, does the city plan to help those owners carry liability insurance? What about delivery zones?

Liability insurance? With all the bikeways and improvements on public property, I don't think this is even a consideration.

Posted 9 months ago # |
Matthew
Highland West
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Yes, Liability insurance to those private property owners being offered by Josh Sikich as parking alternatives. These are private properties.

Posted 9 months ago # |
lifeontwowheels
Suburbia
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Matthew wrote >>
Yes, Liability insurance to those private property owners being offered by Josh Sikich as parking alternatives. These are private properties. Is this a case of future imminent domain?

Understand now. I was confused by what you were actually referring too. I think the main parking solution, offered by Josh and the mobility plan, is this:

...striping parallel parking on one side and bike lanes on both sides of the road in the Hilltop commercial area

and seen in the links above. It seems off street is only a secondary consideration at this point.

Posted 9 months ago # |
kathyhoke
Wilshire Heights, Columbus
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Comparing parking and bicycling accomodations in the Short North to those on West Broad Street's depressed commercial district is like comparing shopping at Whole Foods to shopping at the food pantry. We have to look at what we have now to what it could be.

Today on West Broad Street's Highland West area, we have six lanes of traffic and on-street, parallel parking permitted off-peak hours on both sides. It's huge, ugly and not friendly for pedestrians and bicyclists, nor is it compatible with the largely intact, pre-1930s street-front architecture in this business district. Unlike the Short North, we have far more available parking than we need.

After more than a year of public input, an overwhelming majority of Hilltop residents and visitors say they want bike lanes on West Broad Street. Please visit Hilltop Community Mobility Plan website http://www.hilltopmobility.com/ to learn more and to give final comments by Nov. 23. Time's running out, because engineering must begin next month for a previously scheduled resurfacing project. If the Hilltop community speaks loudly at this late hour against bike lanes, we're likely to get the same unfriendly street condition we have now.

Posted 9 months ago # |
Matthew
Highland West
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lifeontwowheels wrote >>

Matthew wrote >>
Yes, Liability insurance to those private property owners being offered by Josh Sikich as parking alternatives. These are private properties. Is this a case of future imminent domain?

Understand now. I was confused by what you were actually referring too. I think the main parking solution, offered by Josh and the mobility plan, is this:

...striping parallel parking on one side and bike lanes on both sides of the road in the Hilltop commercial area

and seen in the links above. It seems off street is only a secondary consideration at this point.

I'm not opposed to a bike lane on the hilltop, just not up Broad st.

Posted 9 months ago # |
lifeontwowheels
Suburbia
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And I may be wrong in this assumption, but looking at the google map of the Hilltop Area on W. Broad, are those lots are owned by many of the businesses people would be patronizing in the first place? At least that is the way I look at it on the map. Just like parts of downtown and the SN were some businesses have their own or a shared lot and others simply rely on on street parking.

ETA

I think you and I probably agree on this, in terms of a bike lane on Broad. I'm just trying to get a better understanding of how things are actually set up.

Posted 9 months ago # |
sik

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Outreach to businesses is ongoing in conjunction with the Hilltop Business Association. The City of Columbus has not made any decisions regarding the consultant's recommendation, and the study team is still collecting comments (including those made here by people who live, work, or travel through the Hilltop). It is possible that next year's resurfacing project will repave the existing striping as is, if that is what the community wants.

A review of area parking capacity between Harris Ave and Clarendon Ave reveals that the overwhelming majority of parking spaces are located in off-street parking lots that are currently underutilized. Community or business groups could facilitate shared parking agreements, because different facilities have different parking demand depending on time of day and day of week. For example, churches and businesses could potentially share parking because their demand does not often overlap. Increased signage can be used to guide customers to off-street parking lots, as is done in other successful central Ohio business districts.

Posted 9 months ago # |
Matthew
Highland West
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^^^ And that is the root of my frustration Josh. It is all or nothing with this plan. Why won't you people compromise? We all have the same goals, but this plan clearly wasn't laid out architecturally with neighborhood input. I live East of Hague, and I'd sincerely love to take part in shaping a solution to the problem that satisfies everyone.

Posted 9 months ago # |
kathyhoke
Wilshire Heights, Columbus
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Matthew wrote >>
^^^ And that is the root of my frustration Josh. It is all or nothing with this plan. Why won't you people compromise? We all have the same goals, but this plan clearly wasn't laid out architecturally with neighborhood input. I live East of Hague, and I'd sincerely love to take part in shaping a solution to the problem that satisfies everyone.

Matthew, as a member of the steering committee for the Hilltop Community Mobility Plan, I see the proposal (bike lanes in both directions, full-time parking on the south side of Broad, reduced traffic lanes) as a balanced response to the public input received through October 2009 -- and a compromise from an earlier alternative nixed by ODOT. That plan would have allowed some full-time permanent parking on both sides of Broad, but not in front of every building. Traffic lanes and bike lanes would not have run in straight lines, providing a possible traffic calming effect. ODOT said it could not restripe this way. ODOT is paying 80 percent of the bill, so the city's consultant recommended a new proposal that ODOT could live with. This happened in early November.

However, the overall planning process was open and inviting, and some of the Highland West neighborhood leaders and activists participated and attended meetings. I'm sorry you missed out on an earlier opportunity to participate, and am glad you are weighing in now.

Posted 9 months ago # |