How Important are Bikes....They're Top Stories in the Wall Street Journal!

Ok, ok....so it's just another publication on the helmet debate.  Which by the way, I'm not getting into.  I wear one 98 percent of the time and that works for me.  Sometimes when I'm just cruising around town, I don't.  Do whatever works for you. 

The point is that bicycles are in the news (even places like the Wall Street Journal) on a regular basis these days.  Bike share programs like the one that the City of Reno are researching are a big part of the conversation (they're in the pic above), protected bike ways are in the papers regularly for big cities designing for the future (like the picture above), and helmet laws are being debated all over the place under the guise of safety (it is statistically safer to drive with a helmet on....no one wants a law like that either).  The point is that cities of merit are having these conversations and building with real attention to future modes of transportation.  My question is are you paying attention Reno City Council and RTC!?

Update:

Interestingly enough, the City Council is currently voting on a  plan for Reno's future (see the ktvn report below).  While it's good they are "thinking" about the future....the topics they list are so vague that the vote seems like only an act to appear to be doing the "thinking".  Ironically, I'm sure they'll have a unanimous vote with all council members and the Mayor for "preparing" for Reno's future....only a week or so after voting to rebuild Midtown with standards that have been the status quo for the last 50 years!

KTVN Channel 2 - Reno Tahoe News Weather, Video -

Great Streets Coalition - A Public Service Anouncement for Midtown!

If you don't think people really care how Midtown gets redesigned you're dead wrong!  The Great Streets Coalition volunteers even went so far as to put together a PSA on what Great Streets are.  Have a listen and see if you agree.  Then head over to facebook and get involved!

https://www.facebook.com/greatstreetscoalition

Midtown Meeting....

Wednesday evening the Great Streets Coalition hosted a meeting to get out more information on what's actually planned and happening with the redesign in the Midtown area.  In short the meeting was well attended by both regular folks and business owners.  The discussions were very positive with the continued primary questions being focused on parking and bike lanes. 

Free appetizers and good beer!  Bet you wish you came now!

Not surprisingly, the single bike rack at Brasserie was full to overflowing so locking up to the fence was a popular option!

 To give a quick rehash of where the project stands.  Everyone is on board with wider sidewalks (10 ft plus) and these are in the current RTC plan.  The plan also includes ditching the continuous center turn lane and will have turn pockets that pop back into existence at primary intersections.  Finally, the current plan includes NO bike lanes but does have sharrows (share the lane markings that allow cyclists to ride right down the middle of the lane) in the midtown district.  The current level of on street parking will not be decreased in the existing plan.

The parking vs. bike lanes continues to be the dividing issue with most business owners.  The surveys done by RTC show the majority of the public prefers to give up some parking for the bike lanes.  The business owners when polled are currently about 50-50 on parking vs. bike lanes.  

The short take from me on the bike lane vs. parking issue.  Midtown only has a perceived parking problem.  I'm in midtown about 3-4 times a week.  I bike and I drive.  There is always convenient parking if you're willing to walk a block or two....and to be honest this is ONLY at lunch time.  You can park right on Virginia St. within a half block of the business your interested in at any other time of day (yep, including during night life hours).  And in all fairness, it's just as hard to find a place to lock up a bike at lunch time....all the bike racks are FULL!

So, to make the street safe for everyone we'd have to give up about 36 parking spots (yep, only 36).  This lets everyone use Midtown...even Steven...no preferences to one group.  And with the current plan we'd be replacing those 36 spots with additional parking on side streets and actually GAINING additional parking spot numbers!!

Unfortunately, right now the RTC plan is no bike lanes and just keep adding parking for cars.  So that's the short and sweet story.  If you want to help change the current plan please get involved.  Send an email (contacts below) to your council person and the mayor.  Let me know you want streets that work for everyone....not just a special group.


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Friends of Great Streets,

Thanks to all of you that attended our meeting at the Brasserie last night. As we mentioned, it's getting down to the wire to convince a few more City Council members that we need a great street. 

If you can, please take a few minutes to email and/or call the following City Council members to tell them in your own words:

1) Thank you for supporting wide sidewalks, street trees and slower speed limits on Virginia Street; and 

2) We need your leadership to create a safe bicycle route from UNR all the way through Midtown.

Council members Brekus and Bobzien are already on board with this vision. But council members Duerr, Delgado and McKenzie are on the fence. You can contact them at:

Naomi Duerr: 775-334-2017, duerrn@reno.gov
Oscar Delgado: 775-334-2012, delgadoo@reno.gov
Paul McKenzie: 775-334-2015 , mckenziep@reno.gov

It is extremely important that these council members continue to hear from Reno citizens that this is an important issue! It will also be important to have lots of people attend the City Council meeting when this issue comes up for a vote; we will let you know as soon as that is scheduled.

Thank you for your help!

- Great Streets Coalition

Make Midtown Yours....Come Put in Your 2 Cents!

Background information can be found at the Great Streets Coalition Facebook Page if your interested.

