New Hampshire Ave Redesign

The Takoma Park City Council commissioned a concept plan on narrowing New Hampshire Avenue from Eastern Avenue to Sligo Creek. It would go from six lanes to four. They would use the extra space to widen sidewalks and add tree filled, side medians. It would look uncannily like K street, which I find odd since DC is unhappy with and wants to redesign K Street. Here's the proposed cross-section for NH Avenue.

Can you see what's missing? That's right 150 feet and no bike lane - a lot of roads are just fine without bike lanes, but Takoma Park Councilman Reuben Snipper (Ward 5) was a bit miffed about it.

Councilman Reuben Snipper (Ward 5) said he was concerned that the designs focused too much on pedestrian and car access, and not enough on dedicated bicycle lanes or high-speed bus lines. Sirota said both were considered during the process. Planners decided that bicyclists could choose between going through pedestrian sidewalks or traffic lanes.

"As someone who rides bikes and buses to work … I disagree thoroughly with your analysis on this," Snipper said.

I know I just talked about the wonders of sidewalk cycling, but usually I'm on the sidewalk because of some horrible design flaw, it should not be what the designers have in mind.

Since the new avenue will have outside lanes, it appears from the photos in the presentation (the problem with putting a power point presentation on line and calling that the plan is that without the person talking to the slides, it's hard to tell what is going on) that these are the lanes they intend for cyclists to use. (see them over there on the right?)

I'm going to agree with Councilman Snipper. I'd like to see some bike lanes - and transit lanes - in here. In fact I'd like to see this look more like the proposed K Street (below) and have both add bike lanes

In the above picture, the medians are listed as concrete but they would actually have trees in them.

Taking from both designs I'd go with, from outside to in, 15 feet sidewalk, 10 foot parking/driving lane, 2* 11 foot traffic lanes, 10 foot median, 17 foot bus/bike lane (allowing a bus to pass easily in the same lane). New Hampshire Avenue is 2 foot wider so I'd go with a 16 foot sidewalk.

The other thing the plan mentions is in the Sligo Creek area running a trail along NH Ave which sounds OK to me.

Another great opportunity almost in the same area, is the chance to run a 4 mile long power-line trail from the Sligo Mill Park - just west of NH Avenue at poplar Avenue - along the Takoma Branch and then under the power lines going north. From there it could connect to Sligo Creek Trail, the Northwest Branch Trail, U-Md and then all the way to Bucks Lodge Community Park - where a trail connects the park to College Park Woods. Now I know riding under a power line is not ideal - it's hot in the summer - but it would still make a great tool for those going SW-NE (all the stream trails run NW-SE). And the W&OD is basically a power line trail.

For Takoma Park residents wanting to write their council members, a resolution adopting the concept plan is to be considered by the Council in September.

More about the road redesign on GGW and JustUpThePike.

Comments

[kenf]

Check out Allan Jacobs "The boulevard book." There is a pretty good explination about why K street doesn't work, and this design probably will. And, my understanding is bicycles will be fine in the outside roadways.

[Contrarian]

I find K Street easier to bike than to drive in its current configuration, I'm not sure what bike lanes would add.

In fact, I would say the lack of bike lanes is a good thing. The lanes are so narrow on K that there is no hope of lane sharing. With so much of the traffic turning and crossing, it would be terribly unsafe to have cyclists riding alongside drivers.

[washcycle]

Right, I'm not suggesting a painted "bike lane" like DC has in most places, but a wide center lane reserved for bikes and buses only.

[washcycle]

Whoops, re-reading what I just wrote, I did say I want bike lanes. But what I meant was the bike/transit lanes.

[Peter]

I'd say, get physically-separated bike lanes, or don't even bother with the entire project.

[Contrarian]

But what happens to the "physically separated" bike lanes at intersections? That's where all the action is anyway.

[Jack]

How hilly would the power line trail be? Montgomery County has looked into such things before, not opposed but not following through either.

[Washcycle]

It would basically have three hills about a 100 feet high. I'm not sure about the exact topography.

[w]

I'm shocked at how much both the readers and your blog have come around to the idea of European style physically separated bike ways. It is about time.In order to get bicyclists other than techno- macho- super racer jocks out of their cars- we MUST chnage and get over the hostility to dedicated bike lanes.As for intersections- go to Germany and see how they do it. I always hear about the intersections as being a potential problem with bikeways being here. It is not a problem overseas.

[Contrarian]

This sounds a lot like the Vassar Street sidepath in Cambridge, MA. For a detailed accounting of the problems encountered there, see this link: http://www.truewheelers.org/cases/vassarst/index.htm