Bicycles in America Talk tonight at UNR (4pm and 6pm).

I almost missed this one (yes, it's today)!  Isn't it just terrible when the bicycle based events overwhelm! 

Reno Mayor believes we need Better Bike Infrastructure!

Well, we have some new numbers in from LimeBike (you can link to the article by clicking HERE).  Not surprisingly, Reno locals and tourists alike actually have embraced bicycles and took 36,000 trips and racked up 35,000 miles in one month!  So maybe this will be what it takes for everyone (Ahem...City of Reno and RTC) to get behind building a FULLY integrated, safe bicycle network in Reno.  It was disappointing to see midtown shirk off real bike lanes in the planning process over the last few years.  Hopefully, public statements like this from our Mayor will help swing the tide and not just be another talking point as our election cycle rolls around!

New Bike Lanes on Evans!

Click to see the video.

Looks like they are finally putting in some separated bicycle bicycle infrastructure in Reno!  Evans Ave. (which runs from downtown by Louie's Basque Corner up to McCarren along the East edge of UNR) will now have bike lanes from 2nd St. to Highland Ave. and separated multi-use path from Highland Ave. up to McCarren.  A really nice addition to tie UNR to downtown for anyone on bike.

While I'm glad to see this project happening....I'm a little embarrassed for the RTC / UNR as this is a project that was proposed back when I was the Chair of the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC) almost 4 years ago.   Projects like this still represent the low hanging fruit...meaning there was no opposition to the project itself....we're just really slow to get the ball moving!

I hope that we can rebuild the crew that pushed for these projects several years ago and really turn Reno into a bicycle metropolis that it has the potential to be.  If your interested in helping drop me a line!

More Traveling and More Bicycle Infrastructure.

Ok, I've been out of town a lot.  One of the recent trips was to Eugene, Oregon.  And if anything it has just shown me we have a long way to go on building good bicycle infrastructure in Reno!  I happened along all these features on just one 8 mile ride to hit a brewery!

Bike only pass through on a neighborhood street.  Keeps traffic down while providing safe easy riding with good connectivity.

Green paint in bike lanes....and though you can't see it, bike boxes painted in the lanes at intersections.

Contra-flow bike lanes combined with one way streets!  Can you say Center street!  A perfect solution for Midtown since we didn't get bike lanes on Virginia!

More bike infrastructure updates.

A week or two ago I posted on the new street access from the river path up to East McCarren Blvd. that was being worked on (here).

Well, now in addition to access from trail to road....there are ped/bike specific bridges on either side of McCarren! 

These will connect to improved bike lane and perhaps some separated bike paths that are part of the McCarren update project that should be wrapping up as summer rolls in.  So if your in the area in the next few months check it out.

River Path Improvements....and Increased Connectivity!

After the previous post critiquing our Bicycle Boulevard, I thought I'd share some good news regarding our local infrastructure.  It comes in the form of additional access points from roadways to the Truckee River Bike Path.  The latest addition is just finishing up thanks to the improvements to McCarren on the east side of town.

A google maps view of the area...showing the complete lack of connectivity until just recently!

There didn't used to be many ways to get on or off the river path in East Reno.  So if a cyclist did want to hit the local coffee shop or deli on his/her ride, they had to either exit at one of the parks or hoist a bike onto their shoulder and hike through a private property to get to these locations.  Not the end of the world, but inconvenient to be sure.

McCarren now represents a much more modern access point to the River Path! And as a side note...there will be improved bike lanes and separated bike paths around much of this portion of McCarren in the near future!!  I'll keep you posted as they appear.

Looking West from the bike path.  (Photo: Bill Hoffman)

Looking East from the bike path. (Photo: Bill Hoffman)

Looking North (up the new ramp).  (Photo: Bill Hoffman)

Glow in the Dark Bike Path.

This ends up being kind of a repost....since Reno Rambler had his version up on Sunday.  Damn, that guy is good.  Anyway, it's worth a repost.



The recently finished Van Gogh Bike Path is, not surprisingly, in the Netherlands (where they know a thing or two about using bicycles).  It's modeled after Van Gogh's Stary Night and powered by solar panels.

I'm struck that in an age where the Dutch are doing custom cycle infrastructure (and other glow in the dark bike paths) like this, that we still struggle to justify what I'll call "POP" (paint on pavement) bicycle infrastructure! How is it that one group of people can see things so clearly....and so many others cringe at the thought of loosing a few vehicle parking spots for a bike lane (Ehhem....Midtown!).  Hopefully, projects like this will inspire others to make a transition from the vehicularly mundane to bicycle bliss!

Oh...if you want to see the original article click here.

Your own private highway bridge!

Don't ask me why I never knew this was here....I'm sure I've seen it a million times will driving on i-80 (and yes, I do drive).  I guess it's because there are several bridge options to get me across i-80 when going from work to home and they are all fairly low traffic (and perhaps more direct) routes.  Either way, if you like no traffic and want private access this might be the bridge option for you.

And where is this mystery pedestrian and bicycle bridge?  Funny you should ask....it's right here, at the Northern terminus of Arlington Ave.

It connects up to University Terrace on the North side of the highway.  Once you cross going North there is a set of stairs.  You can either carry your bike on this part or hang to the right and there is street access via West St. up to University Terrace. 

River path progress!

So while I was off gallivanting around Moab, some real improvements were made along the river path.  Now, it's not really the "path" per say, but improvements are improvements.  A local iron works company (can't remember their name) donated this....materials, labor, everything!

If you want to check it out it's just off East 2nd street.  It got the upgrade and attention because so many people are parking over here (by the automobile museum) and use the river path (and the bridge above it) to get to the baseball games.  So at least the stadium is giving back to Reno indirectly!

It used to be a wooden thing built from railroad ties and 2x6's for the railing.  In recent years the railing had collapsed and it was more dangerous than functional.  I have a picture somewhere I wanted to post for a before and after but after digging for it for 10 minutes I gave up!

So if you don't think things are looking up for Reno, you just have to look around a little bit.  The walking and biking facilities are growing every day, and Reno gets a bit friendlier for all of us living here!

Bike lane vs. Road

The good news is more and more cities are catching on and starting to improve bicycle infrastructure.



 The bad news is that occasionally it just isn't complete and leaves you in a busy intersection or middle of a lane with no obvious (or safe) place to ride.  Even worse is when it is used by construction crews as a place to put signs to help guide traffic "safely" though an area.

Sometimes however, the design of bicycle lanes is compromised by some really odd things.  Just for fun someone has taken each example of poor design and done the same thing with roadways for cars.....  Suddenly it doesn't seem like something so trivial eh?