Bicycle Safety: Top 4 Ways to be hit by Cars in Orange, CA

Number 1: The T-Bone
- As you are riding down the street you are stuck on the right side by a clueless driver. Trust me, this is a terrbile way to start your day on the way to school.



Number 2: Door in the Face
- Want to get a good look at my new West Coast Customs interior?



Number 3: The Crosswalk Slam
- Old Towne Orange is filled with pedestrians and cyclists moving through crosswalks that line the streets. This is also the scene of my own near death experience.



Number 4: The Rear End
- Sharing lanes with cars in the streets of Orange is extremely frightening. You never know what is coming up in the lane behind you.



The solution: BIKE LANES!
Bike lanes create a location for awareness of cyclists in the streets. By keeping a divider, drivers and cyclists can maneuver through the streets of Orange in a safe and efficient way.

The Pima County Bicycle & Pedestrian Program

Pima County in Tucson, AZ, is a community that took the safety of walkers and cyclists on the city’s streets in their own hands. The county faced the city’s issue of crowded streets and developed a program that has since become a template for other community bicycle programs.

Pima County categorizes their goals for their program in sections known as the “five E’s”. These categories can also serve as a template for a proposed bicycle and pedestrian plan in Orange, CA.

The five E’s are as follow,

Engineering: Construction for new bike lanes are as part of new re-constructed roadways.

Education: Develop an informative website and creating bicycle road and safety manuals with tips for cyclists, motorists and police.

Enforcement: The program encourages specialized training for law enforcement working with cyclists. It also strengthens legislation, providing improved rights and protection of cyclists and pedestrians.

Encouragement: Provides the community with incentives to walk or bike, creating a healthier community. It also supports community sponsored events such as runs and walks.

Evaluation: Create a 20 year plan to work with the Pima community to keep the streets up to date with the safest and most efficient streets.

Valencia College

College campuses are always filled with cyclists. Out of concern for the safety of its students and surrounding community, many college campuses have found ways to improve its roads. In-fact, one campus in East Orange County, not far from Chapman University, has its own college lane that serves to “help address the increasing traffic demand” in and around the campus. Specialized improvements to Valencia College’s Lane (VCL), includes,

- Addition of lanes to the existing two-lane sections of VCL.
- Signalization and intersection improvements.
- Special treatment and/or additional lanes at major intersections.
- Addition of sidewalks, bike lanes, and other safety enhancements.
- Landscaping upgrades, roadway lighting, and drainage enhancements.

Valencia prides themselves on this project and even includes a page about it on their website. This is yet another fine example of how bike lanes can better Chapman University and the community surrounding the campus.

The Long Beach Approach

By looking at what other cities have done to enhance cycling safety, it is apparent that Southern California is filled with cycling enthusiasts wanting more bike lanes. This weekend I took a trip to Long Beach, CA to see what their local city cyclists have done in order to add bike lanes. After arriving on Broadway Ave., it was apparent the work that had gone into creating a city that is bike-friendly. These lanes were added in 2001 as a city “Bicycle Master Plan”. Studying the master plan is helpful in understanding how a city can focus on creating a bicycle safe environment and how it can be applied to the city of Orange.

The Master Plan states:

"The master plan seeks to focus on creating east-west and north-south connections, links to the river and beach trails and encourages residents to ride for fun and for work.
The city is also launching a pilot program to install bike lanes in some areas. Part of the plan involves a two-way bike lane on Third Street between Alamitos and Junipero avenues and protected bicycle lanes - landscaped medians that separate bicycle and car lanes - on Third Street and Broadway between Golden and Alamitos avenues. Bicycle lanes would also be placed in neighborhoods, such as on Vista Street between Temple and Nieto avenues.
And sharrows - prominent indicators painted on roads that would provide a larger space for bicyclists sharing the lane with motorists - would be installed on Second Street between Livingston Drive and Bay Shore Avenue."

