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I do not ride my bicycle unless my energy levels are fairly strong. Sometimes it affects my productivity. One big reason is the jarring effect of the bike lane conditions on my body. With the potholes (thanks for marking most of them at least) but worse the construction patches that are not completed well enough for bicycle safety, it’s a seriously rough ride.
It occurred to me the other day that the low grade speed bumps that some of these patch jobs amount to are actually probably helpful in the car lanes — they slow down traffic by interrupting the driver’s ability to take the road for granted and speed up. In the bike lanes however, the same minor speed bump has more than one texture - there is the roughness of the transition from asphalt to black patch material, the grade and dip of the patch, and then the transition back to asphalt. When poorly constructed, it can feel like a mountain bike ride, and with city tires it’s more of an adventure than the traffic, and at least 500% more stressful that a nice long smooth surface for getting from A to B. Personally, I’m not looking for adventure every time I want to get from A to B — it’s my transportation for errands more than my dramatic outlet.
Short term suggestion: Put out the word to every construction crew to be extra attentive to flattening and smoothing the rectified streets especially in the bike lanes, to make any easy fixes in proximity where needed and to report the condition of bike lanes in previously completed areas. Perhaps the last part could be done with community volunteers assisting the construction team to minimize time management issues in the projects at hand.
Long term suggestion: repave them. Watch how many more people start riding when they’re all one glorious color, texture and trajectory…
Green city indeed. Hooahh!
Cheers,
Lisa
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