Politics & Government
Bike Committee Looking at Safety Improvements
Sharrows, bike racks and more were discussed at the committee's monthly meeting.
In light of the cyclist fatalities over the last year-and-a-half, the Newport Beach bike safety committee has been trying to figure out how best to keep cyclists safe.
At this week's monthly meeting, options to continue making the roads safer and more bike-friendly—including sharrows, bike racks and a car-free event—were among the items discussed by community members, city officials and committee members.
Committee member Denis LaBonge proposed educating residents about "sharrows"—shared lane markers.
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"People need to understand what they are. Do you know that only one in 99 actually know what they are?" LaBonge said. "We may want temporary signs, just build our case about what they are."
He suggested that if the city decides to add more sharrows throughout the city, there needs to be an active campaign instructing the public about their purpose.
Find out what's happening in Newport Beach-Corona Del Marwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Also at the Meeting
Newport Beach police Lt. Steve Koudelka said bicycle- versus auto-related accidents were headed in the right direction, with a decrease in accidents. "Our goal is to see zero bike versus auto accidents," Koudelka said. "We don't want to see anybody hurt."
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The committee also discussed increasing the number of bike racks in the city. The discussion quickly turned to a debate over larger racks versus smaller, more attractive ones.
"I'd rather have something ugly that holds more instead of the more attractive ones that hold only two," Councilwoman and committee chairwoman Nancy Gardner said. The consensus was that bike riders with nicer bikes won't put their bikes in the larger racks.
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City Manager Dave Kiff proposed an idea to help improve bicycle awareness and referred to Cyclovia Tucson, an annual car-free event that opens selected streets so that people can walk, skate, ride bikes, socialize and shop.
"In the community it would build an opportunity for people to get comfortable with bike riding," Kiff said. No one opposed the "cyclovia" idea; the next step would be to decide when and where to schedule it.
