159 replies to this topic

[tony]

Steve: let me be the first to jump into your brainstorm. Here's what the City of Lafayette has done: the slogan is "It's our town, Let's slow down!" They have signs and bumper stickers, and a "neighborhood pace car" program, all as part of their overall traffic calming effort. See their Traffic Calming Guidebook at: http://lafayette.gov...76BD7D59AB}.PDF I believe Tempe, AZ or Tuscon has done a similar public infomation campaign with signs on garbage cans (in a different neighborhood every day, and every neighborhood once per week).

[forumreader]

Stevethedad - Very good idea.

I had another idea which I recently submitted to the City's Traffic Safety Committee. A Traffic/Bicycle/Pedestrian Safety Week at the schools. (I envision it as something similar to the Red Ribbon Weeks at the schools each October.)

The focus for the children could be safety as pedestrians/bicyclists. Information for parents could focus on safer driving, and could possibly coordinate with a "Slow Down, Folsom" campaign.

Traffic Calming plans speak of the "Three Es": Engineering, Enforcement and Education. I think there is much that can be done with the later, especially with our youngest citizens. They are a very at-risk group. (Pedestrian injury is the second leading cause of unintentional injury-related death among children ages 5 to 14.)

Another interesting statistic, this one related to speeding:

A 1999 report published by the U. S. Dept. of Transportation's Federal Highway Administration reports that one of every three traffic fatalities is related to speeding. In fact, almost 50% of speeding-related fatalities occur on lower-speed collector and local roads. To look at it another way, the speeding-related fatality rate for local roads is 3 times that for interstates. (This is calculated a rate of fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles traveled.)

We should worry about speeding in Folsom.

[parklady]

Stevethelda - I agree! Speeding in Folsom is a HUGE problem! I would like to see more emphasis on programs addressing the drivers and/or adults since they are the ones causing the problem. Usually the programs at the schools concentrate on what kids can do, which (don't get me wrong) is important, but oftentimes the parents see these programs and don't get involved - they see it as more of a "kid" (i.e., bicycle, pedestrian safety) issue, which it really is not, at least at the source.

[folsomBlondie]

I agree, slow down in Folsom. What can we do Steve? I am with ya all.

[Terry]

The Folsom Police Department has a program whereby interested residents can be trained (quickly) on the use of a radar gun. Then a couple residents can go to any location where speeding is a problem and document the date, time, description, license plate of the offending vehicle(s), turn them into the police department and the police department will send letters to the registered owners of the vehicles indicating where and when the vehicle was seen committing the offense. Of course, only police officers who witness the offense can issue a citation, but this method might also get someone's attention!

It might seem to be a little more effort, but hey, it's better than nothing.

[Candy Apple]

Terry, or anyone else-------

Have you noticed that the "No Left Turn" signs from Riley onto Sutter in either direction, as well as the "No Right Turn" on Sutter eastbound onto Riley are being very much ignored??!!

[Steve Heard]

I love the response!

I'm tied up now and into the evening, but lets get this thing set up.

We'll schedule a brainstorming meeting, and set about with our plan. I'll announce a where and when.

Stay tuned.

[billsfan]

This "Slow Down" program sound like something that someone in the Folsom CAP (Citizen's Assisting Police) would help drive or coordinate with the Police Department. CAP is a Police volunteer organization whose members assist police personnel and provide a higher level of service to the community. I have just started taking the Folsom Police's Citizen's Academy, which is a 10 Week (2/3 hours/week) prerequisite program for becoming a CAP volunteer. The Academy is very interesting, teaches about the Police department and related city departments, and something I would encourage everybody to attend. CAP contact number is 361-3536...

[jagayman]

billsfan, thanks for the info! That sounds like an excellent program. Tell us how it went when you're done, please.

It's ben a few posts back, but I'll add my two cents about bicycling etiquette.

Last summer, I had the opportunity to bike across the country. Needless to say, I went through 100's of lights that I hadn't visited before. A majority of them had recognizable pickup lines where they had buried the wire and I was able to trigger the light. Still, a few didn't and my co-riders and I had to wait for a clearing in the traffic to make it across. If the traffic was really, really bad -- like at a highway crossing -- we would dismount walk over to the pedestrian signal, hit the button and get back on the road, cross the road at the green light. Sometimes, you'd have to do this twice to make a single left turn. It was all about common sense and the appreciation of natural selection.

There were also all kinds of drivers as well. Generally, drivers on the west coast and in the midwest are much more considerate than drivers on the east coast. In parts of California, Nevada, and Utah where you are allowed to ride on the shoulder of I-80 due to no optional routes, many drivers would pull into the fast lane when passing a cyclist. In Missouri (or as I started to call, Misery), where there are thousands of rolling hills, on the two-lane roads, many cars would slow and wait for you to give them the signal that it was OK to pass once you could see over the next hill. Mass. was just plain horrible. I actually had motorists in the MA cities yelling at me to ride on the sidewalk even though I was moving at 20mph. In many towns, you pretty much had to "take a lane" on a narrow, multi-lane street and ride in the middle or they would try to squeeze around you and force you into the curb.

