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Action Alert - McClendon Ave!

ABC's Newsletter

 

McClendon Avenue - City of Atlanta Forgets Bicyclists
Officials now re-consider bike hazards

As of Monday, May 24th, the bicycle-threatnening curb bulb-outs on Mclendon Avenue are on hold as the City considers in-put from citizens. This is great to see the City listening to our concerns to this extent, but the official word is still that they intend to go forward to completion with all 32 of the proposed bulb-outs.

Now is the time to express your support for bicycle-friendly communities, and a rational network of bikeways in the City of Atlanta.

To write the City, please address your comments to Sandra Jennings, Deputy Commissioner for Pubic Works at sjennings@atlantaga.gov
Please send copies to:
Nick Popa, Project Manager <npopa@atlantaga.gov>
David Scott, Commissioner of Public Works <descott@atlantaga.gov>
City Council rep Natalyn Archibong <narchibong@atlantaga.gov>,
City Council rep Anne Fauver <afauver@atlantaga.gov>
The ABC Office <atlantabike@mindspring.com>

If you are just getting up to speed on this traffic calming project, the gist of the problem is curb extentions that stick out so far as to actually block the path of cyclists, causing them to:
1) Veer into traffic
2) Crash into the 6 inch high curb, or
3) Come to a complete stop (if possible before striking the curb), and wait for car traffic to pass them

The concept of "bulb-outs" is actually a positive benefit to pedestrians, and do not cause a problem for bicyclists if done correctly. The problem is that these are bulb-outs on steroids, extending 4 feet beyond parked cars into the original lane - blocking the part of the lane that cyclists would expect to ride!

For further background info, see the e-mail messages below.
______________________________________________________________

From: Atlanta Bike
To: sjennings@atlantaga.gov
Cc: Nicholas J. Popa ; Sally Flocks ; Shirley Franklin ; Natalyn Archibong ; Anne Fauver ; George Dusenbury ; Pam Bobe ; Brian McHugh ; Ryan Gesser ; president@lakeclaire.org ; zoning@lakeclaire.org ; Walter Brown ; skelsey@mindspring.com ; Marc Merlin ; Mark Bell ; Kevin Whited ; Lorn Whittaker ; Michael Dobbins ; Jim Chapman (Hm) ; Joey Ledford ; Ed McBrayer ; OUTBACKBIKES@aol.com ; donbenderncr@aol.com ; fred boykin ; Dave Williams ; Ron Horne, SBL ; Dave Southerland at hm
Sent: Friday, May 14, 2004 9:37 PM
Subject: Mclendon Ave - Meeting Followup

Ms. Jennings,
Let me thank you and your staff for meeting with representatives of the Atlanta Bicycle Campaign and City Council representatives on Thursday, May 13. I think the communication we accomplished was productive, and your assurances of future planning for bicycle accommodation was good to hear. However, I found the overall gist of the meeting to be discouraging and quite disturbing.
Let me specify some of the more disturbing facts and statements I came away with:

- McLendon Avenue has been on the City's Bicycle Plan since 1995, but that was somehow overlooked in the planning and construction work the City has been doing for this road since 2001. Furthermore, the City saw no need to seek input from the Atlanta Bicycle Campaign or other bicycle interests serving on the Atlanta Bicycle Advisory Committee since 1994 while proceeding with this major re-construction which radically decreased the safety and accommodation of bicycles on the road

- Rather than remedy the safety hazards created on Mclendon in the last 2 months, you propose to take measures to discourage cyclists from using McLendon. You see DeKalb Avenue as a reasonable alternative to McLendon Avenue for bicyclists. as we pointed out at the time, many cyclists have had close calls on Dekalb due to the narrow lanes and center reversable lane. It would take years and an enornmous amount of funding to make Dekalb Avenue as good for bicycling as McLendon was 2 months ago.

- Despite the concerns raised, you intend to continue to completion all of the 30-some 10 foot bulb-outs along the length of Mclendon, and 2 additional pinch points involving a 5 foot median at the intersection with Candler park Drive, and a 3 foot reduction in lane width in the retail district near Clifton Road

- You provided no refutation of my assertion that striping shoulders on McLendon to create narrower lanes would provide equivalent traffic calming benefits to the 10 foot bulb-outs, and in fact would be better than bulb-outs between intersections because the shoulders would be continuous, and the bulb-outs are scattered along the road. As I stated in our meeting, the City has not only overlooked bicyclists' safety in this project, but has clearly misled the neighborhoods into thinking that 10 foot bulb-outs were an acceptable traffic calming measure for McLendon. Because of the unmitigated deleterious effect on the safety of cyclists, and because of the unmistakable damaging statement this project makes about the City's lack of commitment to bicycle accommodation, I believe that we as citizens and tax-payers have no reasonable choice but to spend the funds necessary to go back and do this right.