Here is a short video of some people enjoying an evening ride thorugh downtown Long Beach:


Although the city has succeeded in creating the bike lanes proposed in the master plan, efforts to enhance bicycle safety have not vanished. Resident Josh Joseph talked about establishing a Bicycle Advisory Committee and improvements toward the 2001 Bicycle Master Plan.

Chapman C Park Policy Encourages Cycling

This year’s new parking policy at Chapman University, whether seen as good or bad, has caused growth in the amount of cyclers commuting to the University. The policy restricts students from parking in areas in and around the campus that had previously been open to all students. All parking spots that are now of limits to students, have been auctioned off at large prices starting at $500. Chapman’s stated reasoning behind the policy is to encourage students to carpool, causing a more efficient way of commuting to school. However, many students disagree with the policy saying that it is simply another way for Chapman to make easy cash.



One sure thing that the policy brings is more cyclists. Student Henry Allen said, “This year I have seen more bikes riding around campus than ever. It’s gotten to the point where almost every bike rack is constantly full.” Concerning the safety of riders and the traffic in and around the campus, Allen said, “Riding to class has now become a task in itself. The combination of student drivers, pedestrian walkers and the large amount of cyclists makes riding in the street and the sidewalks extremely dangerous.”

To read about Chapman's C-park policy visit http://www.chapman.edu/parking/

It's All About Timing.

In order to create bike lanes the cheapest and most efficient way it is important to know when to install bike lanes. Also, knowing the best candidate streets can help significantly lower the cost of such a project. The sections of Chapman Ave. and Glassell St. that I had selected for construction are perfect examples of roads that can easily add bike lanes.

The cost of installing a bike lane is approximately $5,000 to $50,000 per mile. This depends on the condition of the pavement, the need to remove and repaint the lane lines, the need to adjust signalization, and other factors. It is most cost efficient to create bicycle lanes during street reconstruction, street resurfacing, or at the time of original construction.

Although the bike lanes proposed to run Chapman Ave. stretch an approximate eight miles, the project could fit in with some of the other plans that the city of Orange currently have in progress. After viewing the committed recovery act project for Orange, CA 2009 I found that there are plans for road rehabilitation that sit in a large portion of the proposed bike route. With a federal funding of $1,620,734 bike lanes could easily be fit into the budget of this city project.

The proposed plans to connect the bike lanes from Chapman Ave., through the Orange circle and onto Glassell St. measures a mere half mile. This tiny strip of road although small, is extremely important in providing safe transportation for cyclists traveling to the city’s schools. This section of Glassell St. is well paved and could easily house bike lanes at an affordable price.

What is a Bike Lane?

Bike lanes indicate a preferential or exclusive space for bicycle travel along an arterial street. Bike lanes have been found to provide more consistent separation between bicyclists and passing motorists. Marking bicycle lanes can also benefit pedestrians—as turning motorist slow and yield more to bicyclists, they will also be doing so for pedestrians.

The addition of bike lanes on Glassell St. would result in fewer motor vehicle lanes. However, this can enhance safety for pedestrians crossing the street. Bicycle lanes also provide a buffer between motor vehicle traffic and pedestrians when sidewalks are immediately adjacent to the curb. On high-speed, high-volume roads, such as Chapman Ave., it may be more appropriate to provide a multi-use path to physically separate both bicyclists and pedestrians from motor vehicle traffic.

Safety Summation:
Create on-street travel facilities for bicyclists.
Narrow the roadway or travel lane widths to encourage lower motor vehicle speeds.
Provide additional separation between pedestrians and motor vehicles. Reduce the distance pedestrians must travel to cross automobile lanes.

For Your Knowledge...

Orange County currently has more than 1,000 miles of bike lanes. In the city of Orange, there is approximately 40 miles of bicycle lanes. A large amount of these lanes are paved off-road routes that surround the city of Orange. Currently, there are a total of three different bike lanes in Orange County.

