[AmazonSteeringCte] Fw: Speedbumps and Traffic Circle on Alder Street bike route betwen 25th and 20th Avenue

Wed Mar 27 16:28:05 CDT 2019

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From: Randy Prince <randyprince24 at hotmail.com>
Sent: Wednesday, March 27, 2019 2:23 PM
To: DUNBAR Reed C
Cc: Mj Kaufman; Whitey Lueck; Paul Moore; paul nicholson; Tree Bressen; Allen Hancock
Subject: Speedbumps and Traffic Circle on Alder Street bike route betwen 25th and 20th Avenue

Thank you for providing the statistic about the speed of car traffic on Alder Street.  It sounds like the speed is just slightly over the threshold where traffic calming measures are considered.

It wouldn't surprise me if those speeds might drop if there was more car traffic on Alder--after all, more traffic would obstruct vision and space for emergency stops for pedestrians and cyclists!  But if I understand correctly, the amount of cars travelling on Alder is low, way too low for the current transportation officials to consider the installation of diverters such as seen between 19th and 24th on the Alder Street bike route.  This is the option I believe both Alder Street residents and South Eugene cyclists using this route would much prefer--diversion of thru-traffic for cars between 25th and 30th.

Please reconsider the installation of speed bumps on this stretch of road.  It discourages cyclists, both within the neighborhood and travelling through it.  Alder Street is one of the city's most important components in the City's system of bike routes.  It already has a lot of bike traffic, it needs and can get more.  Bicycle traffic, accompanied by signage to warn motorists, is by itself very effective traffic calming!

Bicyclists do not benefit from speed bumps.  A bike with trailer carrying a child or anything else must slow to avoid upsetting or endangering the cargo.  Those of us who ride stable, old fashioned bikes such as preferred by the commuters of Copenhagen or Holland dislike them.  We ride these bikes because they are easy to control, needing only a single or no hand on the bars when there is smooth pavement without potholes or speedbumps.  And physically fit riders (the thing we want to encourage) of virtually all types of cycles can easily travel faster than it is comfortable to cross a speed bump at.

Please test your proposed speed bumps for a variety of bicycles and trailer combinations crossing at a speed of 15 miles per hour.

As for the roundabout proposed for 28th and Alder, this would be a mixed blessing.  Being able to stay in legal compliance and breeze past 28th without stopping, that is good for the Alder Street cyclist.  But the diameter of the raised circle is not specified.  Smaller might be acceptable, it discourages cars from seeing far and thinking they can go fast, makes them do a little manuever to get around as well.  But big circles force cars and bikes to merge, makes bikes slow down, are more likely to shield everyone's view of persons-especiallychildren--on the other side of the landscaped space.

Also, the location of the proposed roundabout is not ideal considering the intersection of bikeways there.  28th Street to the west is the connector to all bike routes west of Hilyard and south of 24th, this is where people turn north on their way to the UO.  As you know, traffic to the University is one of the biggest contributors to the statistics that keep Eugene identified as place where bicycling is popular and promoted.  A roundabout at this location does not help the UO bound bike commuter--big or small, doing a 3/4 travel of the circle is inefficient and most cyclists will want to ignore the designated traffic flow designed for cars.

The simplest improvement for the cyclist would be elevate the status of Alder Street traffic (alternative modes) over the car traffic on 28th (minor collector?) and direct the stop signs to 28th same as at Harris Street.  Some bright signs on Alder telling northbound motorists to slow down (20 mph limit?) could counteract the problem you perceive with excessive unobstructed line-of-sight for motorists.

Thank you for considering traffic calming within the greater issue of improving conditions for bicyclists both in and outside of our neighborhood.  Their interests are generally the same as the residents of Alder Street.  This perspective will yield more popular solutions than just looking at preemptive measures to slow possible increases in car speed and already-low traffic levels over that stretch of road while precluding the successful diverter approach taken just to the north of our neighborhood.

Randy Prince
Member, Amazon Steering Committee
541-345-3306

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From: DUNBAR Reed C <RDunbar at eugene-or.gov>
Sent: Wednesday, March 27, 2019 8:22 AM
To: PRINCE Randy (SMTP)
Cc: Mj Kaufman
Subject: RE: [AmazonSteeringCte] March Meeting Minutes

Greetings,

Before any traffic calming project is considered a speed study is performed.  In order to “qualify” for traffic calming, the 85th percentile speed (speed that 85% of people are traveling at or below) needs to exceed 5mph over the posted limit.  The speed limit on Alder Street is 25mph.

Speed studies from November 2017 show that the 85% speed on Alder, north of 30th was 32mph.  As such, it qualifies for traffic calming.

Traffic calming is also a standard feature of Neighborhood Greenways.  The 2035 Transportation Systems Plan identifies Alder Street as a Neighborhood Greenway.

Reed Dunbar, AICP | Transportation Planner

City of Eugene | Public Works Engineering

99 E Broadway, 4th Floor | Eugene, OR 97401

Phone: 541.682.5727 | Fax: 541.682.5032

From: Randy Prince [mailto:randyprince24 at hotmail.com]
Sent: Tuesday, March 26, 2019 2:32 AM
To: DUNBAR Reed C <RDunbar at eugene-or.gov>
Cc: Mj Kaufman <mxjane at gmail.com>
Subject: Fw: [AmazonSteeringCte] March Meeting Minutes

________________________________

From: Steering.cte <steering.cte-bounces at lists.amazonneighbors.org<mailto:steering.cte-bounces at lists.amazonneighbors.org>> on behalf of Mj Kaufman via Steering.cte <steering.cte at lists.amazonneighbors.org<mailto:steering.cte at lists.amazonneighbors.org>>
Sent: Monday, March 25, 2019 10:26 PM
To: Amazon Neighborhood Steering Committee (Eugene, Oregon)
Cc: Mj Kaufman
Subject: Re: [AmazonSteeringCte] March Meeting Minutes

I'm assuming that people can still comment on the alder pave? If correct,  i'd like to ask when a traffic / speed study was last done and will it be pertinent in 5 -20 years?

I from a bike rider,  car driver & walker's perspective think that we don't know what's going to happen due to future health related businesses coming and are absent (ball fields,  new stadium, fitness center). I'd suggest that whatever traffic is dumping more traffic onto alder or onto 24th should be curtailed, except bikes, and sidewalks of course,  but the numbers should show what would be best for the majority of dwellers. We all should see a traffic study (speed and # of cars) before we add in bumps.

Like what others have said too.

   Marcy Kaufman

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