Midtown....final push.

This post was written up by the Good Little City blog here in Reno.  I certainly couldn't have said it better so I'm just going to repost it!

30 Parking Spots are Blocking a Bike Lane that Would Connect 20,000 Students to Reno Businesses

Reno is on a path to rebuild it's most important street without a bike lane through its most important section.  When the street is complete, this section may have as few as 30 on-street parking spaces.  Here are 4 images that explain why sacrificing a bike lane that could connect an entire city for a few parking spots is silly, silly business.








*The Midtown district currently has approximately 100 parking spaces in this section.  The street redesign will cut the number to about 50.  Some private developers have stepped forward to say they plan to request further elimination of their street parking in favor of wider sidewalks or bike lanes.
We believe the final number of parking spaces after Fire Lanes and Bus Stops are in place may bring the number to about 30 spaces.  There is not enough width in the street to fit both bike lanes and on-street parking in this small 6 block section between California Ave and Vassar.  A choice must be made.

To learn more about the Great Streets Coalition, read our endorsement letter:
Endorsement Letter
Or visit our Facebook Page:
https://www.facebook.com/greatstreetscoalition
Or find us on Twitter @greatstreetsco

Redesigning Midtown...new design options from Great Streets Coalition!

Sunday afternoon members of the Great Streets Coalition gather for a little design workshop, with the idea being to present some less car centric options to both local merchants and RTC.  I realized the presentation above requires a little introduction and comment, but you'll probably get the idea if you watch it a few times.  Basically, we highlight the section of Midtown we're talking about (red line on the google map) and then give a few design options both for mid-block and intersections for each area (North end, Middle, and South End).  It ends with some NDOT traffic counts for the entire area.
One really interesting point here, is that traffic has been decreasing even as the district has been growing like wildfire....so I guess it shows people really do already walk or bike to the area!?  Such a novel concept!

Working to make Virginia St. (Mid-town) a Great Street.

Last night was yet another meeting...I think we're up to 4 or 5 days in a row (although I've not attended them all) about the future of Virginia St. and making it work for everyone....not just cars.  The Great Streets Coalition is hitting it's stride early and last night we were talking with the Mid-town merchants group.  The long and short of it from our point is that if we build the street correctly (perhaps even giving up a couple parking spots) it will draw people on foot and by bicycle....and we want to remind the merchants that these people shop more often and spend more $$$$ than people who arrive by car.  Check out the cause at:

https://www.facebook.com/greatstreetscoalition

I took some quality time to review my literature before the meeting at Craft Bottle Shop (yeah, shocking...I know.)

Climber Girl giving a very good presentation on how bicycles and walking are the future for Mid-town and that losing a few parking spots might actually increase their business!

And it was a full house.

Jenny Brekhus has attended almost every meeting.  She really does have her finger on the pulse of this.  My only question is where is Neoma Jardon (since she is the chair of the RTC board)!?

And even better....Jenny arrives by bike! 

Midtown Design Options....my point of view.

It's really not that hard folks.  Here's what I came up with in about 20 minutes using streetmix.net.  It fits protected bike lanes, bus stops, trees, and parking.  Yep, we give up some parking.  And we make the whole road work better!

One lane each direction....center island...that would have turn lanes at "significant" intersections.  Still room for protected bike lanes and 6-14 foot sidewalks.  And the six foot "narrow" sidewalk is only at bus stations.

Where there aren't bus stops....put in a tree, parklet, benches, or wider sidewalks!

Or heck....even add back in some parking.  Yes, I realize the car would have to cross the bike lane to park. 

Perhaps a bi-directional bike lane.  Then the bus stop/tree/parking spots on the left side are more accessible?

 So....come on RTC.  Let's put some options on the table like this!

Virginia Street Design Throwdown and Great Streets Coalition!

As I rolled up to the Virginia St. meeting last night I saw what is starting to be a very regular sight at public meetings when street planning is on the agenda....piles of bikes!

You know it's going to be fun when the bike racks are full and bikes are locked up to every pole in sight!  The meeting itself was no less entertaining. 

Over a year ago we saw "design options" for Midtown and we were to post stickers on the options we liked.  The strongest sentiment by far showed up on the designs with bike lanes and expanded sidewalks.  And it wasn't even close....like 75 percent of the stickers were biking and walking favored option.

Last night we were presented with three updated design options.....not a single one included a bike lane (although wider side walks were there)....but have no fear not a single parking spot was lost.  The response during comment time was rather pointed.  Well over an hour of continuous comments basically all requesting the bike lanes and a large number of comments asking for a Great Street not just a complete street.  Even better these comments came from both cyclists and business owners!

This leads us into the Great Streets movement.  A coalition was recently formed to hold the City of Reno and RTC to the right path on this project.  After all....we won't get a shot at it again for 20+ years.  The Great Streets Coalition is just getting off the ground....but if you want to join in and help make Reno a great town to live in please check out the statement and links below: