HomeMy WebLinkAboutIR 8619 INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No- 86.19
To the Mayor and Members of the City Council July 27, 2004
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SUBJECT: ON-STREET BICYCLE ROUTE PROGRAM
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Introduction
The purpose of this report is to respond to the Council request for an explanation of the signs
and markings plan for the on-street bicycle route program.
Discussion
The City of Fort Worth currently maintains four dedicated on-street bicycle lanes, where a stripe
or buttons are placed on the outside of the lane, symbols are placed at regular intervals inside
the lane and signage is posted indicating the lane is for bicycle use only. These lanes are
located on Trail Lake Blvd from South Hills to Granbury Road, Columbus Trail from Whirlwind to
Granbury, Bellaire Drive South from SH 183 to Oakmont, and 23rd Street from Mule Alley to
Decatur.
The City also maintains 15 'multi-purpose' lanes, which are installed as part of the
Neighborhood Traffic Management Program. These lanes are for use by pedestrians, bicyclists
and motorists, and therefore cannot be posted as no parking zones or for bicycle use only.
Multi-purpose lanes do not require signage, but are separated from automobile traffic by a
painted stripe or traffic 'buttons'.
-there are standards governing the use of traffic control markings like signs, stripes and signals,
so that all cities throughout the U.S. have as uniform traffic controls as possible. These
standards are set forth in a document called the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices
(MUTCD). Based on these standards, only dedicated bicycle lanes are required to be signed.
Lane symbols, which are utilized on all the above bicycle lanes with the exception of Trail Lake
Blvd., are to be used per the professional judgment of the City Traffic Engineer, Previous to the
2003 edition of the MUTCD, a diamond symbol or the bicycle symbol could be used to indicate
a dedicated bike lane. With the adoption of the 2003 MUTCD, cities will be required to update
their bike lanes and use only the bike symbol by January 2007.
Unless otherwise indicated, parking is allowed in bicycle lanes. The Transportation & Public
Works Department has not recently received any formal requests for "No Parking" signs for any
of the City's bike lanes or complaints regarding excessive parking in these lanes.
Per Council's recent authorization of the use of Congestion, Mitigation and Air Quality Funding
of $200,000 for on-street bicycle routes and signage, staff will implement shared lane facilities
for bicycle and motor vehicles, not separate striped bike lanes. Shared-lane facilities mitigate
issues such as maintenance costs, intersection conflict points and nonstandard traffic flow.
Shared-lane bicycle routes allow full use of the lane when necessary, instead of relegating
bicycles to the edge of the street where debris collects that can be hazardous to cyclists. The
overall bicycle route system creates a network that bicyclists can use as a mode of
ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS
INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No- 8619
%T'K To the Mayor and Members of the City Council July 27, 2004
d Page 2 of 2
SUBJECT: ON-STREET BICYCLE ROUTE PROGRAM
transportation for commuting to work or for other trips that would typically be made with an
automobile.
Recommend ation/Conclusion
Prior to the installation of the on-street bicycle routes, the Transportation and Public Works
Department will be establishing a Bicycle Working Group. The Working Group will provide
informed input to staff regarding the planned bicycle route alignments to ensure that the City is
providing a bicycle route system that meets the needs of the local bicycle community.
Membership for the Working Group will be based on community contacts, Streams and Valleys,
Inc, and NCTCOG's Bicycle and Pedestrian Task Force.
Gary W. Jackson
City Manager
ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS