What an absurd waste of city resources to grind off a #pdxBikes lane because some NIMBY with the commissioner's phone number didn't like it. #PBOT should be grinding off the yellow centerlines, which nobody was consulted on. #Vision60or70something#PredatoryDelay#DefundDOTs
@enobacon Do you know if there's a written policy about which street segments should have centerlines, or is it ad hoc/whatever some PBOT engineer feels like?
@kurtn it's entirely based on fear of being sued for doing something counter to accepted "best practice". There is guidance in the MUTCD (a manual which begins by stating that it is not a substitute for Engineering judgement) based on width and vehicles per day, but it totally neglects any consideration of network function, adequacy/existence of bikeways or sidewalks, etc. So, Engineers are usually just operating in the comfortable fiction that car counts should dictate street design.
@enobacon Thanks. I was just wondering if you knew of any PDX-specific guidance beyond what's in the MUTCD, but sounds like not.
FWIW, as far as I can tell all the research on safety benefits of centerlines is from rural roads, where the benefits are pretty clear. There's one study from Britain showing higher speeds on an urban street when centerlines were added. Boulder also did a trial of before/after centerlines on an urban/suburban street and found slightly higher speed with the centerlines.
@kurtn we've done some centerline removal in PDX, maybe even on a few streets besides the ones where I asked specifically about it during the repaving planning. They're reluctant to do it when over 4000 cars/day, but also Engineers don't come to planning meetings because these standards are indefensible. I've been pointing out that without sidewalks and bike lanes, it's just a design to induce demand for at least 4000 cars per day and that's goes against goals of our council-adopted plans
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