Councilmember Marti Emerald is not ignoring her commitment to safer streets

Councilmember Marti Emerald. Photo via Facebook
Please thank Councilmember Marti Emerald by signing this form. Photo via Facebook

A little over a week ago, Councilmember Marti Emerald’s Chief of Staff, Ricardo Flores, called me to give me an update on the College Avenue bike lane project. Flores stated that Councilmember Emerald would not be opposing bike lanes on College Avenue and her office would not support the widening of College Avenue either. While I had tweeted about it immediately, I didn’t have a chance to put the conversation down in writing.

In March, Dorian Hargrove reported that Councilmember Emerald had written to the Mayor opposing the implementation of bike lanes on College Avenue. Part of the opposition came from her desire to adhere to the College Area Community Plan which was in contradiction with the city’s Bicycle Master Plan. The College Area Community Plan, adopted in 1989, called for the widening of College Avenue to six lanes and the elimination of curbside parking. This widening was proposed because of the vehicle traffic projections made back in the 1980s. The 2013 adopted Bicycle Master Plan called for the construction of bike lanes on College Avenue with no mention of the widening of College Avenue, which was called for within the Community Plan. This was because current vehicle traffic counts show a significant decrease in vehicle traffic on College Avenue compared with the projections made in the 1980s.

Screenshot from 2015-08-04 14:02:20
The 1989 College Area Community Plan projected that College Ave would see nearly 60,000 vehicles on a daily basis and proposed widening the street to six lanes
Screenshot from 2015-08-04 14:05:20
Current vehicle traffic volumes show that the projections were way off

How do the Bicycle Master Plan and the Community Plan fit together? The Bicycle Master Plan is a detailed view and a subset of the Transportation element within the larger Community Plan. The Community Plan is a subset of the larger General Plan. Yes, we have a lot of plans and in an ideal world, each of the plans should be consistent with the larger plan—but as you can see with the College Area, that is not always the case.

As you may recall, the methodology that has been in use by traffic engineers to justify road expansions has been discredited. Further more, widening roadways to accommodate proposed or actual vehicle traffic increases does nothing to support transportation choices or safe bicycling and walking. Instead, these road widenings have the effect of discouraging bicycling and walking. How? Think about whether you enjoy walking or riding alongside fast moving, noisy traffic.

I am extremely thrilled that Councilmember Emerald listened to your call asking her to not oppose bike lanes. She has demonstrated leadership and commitment in her support for safer streets. In fact, last night, she reiterated that support when she encouraged the City Heights Area Planning Committee to support a road diet plus buffered bike lanes on another high speed neighborhood street: Fairmount Avenue.

Thank you Councilmember. Please take a minute to sign this form to thank Councilmember Emerald. I’ll deliver your thanks in person.