HAVE YOU EXPERIENCED CONFLICT?
In our August issue of The Pedal Post (eNewsletter), Bike Fort Collins posed the question: “Have you experienced conflict, or right-of-way confusion at the intersection of Mulberry St & Remington St?”
Thank you to those who responded. Below is a recap of the results.
WHAT HAPPENED?
In addition, for those who reported conflict, we asked them to describe their experience. Here is a sampling of the responses we received:
- “Both on foot and on bike, I’ve had left turning traffic on Remington almost hit me. I’ve definitely had left turning traffic off Mulberry careen through the crosswalk when I’m crossing Remington on foot on either side of Mulberry. I’ve had right-turning traffic almost hit me in a crosswalk because they weren’t paying attention. I know this is a bike survey but I view bikeability and walkability as connected (and we don’t have a pedestrian advocacy group in FoCo)”
- “You have to be really close to cars going 35mph to hit the walk button. The light doesn’t automatically provide enough time for walkers or even slow bikes so you have to hit the button.“
- “I’ve felt the Mulberry/Remington intersection is safe to cycle through (when riding on Remington) given the presence of bike lanes.“
- “I was heading north, and a car turning east cut me off“
- “Mulberry is very busy with fast moving traffic. While Remington is a great artery to take our kids through town.“
- “This traffic light is totally dysfunctional. It only allows traffic to cross Mulberry for brief periods separated by long periods when the N-S light is red. In other words, the N-S light is nearly always red. Often the traffic on Mulberry is complexly stationary at this intersection due to overloading of the Mulberry-College intersection. Yet the N-S light on Remington stays red during those periods. The light is also time so that, if a southbound vehicle tries to escape the intersection by turning west onto Mulberry, the light at College turns red, preventing movement altogether. The lights at these intersections need to be redesigned. The Streets Department has been notified of these problems and has completely ignored all input.“
HOW CAN IT BE IMPROVED?
Finally, we asked respondents how they thought the intersection/facility could be improved. Here is a sampling of the responses we received:
- “Perhaps road paint into the intersection might alert mulberry traffic of the presence of bikes. Not sure any curbs, lights or anything specific is needed”
- “Overall, Mulberry desperately needs a road diet to calm traffic down and allow for buffered bike lanes in this area. There’s too much potential for walking and biking to keep treating Mulberry like a highway anywhere west of Riverside. Specific to this intersection, like most intersections with left turn lanes, the City needs to provide a dedicated left turn signal as the only opportunity for cars on Mulberry or Remington to turn left (no at will left turns that create unsafe traffic for people walking and biking). I’d also suggest eliminating the right turn lanes since they don’t receive a lot of volume and create hazards for people walking and biking because drivers don’t slow down or pay attention when they have these facilities. Replace the right turn lanes on Remington with pedestrian bulb-outs that force drivers to slow down and respect the rights of people walking and biking to use the street.“
- “Automatic walk light. Or a button that’s further from the street.“
- “Lots of Green Paint & signage!!“
- “The bright green crossing marks greatly improve awareness of a bikeway. A sign on mulberry that a bike crossing is approaching.“
- “This might be a decent bike box spot.“
Again, thank you to all who responded—and for sharing their experiences. Stay tuned for additional surveys inquiring about other intersections and bicycle facilities.