First, colored red are Class-1 off-road paved routes.

Second, colored orange are Class-2 on-road (stripped lanes).

Third, colored blue are Class-3 on-road (signed only) streets.

For the purpose of dealing with Glassell St. and Chapman Ave., Class-2 lanes are a must to ensure maximum safety. My proposal for new Class-2 bike lanes on these streets is highlighted in green on the image below to demonstrate where the new bike lanes should be placed.

Breaking It Down

Adding bike lanes to the city of Orange streets is both economical and simple. By adding lanes only to the cities most heavily trafficked areas, Orange has the ability to turn its streets into a safe, green and economical roadway. After all, bicycles are proven to be the most efficient means of transportation. As a student and commuter to Chapman University, I find that the most difficult and dangerous areas to ride a bicycle in the city of Orange reside around the campus.

Booming with bicycle commuters to both Chapman University and the high schools surrounding the campus, Chapman Ave. continues to grow with cyclists creating an extremely dangerous environment. Bike lanes on Chapman Ave. could help link the Irvine Cycle route that runs along the 57 fwy to the bike route that runs up Santiago Canyon. Creating one long bicycle lane would create a safe backbone that runs through the center of Orange.


Branching off Chapman Ave., Glassell St. is the vertical centerpiece that runs through the city of Orange. For cyclists, riding through the Old Towne Orange circle is one of the most nerve-racking experiences. In the form of an Italian roundabout, this beautiful location is also a cause for disaster when filled with cyclists and drivers. An uncommon street, the roundabout constantly confuses drivers. If they are not paying attention, the one-way street can easily cause an accident between rider and driver. In 2008 there were two cases of cars driving into and through the park that lies in the center of the circle. This is also the location of my own near death experience when a driver failed to stop at a stop sign, causing my bike and I to fall into the middle of the street.

A squirrel trying to get a nut.

Dear Will Kempton,

Do you know the hardest part of learning to ride a bicycle? The answer is the pavement. This routine is constantly learned and reminded when riding through the dangerous streets or Orange, CA. With the poor state of the economy, bicycle shops become a booming business for people who commute short distances to work and school. As OCTA focuses on “Big Picture” things like “Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger appointed Kempton to run Caltrans and oversee 50,000 lane miles of state highways, an annual budget of nearly $14 billion”, they are continuing to miss the smaller problems surrounding the safety of cyclers namely in Orange, CA. If I had it my way, the OCTA $14 billion budget would spent covering the state of California with bicycle lanes. However, for the purposes of greatly enhancing bicycle safety in Orange, CA, creating bicycle lanes in highly commuted areas is the best solution.

As a student at Chapman University in Orange, CA, I have personally seen the changes in bicycle popularity over the past few years. I recently became concerned for the safety of Orange cyclists after a major road rage accident that changed my life. Riding through the beautiful streets of Old Towne Orange I pedaled through a crosswalk just as a speeding car failed to stop at the stop sign across the street. The car nearly ran me off the road, causing me to fall to the pavement. As I stood up and began to brush off the debris from the pavement, my father’s favorite quote was constantly flashing in my mind. “It’s my world and you’re just a squirrel trying to get a nut”. Researching the city’s laws and regulations I found that cycling on the sidewalks of Old Towne Orange was in fact illegal. As I pondered why the reckless person in the speeding car did not care why I was nearly run over I thought about the fact that I was merely a cyclist in an automobile’s world. Forcing cyclists to share car lanes with drivers is an extreme safety hazard and should be changed by adding bicycle lanes. Although the incident did make me more aware while riding in the streets, it has since made me scared and paranoid to ride long distances in the city of Orange.

Please Will Kempton, help make the streets of Orange a safer environment for cyclists by adding bicycle lanes to the cities most heavily trafficked regions. Safety is my concern and cycling is my passion.

Sincerely,

Preston Walker

(1985 Panasonic Sport 500 Road Bike)