Specifically, I hereby request that the City cut back all bulb-outs (both planned and constructed) to a width of six feet. I further request that the City provide more appropriate traffic calming by means of appropriately located shoulder stripes. I submit that significant savings in cost are still possible in building smaller bulb-outs in the areas not yet constructed, which will off-set the retrofit costs at least in part. Regarding the cost of painting stripes, I expect that it would be minimal. I also request that the City seek the support of the neighborhood organizations in Lake Claire and Candler Park for this regrettable but necessary adjustment to the McLendon project. I ask this in light of my understanding of these neighborhoods' desire to support a bicycle-friendly community, and based on the strong concerns I have heard on this specific project from residents in both neighborhoods. Please let me know by Tuesday, May 18 what steps will be taken to accommodate this request.
Thank you.

Dennis Hoffarth
Executive Director
Atlanta Bicycle Campaign
404-881-1112
atlantabike@mindspring.com
______________________________________________________________________

From: Atlanta Bike
To: ABC Members
Cc: Sally Flocks
Sent: Wednesday, April 28, 2004 1:57 PM
Subject: McLendon Avenue

Hello once again. I was hoping the City would see the light on this McLendon thing, but they are moving faster on the construction than on resolving the bike issue. My thanks to all of you who offered to write a letter if needed - well, it's needed! So... please write to the head of Public Works David Scott at descott@atlantaga.gov and send a copy to Valerie Bell-Smith, project director at vbell-smith@atlantaga.gov Also copy the mayor at mayorfranklin@atlantaga.gov , and one last copy to me at atlantabike@mindspring.com

Please see the e-letter I sent a few minutes ago to Mr.Scott for more background. In your message, please mention how and when you use McLendon now, and the effect it will have on your ride and personal safety. I would also raise the question of the City's commitment to bicycle improvements if this is an example of their work.

If you don't ride McLendon, your letter will still be valuable in calling into question the precedent this will set in discouraging bicycling and creating a safety hazard., Let me know if you need any clarification of the project. Also, let me know if you see any other such projects proposed in metro Atlanta. We need to nip this concept in the bud that "narrow roads are better for all in all circumstances."
Thanks.

Dennis Hoffarth,
Executive Director
Atlanta Bicycle Campaign
404-881-1112
atlantabike@mindspring.com
______________________________________________________________
From: Atlanta Bike
To: David Scott
Cc: Lorn Whittaker ; Brian McHugh ; Shirley Franklin ; narchibong@ci.atlanta.ga.us ; afauver@ci.atlanta.ga.us ; narchibong@atlantaga.gov ; Ryan Gesser ; Dusenbury, George ; lwhitaker@atlantaga.gov
Sent: Wednesday, April 28, 2004 1:18 PM
Subject: Fw: McLendon Avenue

Mr. Scott,
It was good to meet you at the recent transportation briefing with Mayor Franklin. I was encouraged by the stated commitment of the City to provide for alternative transportation, including bicycling. After getting such a positive message, you can imagine my shock when I observed the installation of curbs on McLendon Avenue which actually block the path of cyclists, requiring them to :
1) Veer into traffic
2) Crash into the 6 inch high curb, or
3) Come to a complete stop (if possible before striking the curb), and wait for car traffic to pass them.
I hope you don't see any of these options as acceptable in a city which is trying to encourage bicycle transportation. I am writing you now because I feel I have exhausted my recourse with your staff. I have communicated my concerns repeatedly to Mr. Lorn Whittaker, and to Mr. Nicholas Poppa (Please see email messages below for further background).

I understood in April that the design had been changed to address these concerns, only to come across on-going installation which ignored all the considerations I had raised regarding bicycle accommodation. Not only does this "traffic calming" project violate basic common sense, but it is apparently in violation of federal law, which prohibits removing bicycle accommodation without providing an alternative route. I will be happy to dig up the exact reference in the law, but I would hate for this to come to that. I am confident that if you review this project you will see the value in retaining the bike-ability of McLendon avenue.

I will be happy to provide any additional information you may need to clarify these concerns, and I am available to meet with you or your staff on short notice. Please let me know as soon as possible what action will be taken to avoid this fiasco in the name of traffic calming.
Thank you.

