Bicycle Classes

OCTA agrees in principle, but as the cities have final say over streets within their city limits, the transportation agency argues it can only try to influence, not mandate, bike facilities.

Placentia and Fullerton need to wise up. Since AB1358 went into effect in January, 2011 all cities are required to address Complete Streets standards in future roadways.

We need you to help. If you live in either Fullerton or Placentia, contact city council and city staff. Ask that bicycles, which will be using these streets in ever increasing numbers for the next 100 years, be accommodated in the plans now. Specifically:

Placentia
Roy Stevenson, Project Manager,  roy.stephenson@us.bureauveritas.com

Ask him for bike lanes on Placentia Ave.

*   8-foot sidewalks and 14-foot lanes on Placentia Ave. but no bike lanes– that’s ridiculous.

*  5.5′ sidewalks on both sides of the meet current standards and are adequate. Shave ‘em down and you gain 2.5′ for a bike lane.

*  Take a couple feet out of the travel lanes and new raised median and you’ve got 5′ for a bike lane.

Kraemer

Ask him for shared lane markings, a.k.a. “Sharrows” painted in the outisde lanes for the full length of the project, and “Bikes May Use Full Lane” signs at the entrances and at Crowther Ave.

*  OK, there’s too much stuff buried under that road to dig the underpass wide enough.

* But motorists deserve to know that bicycles will be on that street and in the right hand lane. And that’s what sharrows do, alert drivers to our presence.

March 12, 2011 – Every day the mighty Burlington Northern Santa Fe sends dozens of transcontinental trains, some 2 miles long, through Anaheim, Placentia, and Fullerton. The old grade crossings have frustrated motorists and cyclists alike, to say nothing of the deadly danger 60 MPH freight trains present.

Improvement here can enhance north/south bicycle access or become a deterrent to cyclists for generations to come. While we applaud the effort of these cities and the OCTA to replace the grade crossings with over- and under-crossings at major streets, we’re also concerned. The streets are: State College, Raymond, Placentia, Kramer, Orangethorpe, Rose/Tustin, and Lakeview.

The last three, above, are overcrossings and will have bike lanes striped as part of the project. You can thank planners at the Orange County Transportation Authority, OCTA,  for those.

But the first four are underpasses and have no provision for bicycles at all.

Excuses abound: underpasses are expensive, the right of ways are too narrow and would require taking private property to gain width needed for bike lanes, and there are no bike lanes currently on these streets so none were included in the projects. This last excuse is the lamest of all.

PLACENTIA
Perpetual problem child, Placentia, makes this pathetic excuse. Claiming neither Placentia Ave. nor Kramer are in the county’s Strategic Bikeways Master Plan it has excluded bike lanes in its approved designs. OCTA’s Bikeways Plan is just a compilation of routes provided by the cities; Placentia is saying they haven’t included bicycles in the current plans because they have never included bicycles in any of their past plans either.

Kraemer
Kraemer is a vital north/south link for all bike commuters from Brea, La Habra, and Diamond Bar to the Santa Ana River Trail. Bike lanes have existed at various times along Kraemer, but are eliminated at the whim of the city engineer who never heard of any conveyance without an engine. Fortunately, the Orange County Transportation Authority is the lead agency on this project and is prodding the city to shoehorn in some type of bicycle accommodation. The width without taking private property is narrow, but the last suggestion we heard was green painted outside lanes with sharrows along the narrowest part of the project. That’s an innovative approach and certainly better than nothing.

Placentia Ave.
Talk about wasted potential! Placentia Ave. serves major shopping, employement centers, and skirts the city’s new transportation district with a soon to be built Metrolink station– the station closest to Cal State Fullerton campus. The underspass features wide 8 foot sidewalks and 14 foot outside lane. Shaving two feet from both would provide a standard bike lane without compromising standards or widening the right of way. Placentia can set itself on the road to redemption with this logical and reasonable accommodation.

Please don’t hesitate to tell Placentia what you think of their disregard for bicyclists. Contact Roy Stevenson, Project Manager Grade Separations, 714 993 8131; City Administrator, Troy Butzlaff: tbutzlaff@placentia.org, 714 993 8117.

FULLERTON
The city of Fullerton is the “lead agency,” i.e. it takes responsibility for running the projects at Raymond and St. College. They make no provision for bicyclists of any kind on these two $-multi-million improvements. Very disappointing for a college town which supposedly respects the needs of non-motorists.

