August 5, 2010
The City of Charlottesville is considering proposals to add more bike and pedestrian signs and develop more off-road bike trails. City Councilors, staffers and bikers shared ideas at Thursday's special work session on transportation.
The basement of City Hall was standing room only during Charlottesville City Council's transportation work session. Representatives of Bike Charlottesville and the cycling community were in attendance, eager to share their ideas with City leaders. Charlottesville traffic engineers spoke about ideas already on the table to make cycling more accessible.
Topics of discussion at Thursday's meeting included increasing public education for bikers, pedestrians and drivers, removing street parking to add bike lanes and adding more pavement markings and sings.
The need for public education was a point stressed by all parties involved in Thursday's discussion, however City staff said removing street parking to add more bike lanes would be a challenge.
"It's good that we start to conversation about what some of these options are, to address some of the challenges for the cyclists, to make better cycling facilities," said traffic engineer Jeanie Alexander.
One road marking drivers could see within the next year are "sharrows", which indicate where cyclists should be riding.
There are three off road trails bikers and pedestrians can expect in the next year. One will be along the 250 bypass, traveling along McIntire Park. Another bike trail will be on Meade Avenue. The third trail will go from Meadow Creek to Greenbrier Park.
Ultimately, everyone in attendance at the special meeting hopes the ideas shared Thursday will lead to changes that make biking in Charlottesville easier, and make the road something that drivers and bicyclists can share safely.
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