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Republished with permission from the Springfield News-Leader

Published May 23, 2004

Cyclists wish for friendlier streets

Club offers safety training for maneuvering in traffic

By Jenny Fillmer
News-Leader Staff

On a sunny May morning at Springfield's Sequiota Park, Susan Carter parked her SUV and pulled her bicycle out of the back.

Wearing a bright red and orange cycling shirt, sleek black shorts and a broad smile, she's ready to ride on the popular Galloway greenway trail slinking through the park.

"I love the trails," she said, looking around to see if any of her bicycling buddies had arrived. "We bike here quite a bit."

Cycling is what Carter does on her day off. Workdays — or sometimes worknights — are not for riding.

"The problem I have is motorists aren't very bike-friendly," said Carter, who travels on National Avenue to get to St. John's, where she works as a nurse. "We get the shouts — 'Get on the sidewalk!' — but that's not where a bike belongs."

She said she might consider cycling to work "if we had some wider routes, and the motorists were more cautious with bikers."

Carter's sentiments are shared by many Springfield bicyclists who ride for recreation but not as a form of transportation.

That's something city officials and bicycling groups want to change.

In the short term, Ozark Greenways, a nonprofit group that builds recreational trails in and around the city, is encouraging participation in Bike-to-Work Week this week.

And Springbike Bike Club is promoting bicyclist safety with training classes for maneuvering in traffic.

Looking down the road, the city of Springfield is working on improving bicycle transportation.

"There are a number of people that do not have access to a motor vehicle ... so we need to provide an equitable way for bicyclists to get around," said David Hutchison, traffic operations engineer for the city of Springfield.

"Second, we have become a nation of couch potatoes. ... By incorporating a bike into your activities, it also improves your health."

Gas prices, Hutchison said, are a third reason the city needs to provide safe and viable alternative transportation services.

Making room

Hutchison is a member of the city's Bicycle Policy Committee, formed over the winter to review Springfield's current provisions and plans for bikes on public streets.

"There's about 45 miles of (city) street currently marked as bike route," said Hutchison, adding that a few more miles are designated each year. These routes are marked with green "Bike Route" signs with an image of a bicycle.

"Most of those streets have a 30-mph speed limit, and the intent is for a low traffic volume and fairly wide outside lanes, but you can't get that on every street."

Few bike routes span the city, forcing cyclists to use high-traffic streets when riding across town. And almost none of them include a lane marked on the pavement.

"Anyone who says this is a bicycle-friendly town must be riding in a different part of town," said Uli Gulje, a Springfield firefighter.

"We come down Campbell in the morning," said Gulje, who bikes with his co-worker, Harold Zinter, between Commercial Street's Engine Company #2 and their homes in southeast Springfield. "There are back roads that a lot of times we'll take, but Campbell is such a straight shot."

Gulje and Zinter dress brightly and use flashing lights, but often, he said, Campbell motorists simply don't see them.

"I understand that sidewalks are primarily for pedestrians, but if they could make either a bike lane or more sidewalks to make a straight shot down some of these streets, that would be one thing I'd like to see happen."

This spring, the Bicycle Policy Committee outlined general recommendations to the city for more bike lanes and primary cross-city bike routes. Those recommendations were approved by the city's Traffic Advisory Board in April. They have been turned over to the board's newly formed Pedestrian and Bicycling Subcommittee, which will designate primary bike routes, recommend streets for bike lanes and create standards for marking the city's routes.

"We might look at some roads where we can narrow up some lanes and have bike lanes on the side of the street," said Hutchison, also a member of the subcommittee.

The subcommittee's recommendations will eventually have to be approved by the Springfield City Council.

Becoming bike friendly

In 2003, the League of American Bicyclists began giving awards to communities with superior infrastructures for bicycling.

So far, only 38 cities have received the Bicycle Friendly Community designation.

"It helps define a community," said Andy Clarke, executive director of the Washington D.C.-based group. "You see those communities selling themselves on a quality of life basis. ... Bicycling is good for any number of reasons: health, air quality, transportation, safety. You have to admit there's a benefit to having more people on bikes, more often."

