DDOT started a transportation study of the Mount Pleasant neighborhood back in May, 2007 and produced a report last year. The study determined that the neighborhood as a whole, despite it's urban nature and high walk and bike counts (as high as 106 bikes/hour), had a low Bicycle Level of Service, with almost every street below the C average. 16th Street, where almost all the crashes in 2004 and 2006 occurred, was mostly a D northbound and E southbound.
As a result they came up with a few recommendations to improve the cycling experience in the neighborhood. They recommended a SmartBike station in Lamont Park and that sharrows and bike route signs be added in both directions on Park Road. There are more, very good, pedestrian improvements suggested, but that's it for cyclists.
It's odd that even though the crash study showed that 12 out of the 14 crashes occurred on 16th or Mt. Pleasant St, they didn't really have any recommendations for how to improve those streets. A driver feedback sign, especially in the school zone near Lamont - where the speed limit is 15mph "When Children are Present" - might help. Or maybe a speed camera. It's unfortunately light on real help for cyclists though.
Do we know what sort of incidents they were (doorings, in intersections, etc)? It seems the solutions would be tied to this sort of data.
Posted by: Redlybarian | March 11, 2010 at 01:11 AM
Unfortunately, MPD doesn't keep that kind of data. I attended a talk on how Denver does it - they have what looks like an ipad and once they enter that one vehicle is a bike, it brings up a bunch of other questions (helmet? etc...). MPD was still using paper, which means questions are at a premium.
Posted by: washcycle | March 11, 2010 at 09:51 AM