In our April 2024 issue of The Pedal Post (eNewsletter), Bike Fort Collins posed the question: “Have you experienced conflict or felt unsafe while traveling through the intersection of Cherry Street and Wood Street?”
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:
- “I ride Wood St. every day. Numerous times I’ve almost got hit with cars on Cherry St. running the stop sign. I even saw a police car run that stop sign and almost hit me.”
- “Motorists are using Cherry like an arterial…trying to circumvent downtown by traveling Cherry (east/west). When they arrive at this intersection, many are unaware it is not a four-way stop. They will roll the stop signs to get line of sight around parked cars on Wood. This condition makes for unsafe movement on bikes north and south on Wood (which is a bikeway to the Poudre Trail). Further, motorists traveling north can hit excessive speeds downhill in an effort to “get out of town.”
- “Drivers not paying attention at the intersection.”
- “Cars don’t stop at the stop signs.”
- “People on Wood street aren’t watching for cross traffic.”
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:
- “4 way stop or a roundabout.”
- “Wood Street is not an arterial. It is a collector street at best. Speed control on neighborhood streets, especially bikeways, should be a priority. The intersection is huge and would benefit from a roundabout and shorter crossing distances (bulbouts) for pedestrians. While the City snow plows still need to navigate this street from Utilities, a roundabout would allow for some speed control while clarifying ROW for those traveling east or west. Anecdotally, I have had neighbors report that vehicles have mistakenly driven into their yards at this intersection. Maybe consider a temporary roundabout like those Vision Zero roundabout in Boulder neighborhoods.”
- “Better indicators to drivers to watch for bikes in the bike lanes.”
- “Stop means stop! Enforce the stop sign law.”
- “Round about.”
- “Some sort of neckdown that slows motorists would be good.”
Again, thank you to all who responded—and for sharing their experiences. Stay tuned for additional surveys inquiring about other intersections and bicycle facilities.