Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Take a Lane Off the Hoan Bridge?

There are a few loose screws here.

With enthusiasm pent up over a decade, hundreds of cycling advocates argued passionately Tuesday night for a bike and pedestrian lane to be added to the Daniel Hoan Memorial Bridge.

OK, I get that.

Several residents raised questions about the cost and usefulness of a bike lane that they believe would be difficult to traverse in high winds and winter weather. Others objected to the potential that one of the six traffic lanes for cars and trucks would be turned over to slower-moving vehicles, creating congestion on a bridge that carries 40,000 vehicles daily.

What?  A five-lane?  Are they NUTS?

And, by the way, I've been on that bridge with a full-sized van in high winds;  I watched a VW van literally jump a lane in a gust of wind up there.  Add a little snow and/or ice, and the bikers would become road-kill.

Best-case is that bikers will use the damn thing for 150 days/year--and even then, there won't be many.,  Maybe 3 dozen/day.  No way should the State close a lane for that. 

Hang an enclosed lane under the damn bridge if you can do it.

3 comments:

Beer, Bicycles and the VRWC said...

As a cyclist, I assure you we are not all the f-ing crazy. And many of us would be willing to "pony-up" if we thought something like that was a good idea. But I am unwilling to have the taxpayer fund my hobby.

Dad29 said...

Well...

I think some solid numbers ought to be made available on utilization.

Frankly, the "take a lane off the Hoan" idea is nutso. And for safety's sake, hanging an enclosed UNDER the Hoan is practical.

But who in Hell would use it?

Beer, Bicycles and the VRWC said...

Even if there's an enclosure under the bridge, how does one get to it? To the north, it would necessarily have to dump out onto Lincoln Memorial. But to the south?