Raymond
Raymond serves an industrial area employing hundreds of workers, many of whom might bicycle to work if the roadway welcomed them.

State College Blvd.
In addition to a landscaped center median, the plan for State College Blvd. includes 4.5 feet of landscaping between the 6 foot sidewalk and the curb. Why is decorative planting more important than safe room for bicyclists?

You should express your displeasure with the current project designs by contacting Thuy Nguyen, Civil Engineer: THUYN@CI.FULLERTON.CA.US, (714) 738-6845.

Lifelong bicycle commuter, Dr. Maren Pedersen, offers inspiration.

A goal for 2011 is creation of committee chairs and expansion of our board to better manage our diverse areas of concern.

Renewing our Commitment: Justice for Cyclists

We concern ourselves with the rights of all cyclists, not only experienced club riders. OCBC has traditionally focused on cyclists injured or killed by motorists, delving into the circumstances of their collisions, urging county prosecutors to press charges when motorists are at fault, following the trial, commenting on the outcome, seeking insights which may lead to safer driver and cyclists behavior and better roadway design.

This past year has brought tragedy to the families of four cyclists riding in Newport Beach.

August, Dan Crain, climbing westbound Newport Coast at the 73

July, Michael Nine, descending northbound Spyglass Hill

December 09, Donald Murphy, southbound on Jamboree

July 09, Daryl David Benefiel, descending westbound Newport Coast

It should be noted that these were generally seasoned, experienced road cyclists whom members of the general public would consider “professional” because of their abilities. The public at large suffers injury and death at a far higher rate per mile than club cyclists and infrastructure alone cannot prevent these tragedies. For this reason cyclist education is a high priority for OCBC.

Action in 2010

In our first full year of reorganized effort OCBC has:

* Re-forged relations with County DA’s office to monitor criminal trials of motorists who’ve killed or seriously injured bicyclists in traffic collisions.

* Re-forged relations with Caltrans Dist. 12 to monitor bicycle projects on state highway in OC, assist that agency in realizing it’s stated goal of accommodation for non-motorized users in compliance with Complete Streets doctrine per the agency’s Deputy Directive 64.

* Engaged Caltrans Dist. 12 senior management to address roadway deficiencies, specifically in signs and striping, beginning with the SR73/ Newport Coast interchange.

* Forged relations with OCTA through support of Bike to Work Week; presentation to major OC corporations’ employee transportation coordinators; on-site workshops for OCTA employees, City of Anaheim Resort Transit, Costa Mesa, Huntington Beach, and OCTA employees.

* Created Awards of Recognition for people or agencies who have taken significant steps to advance bicyclist safety or accommodation.

* Promoted League Certified Instruction and established the first training session for  LCIs in Orange County.

* Influenced Metrolink policy increasing bicycle capacity on existing trains, contributed design input to increased bicycle capacity on new or modified rail cars.

* Leveraged BCI’s donation to OCBC by conducting successful fund raising through presentations of Chasing Legends, netting over $3,000.00, raising OCBC’s profile in the cycling community.

* Assisted League of American Bicyclists, Instructor Training seminar in Sacramento; produced OC’s LCI Training seminar in San Clemente, graduated five Orange County Wheelmen as new LCIs to serve the club and community; purchased materials for 100 Street Skills 101 students in support of LCI’s class recruitment efforts.

* Advised and assisted volunteers and city staff in achieving Bicycle Friendly Community award for the City of Huntington Beach.

Issues on ongoing concern

OCBC speaks for cyclists as a recognized stakeholder with the following agencies or projects:

* City of Anaheim bikeways;

* City of Placentia bikeways, achieved recognition of cyclists interests, helped establish ad hoc bicycle advisory group;

* City of Newport Beach, bicycle ad hoc and Bicycle Safety Committee, established recognition of cyclists’ right to the roadway at outset, recognized as stakeholder;

* City of San Clemente, Bicycle & Pedestrian Master Plan;

* San Onofre/ San Mateo State Park bikeways, improved lane striping and signage;

* Orange County Sanitation, Pacific Coast Highway utilities project, improved bike lane;

* Orange County Flood Control, Santa Ana River Trail, recreational trails proposal Green River to Gypsum Canyon;

* Orange County Parks and Recreation (RRTAC), Santa Ana River Trail 10 mph speed limit postings;

* California High Speed Rail, ARTIC regional transportation center bicycle facilities and impact on SART.

