Anchorage Daily News

Is it possible to increase bicycling in Anchorage and make it safer at the same time?

The city thinks so.

For several years, the city's traffic department has been working on a plan to improve Anchorage's ragtag network of bicycle routes, which includes everything from streets to greenbelt trails. The Anchorage Bicycle Plan has been out for public review since March and final comments are due Thursday.

On Saturday afternoon, one of the authors of the 166-page plan gave a quick tutorial to a group assembled downtown for the last day of the Alaska Bike Summit, a three-day conference about what's new with bicycle transportation in Alaska and around the world.

The city's goal is to double the amount of local ridership while reducing the number of bicycle crashes by one-third, said Lori Schanche, the plan's co-author and the city's non-motorized transportation coordinator.

She said the plan isn't just meant to address the needs of cyclists who commute to work but also for people who use their bikes to get to the library or the grocery store. The plan doesn't deal with recreational cycling, to be reviewed in a separate plan, she said.

In additional to new or improved cycling routes, the plan proposes increasing bike parking, bike traffic signs and safety and education projects.

Safety is a serious problem: Anchorage had 1,827 bicycle-vehicle crashes from 1994 to 2006, eight of them fatal, according to state records.

"That's too many," Schanche said.

Local roads and intersections where the crashes occurred are identified in the plan as priorities for spending money to improve safety.

The city should also address conflict between pedestrians recreating on trails in local parks and cyclists, said Brian Litmans, president of the non-profit Bicycle Commuters of Anchorage, who attended Saturday's meeting.

Litmans said he wants to know the city's vision for accommodating traffic on trails in local parks in the future, given that trail use is increasing.

Some of those recreational trails probably should be widened, Schanche said.

She said a key element of the plan is creating bike lanes on local streets wherever possible rather than just funneling bike traffic onto walkways next to the road or onto trails.

People assume it's safest for bikes to travel on walkways rather than in moving traffic. However, motorists often have a hard time seeing or don't watch for bicycles crossing intersections from off-road paths.

The plan details 150 construction projects costing $81 million over a period of 20 years.

In the next four years, the city hopes to create 51 miles of bicycle lanes, 19 miles of paths next to roads and greenbelt trails and 3 miles of new trail in greenbelts.

In the next 20 years, the city envisions an additional 23 miles of bicycle lanes, 30 miles of separated pathways, and 13 miles of greenbelts trail.

Some of the specific proposals include:

• Creating bicycle lanes on A and C streets in their wide road shoulders, from O'Malley Road to Benson Boulevard.

• Studying how much it would cost to narrow the wide pathway next to Lake Otis Parkway from DeArmoun Road to DeBarr Road, and install bike lanes as a safer alternative.

• Building a separated pathway in the Alaska Railroad corridor between Spenard and South Anchorage. The railroad is opposed to the pathway, leading some to suggest erecting a fence between the tracks and the proposed path.

The total cost of the projects in the bicycle plan -- which includes Chugiak-Eagle River -- is $18.7 million in the next four years, and $63 million over the next 20 years.

Find Elizabeth Bluemink online at adn.com/contact/ebluemink or call 257-4317.

Cyclist’s rules of the road

• City rules allow cyclists to ride on public streets, adhering to the same basic rules as motorists.

• When cyclists use trails, sidewalks and paths, they have the rights and duties of pedestrians.

• Cyclists may not disobey traffic signs that prohibit a right turn, left turn or U-turn. When they dismount a bike, they must obey pedestrian rules.

• Cyclists must ride as near to the right edge of the road or trail as practical, except in the following circumstances: when turning and passing; when avoiding obstacles; or when the bicycle must fully occupy a lane at a street intersection to provide visibility to drivers.

• Cyclists on the road may not ride more than two abreast except on paths or parts of roadways set aside for their exclusive use, or during a licensed cycling event.

• No one may ride a bicycle on a sidewalk within a business district (such as downtown Anchorage).

• Cyclists must yield right-of-way to pedestrians when riding on sidewalks and trails, and must warn pedestrians when passing them either by ringing a bell or calling out.

• Bicycles must be equipped with a bell or other noisemaker (other than sirens and whistles).

• Bicycle helmets are mandatory for anyone 15 years old or younger when riding a bike in public places. After an initial warning, failure to wear a helmet can result in a $25 traffic fine.

Source: Anchorage Municipal Code

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