Delaware Ave. Hamlet Enhancement Study Public Informational Meeting

If you are interested in bicycling . . .

Delaware Avenue Hamlet Enhancement Study Public Informational Meeting

Public Informational Meeting to present the “Draft Delaware Avenue Hamlet Enhancement Study Design Standards and Guidelines and Transportation Improvement Plan”

The Town’s Delaware Avenue Hamlet Enhancement Study Advisory Committee will hold a public informational meeting on Monday, November 15, 2010 at 7:00 p.m. in the Town Hall Auditorium to present the “Draft Delaware Avenue Hamlet Enhancement Study Design Standards and Guidelines and Transportation Improvement Plan” to the community. There will be an opportunity for the public to comment on these resources, which are available, at – http://www.townofbethlehem.org/pages/AdvisoryComs/advDelawareAve.asp

The bicycle portion of the plan is as follows (see page 18 fo the download)

E. Provide Safe Routes for Bicyclists

Creating a network of bicycle routes, markings and bicycle parking to connect people to destinations throughout the Hamlet and to the Albany County Rail Trail is an important part of enhancing the area.

1. Bicycling Improvements

Bicycle level-of-service in the Delaware Avenue corridor is marginal. High traffic volumes, higher than desirable travel speeds on some streets in the area, and the lack of dedicated bicycle space contribute to the sometimes challenging bicycling environment in the area. The Albany County (Helderberg) Rail Trail will dramatically improve the bicycling environment by offering a dedicated route that serves the corridor and town. For traffic volumes and counts see Appendix K.

Due to the constraints of the existing right of way on the majority of roads within the study area, it is recommended that a mix of bicycle accommodation treatments be considered as part of the Enhancement Study Transportation Improvement Plan. These include Sharrows/shared lane signage, striped shoulders for bicycles and longer term, potentially bicycle lanes. A map of the proposed bicycle network can be seen in Appendix I.

Proposed actions generally include:

a. Increase motorist awareness of bicyclists through bike detection pavement markings and signage, alerting motorists that bicyclists “Share the Road” and traffic control devices (Figure 9). Signage and pavement markings also remind bicyclists that they are responsible for obeying traffic rules.

b. Install sharrows along Delaware Avenue through the Hamlet and on other roadways as appropriate such as Hudson Avenue, Kenwood Avenue, Adams Street, and Adams Place/Herber Avenue in accordance with the standards and guidance listed in the federal Manual of Uniform Traffic Controls (MUTCD), Section 9C.07 Shared Lane Marking. Sharrows are a pavement marking that indicates a travel lane is a shared lane for both motor vehicles and bikes and provides an indication to motor vehicle drivers that bicyclists are allowed to be and may be traveling in the travel lane and that they should be given adequate room. Currently the use of sharrows shown in Figure 8 is approved at the federal level.

c. Install loop detection sensors at signalized intersections that are sensitive enough for bicycles to trigger such as at Delaware Avenue/Kenwood Avenue and Delaware

d. Adopt bicycle parking provisions in the town’s zoning ordinance as a means of promoting bicycle travel to local destinations, consistent with the recommendations in the draft Delaware Avenue Enhancement Study Streetscape and Hamlet Design Guidelines, the companion to this proposed Transportation Improvement Plan for the study area. In April 2010, the Town was awarded nine bicycle racks through the 2010 CDTA/CDTC bicycle rack program, of which two have been installed in the Veterans Memorial Park (hitch bike rack) and one has been installed at the Kenwood Avenue Municipal Parking Lot.

Written by Lorenz Worden