An open letter to Bowling Green Transportation and Safety Committee, and City Council Committee of the Whole:
I write to you in response to the recent decision made on Complete Streets implementation of Conneaut Avenue. I am writing today as a city resident, a full-time transportation cyclist, and until recently as a student of Bowling Green State University.
It is my belief that this decision to opt for sharrows on Conneaut Ave. was a poor decision. It was the easy way out of ongoing conflict between various parties and concerns.
Some may argue that sharrows are worse than no signage at all. And while standing for that claim may be questionable, I will say that sharrows are not any better than a painted bike lane (such as the dashed-lane alternative for this road), which provides a designated space for cyclists to preside in, and perhaps only marginally better than our “Bike Route” and “Share the Road” signs currently in place. Sharrows are merely a suggestion, and that’s the problem.
According to a February 8 article in BG Independent Media, the Conneaut Avenue milling and resurfacing project was projected to cost the City of Bowling Green $529,393 in 2017. To widen the road — as well as add a dashed bicycle lane in each direction — would cost $65,000, or an additional 12.3%. That is a small price to pay for increased safety, and thus increased ridership. There are public and private grant monies available for this type of project, so long as the city would a actually apply for them. Several of these types of grants have been brought to the attention of both Transportation and Safety Committee as well as the Bicycle Safety Commission, however the open application window on these specific grants has since lapsed.
Much of the pushback from residents was over the possible removal of on-street parking spaces in favor of a dashed bike lane, an experimental design proposal allowed by the Ohio Department of Transportation. On the north side of Conneaut Avenue from Fairview Avenue to North Grove Street (just one block in length and the only section of Conneaut with on-street parking), there are nine houses. Every one of these homes has a driveway or parking pad. All but two have garages. Additional on-street parking has also always been available on North Grove Street as well as Liberty Street (just one block north of Conneaut). To even consider the luxury of additional on-street parking over the right to shared use of the roadway would be a joke, a laugh in the face of those who lack other means of transportation.
Education is important. But it will not increase ridership or bike use within our community alone. Education will help teach those who already ride bikes to ride more safely and predictably. It will not, however, encourage those who choose not ride due to perceived safety concerns to take up riding for transportation more places, more often. Education will not help children get to and from school and parks on routes that remain inaccessible to them. And it will not discourage unsafe passing by vehicle operators, which occurs on occasion, most often while riding solo rather than in groups.
Additionally, what action has been taken thus far to implement an educational campaign for safe transportation cycling in Bowling Green? There has been a lot of discussion, but at this time it remains to be seen.
I hope that you will take the concerns of cyclists into account in future Complete Streets implementation decisions. City Council often says it wants to attract young people and families to Bowling Green. Making cost-saving decisions in lieu of safe, accessible solutions is not how you do that.
Respectfully,
Sean Herman
