Chris Schweitzer Photo
A national cyclist group has given New Haven a “bronze” star for its increasing bike-friendliness—while dangling suggestions for how to ascend to silver.
The bronze designation comes from the League of American Bicyclists. The group plans to announce on Tuesday 55 new and renewed designations of “bicycle-friendly communities” across the country, including New Haven.
The group has five categories ranging from bronze (the lowest) to diamond (the highest). New Haven ranks a bronze.
In a report card, the group noted some of the reasons New Haven made the cut at all: An active cyclists’ advocacy group (Elm City Cycling); a public plan in place for the city; Bike to Work events; lower than average (surprise!) crashes and fatalities for the cohort of not just bronze, but silver communities; as well as a higher-than-average percentage of daily cyclists.
Then the group offered suggestions for how to advance to silver. These include:
• Expanding the Safe Routes to School program.
• Provide more bike parking in the community.
• Add more bike lanes, including “protected bicycle infrastructure” at roads with above-35-mile-per-hour speed limits.
• Train cops in traffic law related to cyclists and motorists, and have them report cyclist crash data.
Click here to read the full report card.
Melissa Bailey File Photo
“As happy as I am with the bronze, I’m going for the gold” next time, said the city official who probably devotes the most time (on and off duty) promoting cycling, Martin Torresquintero of the parks department. He’s already on the case: With $5,000 raised in the most recent “Rock to Rock” ride — a joyous annual day of citywide organized cycling — Torresquintero (at left in photo preparing to lead this cycling excursion) has ordered three new “self-repair bike stations” where people can fix their bikes and inflate their tires.Union Station currently has one; Torresquintero said he has ordered a model with better pumps. He plans to install them in coming weeks where the Farmington Canal trail meets Ashmun Street; outside the parks department office at Edgewood and Yale avenues; and by the ranger station at East Rock’s College Woods Park.
“I’m kind of surprised we didn’t get the silver,” given how New Haven “started at nothing” not too long ago, said another driver of the city’s cycling resurgence, Matt Feiner of Devil’s Gear Bike Shop. Asked the single most important improvement New Haven can make, he cited driver education. Feiner said Devil’s Gear, among others, has already worked hard at informing cyclists about how to ride more safely, including using hand signals when making turns and abiding by the same rules motorists follow on the roads (and in general “being predictable”).
“I see a lot of bikers are behaving and obeying rules and ordinances better. Now we need to work on cars, [to help drivers] realize just how many rights and new laws have been put into effect. That’s the big one,” Feiner said. He cited the law that bars motorists from passing cyclists unless they have three feet of space to do so, or from passing cyclists to make right turns in front of them. He also cited the new state law protecting “vulnerable users” from drivers.
William Kurtz, a board member of Elm City Cycling, cited “segregated cycle tracks” as the top priority for boosting New Haven’s bike-friendliness. By that he meant both on-road bike lanes separated from car lanes by curbs or bollards, as well as more purely cyclist-and-pedestrian off-road trails like the Farmington Canal Trail.
“The standard we should be aiming for is ‘8 to 80,’” meaning that young children as well as seniors should be able to ride comfortably and safely across town, Kurtz said. “They can’t do that right now.”
Spurred by groups like Elm City Cycling, city officials have been working toward that goal. In addition to crafting a “Safe Streets” and a “Street Smarts” policy and installing non-separated bike lanes, officials are now looking at building at least one or two separated bike lanes (in this project, for instance). Still, on some projects, like Downtown Crossing, cycling advocates have pressed their case, charging that cyclists and pedestrians are still taking a back seat to motorists in the planning process.