Skill Building

Attended Bicycle Facilities Design and Implementation workshop by UC Berkeley, Institute for Traffic Studies, for city traffic engineers and planners; provided Orange County specific content.

Attended Caltrans Understanding Bicycle Transportation workshop for District 7 traffic engineers and planners, provided Orange County specific content.

Attended California’s General Plan Workshop for residents and staff updating city General Plan and Circulation Elements, by UCLA Extension.

Canyon drivers are increasingly frustrated by bicyclists engaging in thoughtless, often dangerous behavior on narrow, twisting back roads. They are dismayed by near head-on collisions caused by bicyclists riding in the road rather than on shoulders, riders leaving their own car doors open into roads, and other risks. But surprisingly, locals may not have the law on their side. Those are the conclusions of a report by the Inter-Canyon League’s Gateways Safety and Security Committee.

Committee member Hank Rodgers said he researched state and local codes, and learned that in the past 20 years, laws have increasingly been changed to favor recreational riders.

“They are very organized, and they’ve got the manufacturers backing them in many cases,” he said at the league’s September meeting.

But Silverado resident Dick Ertman pointed out that bicyclists “may have rights, but they also have responsibilities.” He asked bikers to “take a look in that fancy little mirror you’ve got on your helmet. If you see five drivers behind you, pull over for a minute.”

Committee members have spoken with and done ride-alongs with local law enforcement, who say they are extremely shorthanded due to budget constraints,and representatives of two leading bike groups who say they would like to sit down and work things out. The committee is considering a large meeting to let all sides discuss the issues. They are also looking into speed bumps, signs and other possible safety measures. Many residents said they are most upset about the seeming arrogance of the riders, and that simple courtesy would be a cheaper, more effective solution.

“It’s hard because you can’t regulate common sense,” said Modjeska resident Paula Labar.

OCBC board member Brian DeSousa wrote a letter to the editor in reply, which was printed in the October issue, and is also quoted below:

It’s unfortunate and unproductive to see the rather blatant anti-bicyclist bias in last month’s Canyon Beat, starting with the title “move over rover” and continuing through the rest of the article.

This isn’t the first time that bicyclist advocates have heard the same tired old arguments such as “near head-on collisions caused by bicyclists riding in the road rather than on shoulders” presented in the article. Replace “bicyclists” with any other road user, and unless canyon residents are endorsing unsafe passing, the anti-bicyclist bias becomes crystal clear.

Traffic laws are written for the safety and mobility of ALL road users — priority doesn’t go to motorists and/or canyon residents. There are many reasons why a bicyclist may legally choose to use the road over a narrow or virtually non-existent shoulder. This choice provided by the law for the bicyclist’s safety is much more important than a motorist’s fictitious right to travel through the canyons without taking a foot off the gas pedal.

That said, there are things that bicyclists, especially the ones riding in groups, can do to help minimize delay to canyon residents. But working with the bicycling groups will require canyon residents to take a cooperative rather than a confrontational approach on the issues.

What are your thoughts on the issue?

San Onofre State Park is not only one of the most unspoiled rides through Southern California, it’s one of the most bike friendly as well!

August 28, 2010 – Immediately south of San Clemente, “San O’” provides us with a mostly car-free cycling route parallel to the I-5. Built along historic US Hwy. 101, the park offers campers and day use visitors the chance to enjoy natural beaches and bluff top habitat, preserving California the way nature made her.

You enter San Onofre State Park the instant you turn off Christanitos and head down the trail to Trestles. South of Basilone Rd. the old 4 lane highway is posted 45 MPH, and serves Edison’s nuclear power plant with thousands of employees working three shifts daily. South of the plant the park’s 15 MPH limit calms traffic somewhat. Rangers ask that cyclists respect other park users and watch for vehicles and pedestrians on the road, all of whom are in a relaxed and less observant state of mind.

Cyclists are one of the largest year ‘round park users, yet we pay no entry fees. Peloton riders must keep their speed in check lest the rangers make good on their threat to place Stop signs at every restroom.

Southern California Edison pays to maintain the highway and bike lanes from Basilone Rd. to the campground. OCBC and San Clemente bicycle advocates have worked with park Superintendent Richard Haydon, the San Onofre Foundation, and Edison to improve signs and highway striping for bicyclists. We congratulate Edison on their bold use of sharrows at the old bridges, reminding motorists that bicyclists must use the right hand lane whenever the bike lane ends. With dwindling state funds for park maintenance, Edison’s commitment to San Onofre is much appreciated.