Dennis Hoffarth ,
Executive Director
Atlanta Bicycle Campaign
404-881-1112
atlantabike@mindspring.com
____________________________________________________________________
From: Atlanta Bike
To: Nicholas J. Popa
Cc: 'Ryan Gesser' ; Madelyn Grant ; Femi Fayemi ; Linda DeLoach ; Lorn Whittaker ; Brian McHugh ; cwoolard@atlantaga.gov ; narchibong@ci.atlanta.ga.us ; sfranklin@ci.atlanta.ga.us ; george.dusenbury@mail.house.gov ; Ed McBrayer ; poedesigns@mindspring.com ; Mark Bell ; Sally Flocks
Sent: Thursday, April 22, 2004 3:40 PM
Subject: McLendon Avenue

Mr. Popa,
In traveling on McLendon Avenue today, I saw that at least one bulb-out has been installed (at Ferguson and Mclendon). I measured the extension into the roadway at 10 feet. As you can see from the attached photo, the curb now extends out so as to remove about 1/3 of the road width. As expressed in previous correspondence, this "improvement" narrows the road to such an extent as to be a serious hazard to bicyclists.

The Atlanta Bicycle Campaign strongly objects to the expenditure of public funds to seriously impair the bike-ability of this important and highly used bicycling route. We see no alternative but to ask you to remove the excess portion of the curb extension, and to cease any action to install additional 10 foot wide curb extensions on this road. If this is not resolved to our satisfaction, we will seek additional measures to return McLendon Avenue to it's former status as a bike route.

Dennis Hoffarth
Executive Director
Atlanta Bicycle Campaign
404-881-1112
atlantabike@mindspring
_____________________________________________________________________
From: Atlanta Bike
To: Nicholas J. Popa
Cc: 'Ryan Gesser' ; Madelyn Grant ; Femi Fayemi ; Linda DeLoach ; Lorn Whittaker ; Mark Bell ; Sally Flocks ; Brian McHugh ; cwoolard@atlantaga.gov ; narchibong@ci.atlanta.ga.us ; sfranklin@ci.atlanta.ga.us ; george.dusenbury@mail.house.gov
Sent: Thursday, March 04, 2004 5:16 PM
Subject: RE: McLendon Avenue

Mr. Popa,
I received a copy of your response to Mr. Gesser of the Lake Claire neighborhood, and I feel compelled to go on record objecting to the McClendon Avenue bulb-out design as it affects bicyclists on this road. McLendon is one of the most highly utilized roads in Atlanta for bicycling commuting, and for recreational riding. As Mr. Gesser pointed out earlier, it also encompasses an important segment of the PATH trail in that area.

For cyclists travelling bteeween Decatur and downtown Atlanta, it is an essential route due to the inhospitality of the alternatives of DeKalb Avenue and Ponce de Leon. This re-design, which cuts the travel lane down to 11 feet, sets the worst precedent I have seen in the City of Atlanta to deteriorate the bike-ability of a roadway. This, in a period when we are working hard with City officials to IMPROVE the bike-ability of our city. We just completed a lenthy process working with the planning Department and the Department of Public Works to re-assess the City's on-street bicycle plan, and to make preparations for striping bike lanes and shoulders with the Quality of Life bond monies earmarked for this purpose.

Mclendon Avenue has been on the City's bike plan for about 9 years - it's about time it received upgrading for bicycle use, NOT down-grading. If this is the way the City of Atlanta intends to treat bike routes, it leaves little hope of successfully implementing a credible bicycle plan in Atlanta. I understand that the intent of this project is to provide traffic calming for McLendon, which we, at the Atlanta Bicycle Campaign, support. However, I can't believe that you intend to accomplish this by using bicyclists as speed humps. And I don't believe you have grasped the fact that cyclists who continue to use McLendon will be negotiating the uphill segments of the road at approximately 5 miles per hour.

Since there is not adequate space in an 11 foot lane for a bicycle and car to share the lane, cars will back up behind the cyclists at a 5 mile an hour pace - a situation that could incur significant back -up during periods of heavy traffic flow. This is not in the interest of motorists OR cyclists. Please re-consider this ill-conceived plan before it is set in concrete.
Thank you.

Dennis Hoffarth
Executive Director
Atlanta Bicycle Campaign
404-881-1112
atlantabike@mindspring.com

 

Shifting Times - The newsletter of the Atlanta Bicycle Campaign

Our newsletter is available at bicycle shops all over metro Atlanta, and selected stories from the current newsletter and archived newsletters will be available on this web site. However, the best way to ensure that you get all of the great news in Shifting Times is to become an ABC member. Each bi-monthly issue is packed with information you can use. Find out what on-road improvements (or obstacles) await you on metro Atlanta's streets. Discover what actions ABC is taking to protect you and your bike, and what you can be doing yourself to make a difference.

Here are the features you will find in most every issue of Shifting Times.

 

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