The city continue to add features to the Mountain Avenue and Grant Road intersection.
Bollards similar to the ones on St. Mary’s Boulevard were installed on both southbound and northbound directions.
Check out our original post about the upgrades.
Bicycle Tucson
Tucson's two-wheeled news source
This is great! I would see cars in the southbound right turn lane at least 30% of my trips downtown. Now if we can get cars to stop using the bike lane to pass other cars on the right. Doesn’t happen often but it is always a little freaky when its happens. Had a guy do it twice, 10 feet in front of me by Salpointe.
Forcing riders into a right-hook situation is not a safe way to design this intersection. Even the signage is disapproved by the Federal Highway Association.
http://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/knowledge/faqs/faq_part9.htm#signsq2
The bollards prevent right-turning motorists from making legal right turns. Arizona law requires that motorists use the bike lane for a right-hand turn.
“ARS 28-751. Required position and method of turning
The driver of a vehicle intending to turn shall do so as follows:
1. Right turns. Both the approach for a right turn and a right turn shall be made as close as practicable to the right-hand curb or edge of the roadway.”
arsolot In Springfield, Illinois our bike lanes are just marked by solid white lines. At intersections (without right turn lanes) the lines are dotted, indicating to motorists that they may move to the right curb to make a right turn. This arrangement doesn’t guarantee against a cyclist being hooked, but it seems to make things safer. Cyclists are legally allowed to “take the lane” to avoid being hooked; when stopped at a light I sometimes move to left to discourage hooking by motorists.
Joe, almost all of the intersections in Tucson are as you describe. And, like you, I’ll move into the travel lane to avoid the dreaded left hook. This particular intersection is heavily used by cyclists commuting to the University of Arizona campus, which is about a mile away. Under its misguided notion to make this intersection safer, the city has created an unsafe intersection with this cycletrap.
arsolot Read more carefully, “as close as practicable to the right-hand curb or edge of the roadway” doesn’t say to get into the bike lane and run bicyclist off the road.
bc70 arsolot Thanks, but I’ve already read it carefully.
Of course getting “into the bike lane and [running a] bicyclist off the road” is not mentioned in the statute and is illegal.
But, cars make right turns from the right side of the roadway and are permitted (and required) to move to the right, including the bike lane. I NEVER depend on a right-turning motorist to see me in the bike lane.
You’ll note that bike lanes regularly have dotted lines approaching an intersection. That is done as a warning to all road users that both cyclists and motor vehicles are meant to use that space.
A lot of the comments under this post are pretty critical of the bollards, but I like them.
Drivers of vehicles can still make right-hand turns, but the bollards prevent them from using the bike lane as a turn lane (visually and physically segregating cars from bikes).
I’m less worried about right hooks at this intersection now, because drivers will have to slow down, and there’s yet another reminder that they need to look out for the ever-present cyclists on that road.
Also, when traffic backs up >1/4 mile, which happens frequently at busy times, drivers will be less inclined to drive down the bike lane to make their turns.