River Path Evaluation (Lake St. to Wells Ave.)

Here's another portion of the river path, from the Automobile Museum to Wells Ave. reviewed with comments from one of our newer local bicycle advocates (David).  All the photos and observations are his (with a few edits from me for clarity).  A big thanks to David for doing this section of the path.

Location Map for comments and photos.  Working from East to West.

 

#1 Below is what once was a stop sign @ lower wells and the river path westbound. 

The path width at this location is 14'. Remove or replace device? 

 #2  Slightly further west at Brodhead Memorial Park there is a medium (<3") root protrusion on the south side of the path just before the Kuenzli Street access point. Path width is still 14'.

#3  Adjacent to the Kuenzli street access point there appears to be a tree stump and 2"x2" sign post base painted in high visibility paint on the north side of the path that likely should be remedied for safety. 

The path narrows here due to downhill (slope) creep. 

Usable width is now 8' and distance to the protrusions is 10'. Below are three examples.

#4  Next up for review is the Kuenzli Street overpass. 

Usable path width is now 10'. 

Guard rail present. 

Please note in the following photos the condition of the installed lighting fixtures as currently vandalized and non-functional. I can attest to these two fixtures having been in this state for over five years now (Three photos).

#5  Second Street overpass. 

Usable path with 10'. 

Unlike its pretentious Kuenzli Street counterpart there is no guard rail present. 

Again note the condition of the lighting fixtures, vandalized and non-functional (three photos).

#6  Past the Second Street overpass a "S" curve exists just prior to the auto museum. 

Usable path width varies and is at a minimum of 8'. 

Please note that the lamp in the picture is likely in a failed condition. I noted on my return after dark (but did not photograph), conservatively 80% of the lamps in the reviewed section are non-functional.

  

#7  Just east of the auto museum exists an outcropping of one gated structure and what appears to be a control or power mechanism is contained within the gated structure. Protrusions of metal lids at ground level (multiple).

Steep decline towards the river, without barrier.

Control/power device obstruction without barrier. Not clearly visible in dark conditions.

Very narrow usable path width @ 6' to 7'.

#8  Approaching Lake Street, adjacent to the auto museum.

Path width is 8'

One or more root protrusions of the smaller variety (<1") on the north side of the path. 

The irrigation system (Automobile Museum maintained) frequently leaks, flooding sections of the path, leading to rapid degradation of the newly repaved path.  How about some desert landscaping!

  

River path evaluation begins (Fisherman's park section).

Well, I grabbed a tape measure and my phone this morning and picked a section of the river path to evaluate.  Here's what I found.

Green = Good width and pavement condition, Yellow = Moderate width and fair pavement condition, Red = Narrow width and poor pavement condition.

And a few pics to go with the sections that need improvement....

Looking back (West) at the section that begins to narrow....the pavilion pavers are significant bump and hold water and debris.

Looking East at the 10 foot section...not bad but there's no reason for it to narrow.

The pavement in this section could use some crack sealing and a sealant coat.

The beginning of my red section.  A steep hill (where people will likely need to pass others) narrows to 6 ft and has deplorable pavement conditions that border on dangerous.  Riders can easily hit 20 mph on the downhill and then hit these bumps.

More deterioration at the top of the hill.

Overview, looking West back down the hill.

So that's what it takes to evaluate roughly a 1/4 mile section of the path.  If it's in good condition the pics aren't really required to document it.  In places where the path has issues the pictures help for whoever has to think about rehabing the path.  All in all the measuring, pictures, etc. only took me about 5 minutes for the whole section.  So if you want to document a section feel free to do something similar and pass it along!

River path Revival?

If anyone has actually read this blog over the years, you'd find a ton of early entries focus on the river path that runs between Reno and Sparks.  It's a go to commute option for me and I've probably talked about every aspect (path condition, lighting, homeless folks, closures, etc.).  And truth be told for the last several months I haven't even been riding it...I've been using the slightly more direct route down Mill Street.

So lately some of the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC) folks have been wanting to reevaluate the path and try to make it a shining example of existing bike/ped infrastructure.  And it should be noted that while and example of infrastructure....it is currently certainly not shining!

The evaluation is going to be thorough this time around and will look a little something like this (in the vision in my head)....

A participant will be assigned a section of the path and provided a large format plot of the area like this (via google maps):

The participant will then ride (or walk) the section evaluating things like path width, pavement condition, associated traffic hazards, general hazards for cycling or walking, etc.  The will  then mark up their map and add pictures or comments about certain items of concern like this:

So in this case red stars indicate crossing hazards (...that parked cars hinder the view of approaching motorists making crossing the street and increased hazard), line colors are coded to path width (green = greater than 10 ft, blue = 6ft, red = less than 6 ft), and finally the red lightning bolt indicates a walking / cycling hazard.

They can then add pictures to make the issues clearer for the evaluating entity like this:





These two pictures are tied to the red stars, where parked vehicles (in this case RFD!) block motorists from seeing people who are crossing the street at both the pedestrian crossing and the river path.

Another example, this time representing the red lightning bolt:

Here the path...just terminates at a stairway with little or no warning!

Although if you have mad skills there is a ramp you can ride, or at least roll your bike down!

Like I said...you better have the skills.  And then be able to stop/turn on a dime if you don't want to be in traffic!

Anyway, that's the type of evaluation we're hoping to accomplish for the entire length of the river path.  It is a big job and will take some time, but if your interested let me know and I'll get you the print outs for the portion of the path you're willing to critique!