Buffalo, NY (WBEN) As more road projects call for considerations for other modes of transportation, bicycling advocates say protecting riders is important. The methods may depend on where the project is.
Seamus Gallivan of Slow Roll Buffalo says he's happy to see bicycles be put into consideration in new road projects.
"It's good news, for pedestrians, for children, for parents, for business owners, for people who care about the environment. It is overall holistically great for communities to be considering complete street design," says Gallivan. He says separation is key. "Paint is not progress," notes Gallivan. "We know from experience, that paint will not protect us. So we need separation. And that can be done within the design of within the streets as they are currently laid out."
With Buffalo designed for twice the current population, Gallivan says separation can be done with redesigning of the roads. "We have to have proper sidewalks, and safe separation. So when it comes to bike lanes, a trail is nice. It a trail likely only gets you so far, it doesn't get you to the grocery store doesn't get you to work, you still have to engage with the overall street grid," explains Gallivan. He says data show when a driver is going more than 30 miles an hour that the chance of survival for a pedestrian or bicyclist is dramatically reduced from under going under 30 miles an hour.
Justin Booth of GoBike Buffalo says he's excited to see more complete street policies with new road projects. He says now we're thinking about how the pedestrians interact with the space and safe process safe crossings.
"How do we make sure that we're providing access for bicycles, as well as making sure we're safely and efficiently moving vehicles," asks Booth. He says separation from vehicles is helpful. "When you provide that physical separation from vehicles, that you can get up to 90% of the population riding in those locations because they feel safe," explains Booth.
Is separation from vehicles better than a traditional bike lane? Booth says that depends. "On Parker Boulevard, where you're connecting parks, you're connecting schools, you're connecting neighborhoods, the work that they've done there to calm the traffic, putting in those roundabouts so that it's free flowing. Adding bicycle lanes there really works quite well in that type of context, low volume, low speed street,'" says Booth.
It's a different story when you're talking about downtown Buffalo. "A street like Main Street, it's incredibly important to create that physical separation, so the idea of having a raised physically separated facility, there is what's going to work best to get people out there riding," Booth explains.
Booth says GoBike Buffalo is also doing some temporary projects. "Forest Avenue is a good example, where we're really using some paints and some flexible rollers and rubber foam pieces to begin to change the shape of that street let people experience it in a whole new way," says Booth. He says ideally those changes can be permanent to help bikes and cars share the road.