None of the Bicycle Friendly Communities are in Missouri or Arkansas.

Last year, Springbike Bike Club and representatives from the city of Springfield submitted a 30-page application for the award, which was denied.

The rejection letter, received in October, praised the city's bicycle facilities but included some recommendations:

• Expand the bikeway network to include more striped bike lanes along arterial streets.

The Pedestrian and Bicycling Subcommittee will work on this during the next year.

• Improve bicycle parking, especially in business and commercial areas.

Christian Lentz, a senior planner with the city of Springfield, made a presentation to the City Council in April regarding bicycle parking.

The council was receptive to a proposed requirement of bike racks in front of new businesses, and recommended that the Bicycle Policy Committee look into wording such an ordinance.

"We're encouraging more than recreational biking," City Manager Tom Finnie said after the presentation. "People have to have a place to lock up to."

• Conduct bicycle education events for motorists and cyclists.

Two Springbike members recently became certified to teach bicycle road safety classes.

Bicyclists can enroll in the eight-hour class to learn safety tips for riding in traffic and avoidance and hard-braking maneuvers.

The first class was held in April, turning out six newly educated cyclists onto Springfield streets, including Bruce Abid-Yazdi of Springfield.

"You basically should be in the street, be as visible as a car, and make predictable moves, as if you were a car, so motor vehicles treat you more as a vehicle than a nuisance," said Abid-Yazdi, also a member of Springbike.

"But that means you have to follow the traffic rules. It also means you have to be a little aggressive as a cyclist and take the lane, so cars don't skirt by you. They'll have to pass you as if you were a car."

Springbike is also promoting a "Share the Road" campaign with public service announcements on radio stations reminding motorists to be aware of bikes.

"Really, the two things we want motorists to understand is that bicycles on the street are to be treated as vehicles, ... and that bikes might be on the streets they are traveling on," said Abid-Yazdi.

Chris Johns, a bike patrol officer with the Springfield Police Department, said treating cyclists as vehicles is the law.

"Cyclists fare best when they act and are treated as motor vehicles," said Johns. "Using the roadway, rather than a sidewalk, obeying all signs and signals, signaling when they turn... it can actually be much safer, because there's very clear rules."

• Initiate a Safe Routes to School program.

Hutchison said this program is essentially the same as an existing program.

"Springfield has had an evaluation of walking routes to schools for the last 20 years," he said. "I think it's a 90 percent match to what the program recommends."

• Complete planned expansion of trail network and connections between trails.

This is part of the Pedestrian and Bicycling Subcommittee's charge.

Hutchison said some plans for connecting greenway trails to city bike routes are being carried out.

"Jefferson, Holland and John Q. Hammons (streets) form a bikeway across the city, from Commercial Street to Primrose Street," he said. This route will connect to an expansion of the South Creek greenway trail under construction between National Avenue and Campbell, he said.

And South Creek Trail riders can look forward to an easier crossing at Campbell, Hutchison said.

"An underpass will be built this summer under Campbell."

Additional greenways will eventually connect Ritter Springs Park to Truman School, Phelps Grove Park to Fassnight Park and, on Springfield's west side, the Wilson Rutledge Farm to Hattiesburg Hills subdivision.

The rejection letter noted that Springfield has "tremendous potential" for earning the Bicycle Friendly Community designation.

"There is an active bicycling community, a visible commitment to bicycling, ... a sizable student population and the city is a great size for bicycling!" the unsigned letter reads.

Hutchison was among a small group of bicycle advocates who helped fill out Springfield's application for Bicycle Friendly Community. He said the group would apply again this summer, and would continue until Springfield earns the designation. It's an accomplishment Hutchison is casually optimistic about achieving.

"I think in three to five years, we should be able to meet the goals."

Gulje will keep biking in the meantime, trying to meet his own goal of biking to work every shift this year.

"It's a great alternative way to get to work. It's cut down on my fuel costs a lot, and because we try to stay in shape, it really is a win deal for us."