“The Bike Boulevard would be provided for the 4%-7% of bicyclists who are
more accomplished and able to handle more risk, while the Shared Use
Path would provide a facility for the other 93% of bicyclists as well as
the remaining pedestrians of all ages and abilities and those that rely
on movement aides and devices...”
The claim that 93% of bicyclists would ride on the shared-use path is simply wrong. Here's why:The 4-7% figure comes from this illustration in the Federal Highway Administration’s Bikeway Selection Guide:
Both papers refer to a 2006 paper by Portland Bicycle Coordinator Roger Geller entitled “Four Types of Cyclists,” which is the source for the categories shown in the picture above. Geller’s names for the categories (from right to left) were:
- The Strong and the Fearless
- The Enthused and Confident
- The Interested but Concerned
- No Way No How
Geller described bicyclists in the “Strong and Fearless” group as being willing to ride “regardless of roadway conditions.” In Dill & McNeil’s original 2012 paper, bicyclists were classified as “Strong and Fearless” if they said they were “very comfortable” riding on non-residential streets with speed limits up to 40 mph with no bike lanes. In their 2016 paper, cyclists were classified as “Strong and Fearless” if they said the would be “very comfortable” riding on “A major urban or suburban street with four lanes, on-street parking, traffic speeds of 30-35 miles per hour, and no bike lane.”
Thus, the 4-7% figure refers to bicyclists who would probably be comfortable riding between Haydenville and Williamsburg on Route 9 as it presently stands, without bike lanes. So really, the correct statement from the Greenway committee should be:
The Route 9 bike path is for the 93% of cyclists who would not be comfortable riding on Route 9 itself.
South Main Street has less than 1/10 the traffic volume of Route 9 and a (proposed) speed limit of 20 mph rather than 45 mph. Vastly more than 4-7% of cyclists would be comfortable riding on South Main St. In fact, nearly all cyclists would be comfortable riding on a South Main St. bicycle boulevard.Returning to Dill & McNeil’s papers, it is the least skilled riders, “Interested but Concerned,” who are the significant category — the riders that bicycle transportation engineers should be trying to accommodate. In the 2012 Portland paper Dill & McNeil asked people in this “Interested but Concerned” category how comfortable they were riding on various types of roadways. The response scale ranged from 1=very uncomfortable to 4=very comfortable. The results are revealing:
In Dill & McNeil’s 2016 nationwide survey the results were presented differently, as percentages of people responding “very comfortable” or “somewhat comfortable.” Among the least skilled riders, there is a somewhat reduced but still high comfort level with bike boulevards:
The bottom line is, MOST bicyclists by far would be comfortable riding on a South Main Street bicycle boulevard. And if you read the words, the bikeway selection guide illustration says as much, that the least-skilled riders’ preferences include “quiet or traffic-calmed residential roads”:
An off-road accommodation for bicycles in our neighborhood is NOT truly necessary, and reserving the sidewalk for pedestrian use would surely provide the greatest level of safety and relaxed convenience for “pedestrians of all ages and abilities and those that rely on movement aides and devices.”