Ironically, I've had more accidents on the American River bike trail than biking across the country (where, I am happy to admit I had 0). The problem -- joggers with headphones and training wheels. Just like when a kid runs straight into your legs at the store and then looks up, they'll make an abrupt left turn across the path right in front of ya. Luckily, my reflexes have been quick enough to avoid a collison with a tike (and at 6'5" and weighing around 215lbs, that wouldn't be pretty) but unfortunately, many times, I end up ditching to avoid a collision with a more permanent, non-yielding object. So, parents, please, please, educate your young ones about bicycle safety on the bike paths before letting them loose. Anyways, back to the show.

-jason.

[tony]

forum: I haven't seen your bike/ped safety week idea pass through traffic safety yet. Bu there are two existing programs (not in Folsom, to my knowledge) that are similar: Safe Routes to Schools http://www.saferoutestoschools.org/ (which is the name of both a volunteer organization started in Marin Conty and a state funding source for bike/ped improvements near schools) and International Walk to School Day http://www.walktoschool.org/ (in October). For more general informatino, see: http://www.walkinginfo.org/ and http://www.bicyclinginfo.org/, two great sites about making our cities safer for bicyclists and pedestrians of all ages.

[Terry]

Candy Apple - yes I have noticed that the no turn signs at Sutter on Riley are being ignored. Traffic officers have been out there a few times ticketing for those offenses, but it could be a 24-hour job!

On the issue of etiquette on the bike trails - I've written on this subject before in that spouse and I walk the Lake Natoma Trail weekly from old town to Willow Springs and back. My point in previous posts on that subject was that this trail is MULTI-USE and as such is posted that bikes yield to horses and pedestrians. Well, you'd never know it was a multi-use trail for all the bicyclists who insist that we as walkers (fast walkers I might add) need to be off the pavement. We stay to the right on the paved lane and allow bikes to pass on the left as courtesy dictates. We even checked with the trails chief with the city, Jim, who advised that all traffic on the Lake Natoma trail stays to the right, whether you're walking, running, biking, horseback riding. I'm not sure how American River Bikeway handles multi-mode users, but we're really tired of being pushed around by bikers who insist we should be off the pavement, walking the opposite direction of bike traffic but in the same lane. Well, now, you got me started again.

I'm not saying most bikers are like this, but there are enough on the Lake Natoma Trail that we have yet to walk one time without having someone tell us we're doing it wrong! Of course, they've whizzed by before we're able to respond to their comments.

[Steve Heard]

Terry

I've been on trails like Natoma's as jogger, walker with kids, biker in training, and casual biker, so I've seen all sides. I have to say that the ones that it's most often the bikers on a mission who are the most difficult to deal with.

They seem to see the trail as their personal training ground, and see everyone else, including other bikers, as annoying obstacles.

They are the ones who give bikers a bad name.

[tony]

Terry: The conty portion o fthe American River Parkway (west of Hazel) is signed for pedestrians to walk facing traffic or use the shoulder (or something very close to that; it seems they updated the signage when they repaved the trail a year or so ago. Asd you pointed out, the State Parks portion (along both sides of Lake Natoma) gives no guidance other than that bikes yield to everyone and everyone yileds to horses. The city trails give no direction at all; somethingn that probably should be done to help minimize conflicts. The problem is that there is not a uniform standard. I was always taught that pedestrians and joggers on multi-use trails were to stay to the left (facing traffic), just as they do on streets without sidewalks (it's the law there) and as is the case in the Sac County portion of the trail. This was how it was signed in Columbus, Denver and Tampa when I, lived in those places. I have, however, done some research, and there are definitely some trails out there where everyone is told to stay right. Personally, I think it is much safer for everyone for peds/joggers to stay left (facing traffic), for the same reason you do on streets: there is a very sigfnificant speed differential (even for bikes at 15 mph) between bikes and peds, and walkers are much less likely to be surprised from behind if they are facing traffic.

I, too, have used the Lake Natoma Trail in all capacities, from "training rides", to pulling trailers, to walking the dog and trailing 3 year-olds on their bike, and I've used it almost daily since before it was even paved. Trail etiquette is a two-way street (literally), for every inconsiderate Lance Armstrong wannabee, there are a dozen people walking 4 abreast, walking down the middle of the trail with head phones on, walking dogs without leashes, or riding skittish horses down thet center of the paved trail. Etiquette works both ways and is for everyone's safety. And don't be fooled; multi-use trails can be very dangerous places to ride/walk because their are so many different users. Ask the Folsom Fire Department how many calls they have on summer weekends on the ARP.

[Ahnold]

I know we beat this issue to death in this thread, but the high school drop-off issue is about to get a lot worse. The District is planning to cut bus service for high school students, leaving 300-400 students looking for a new way to get to school. Judging from the observations in this thread I kind of doubt there will be 300 new bikes in the rack, more likely 300 more parents crammed into the bike lane waiting for their kids. Anyone know how we can appeal to the District to reconsider this move, at least until maybe the new school gets opened?

[Steve Heard]

Ahnold

That is interesting. I was up at the high school this past weekend, for a jog on their track. I noticed the traffic circle that some have recommended, and I see what the problem is.

The curbs are painted red, with white lettering that says, 'No Stopping. Busses Only'.

Most of the other curbs in the parking lot are painted red, as well. The ones that arent are the ones to the right, immediately upon entering the the lot, or on the left, just before leaving. No wonder that lot gets packed, and the cars spill onto the street.

I estimate those curbs could handle 10 to 15 cars. With 2500 kids starting and ending their school day at the same time, it's a miracle it isn't worse.

As far as the budget is concerned, we can't have it all. We've demanded cuts in spending and in taxes, but we expect the same services we are used to.