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| Image from NACTO. |
Straight from the National Association of City Transportation Officials.
Geek Out – Grand Forks Planning
Cycling on 2nd Avenue North
I stopped bicycle commuting via 2nd Ave N several years ago because I prefered the lower traffic volume and slightly wider street one block south. Since I now work near the UND end of 2nd Ave N, however, I still get to glance down the street several times a day to see how people are faring.
Observations this fall:
- Many people on bicycles (and longboards) still use 2nd Ave N west of 23rd Street for commuting to class.
- Estimate about a 50/50 split between riding on the sidewalk and riding in the street, although if this number is not 50/50, I’d err on the side of more people on bicycles on the sidewalk.
- Eastbound at 2nd and 23rd, again about half of the people on bicycles continue east on 2nd, and half turn south onto 23rd.
- I haven’t noticed many (if any) people on bicycles on the wrong side of the street, although people on longboards in this town seem to prefer riding with traffic rather than against it.
There are a number of issues with people riding bicycles on the sidewalk. First, it increases the likelihood of conflicts with other sidewalk users–small children, people with strollers, people walking dogs, other people on bicycles–all within a narrow width and at higher speeds than the sidewalks were designed for. Second, it increases the likelihood of conflicts at intersections–with people in/on vehicles on the street–without a clear right-of-way. Neither people in cars on the street nor people on bicycles on the sidewalk want to stop. People on bicycles on the sidewalk are unexpected, especially when entering the intersection from the right, and traveling faster than people in cars are expecting sidewalk traffic to be traveling.
If we can agree that people riding bicycles on the sidewalk isn’t the most optimal scenario, we need to figure out how to change their behavior. Signs are not likely to help, nor are repeated admonitions. Until cycling becomes more ingrained in the Grand Forks culture (including correct assessment of risk for different modes of transportation), infrastructure changes seem the most likely way to change the behavior of sidewalk riders. (One issue with infrastructure is that you need support from people to build it, and you can’t get support if people aren’t already riding on existing infrastructure!)
I am assuming two things: that people choose not to ride in the street because of perceived safety concerns, and that, given an alternative (safer-feeling) on-street place to ride that is faster than riding on the sidewalk, they will use it. Given these assumptions, it seems appropriate to address this section of 2nd Avenue North in conjunction with the new 
Looking southeast from above 2nd Ave N, just east of Columbia Road.
Smarter, Greener, Leaner helps kids use area transit
This project came to attention because of a Herald letter this morning:
During the past year, a grassroots effort organized by Grand Forks Public Schools, in conjunction with the Grand Forks Park District and Cities Area Transit, identified an unmet need in our community of students, ages 12-18, being unable to afford access to public transportation in order to attend school, work, church and leisure activities.
What the project does (although this isn’t described in the letter) is provide CAT passes for students. A more detailed explanation is given by the Grand Forks Parks Foundation:
The Smarter, Greener, and Leaner Project (SGLP), whose mission statement is to make youth ages 12-18 Smarter, Greener, and Leaner through the use of public transportation, was born. Kids will become Smarter, because missing school will no longer be an issue due to lack of transportation. Leaner, because students will be able to go to fitness centers (with scholarship help) and participate in other outdoor activities using Cities Area Transit (CAT) transportation. Greener, because they’ll learn touse the bus system rather than drive their own vehicles, reducing emissions and becoming bus patrons past high school.
For more information, contact Garry Harris, Jr at the Grand Forks Parks Foundation.
Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan Open House – Sep. 26 at Dakota Harvest
Attention Everyone,There is going to be an Open House for the Bike and Pedestrian Plan. I attached a flyer of the event and of the Existing and Planned Bikeway Map. I am looking to all of you to help spread the word and attend the event. Support and feedback from both sides of the river is going to be very important of the success and approval of the plan.
Ideas and thoughts of how we can make this more of a success please let me know.
Thank you,
Stephanie Erickson
Planner
Metropolitan Planning Organization
Grand Forks / East Grand Forks
Don’t Fence Me In
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| Proposed pedestrian fence. Image from Google Earth. |
In this morning’s Herald, an idea reminiscent of New York City in the late 1990s:
The proposed 6-foot-tall aluminum fence would start on the east side of Columbia Road near the street’s intersection with Second Avenue North. From there it would run south and meet with the Columbia overpass wall — a distance of approximately 300 feet.“The idea is to force (pedestrians) to go down to the crosswalk,” Rich Romness, an engineer with the city, told the City Council’s safety committee Tuesday evening.
Luckily, at least one council member wants to see some hard data. I think you could guess which one.
Installing a fence follows from the ideas that
- Automobiles are paramount, and
- Pedestrians need to be protected from themselves.
You might remember a similar idea/plan for University Avenue on UND campus to install barricades to prevent “jaywalking,” proposed for the same reason. There’s no reason to do this on streets that have a 25 MPH speed limit–something both Columbia Road in this location and University Avenue (20 MPH on that stretch) have in common.
I agree: get some real data.
I Think You Mean “Crash”
One person was injured in a vehicle-bicycle accident in Grand Forks late Monday afternoon.
The accident occurred about 5:24 p.m. at the intersection of 24th Avenue South and South Washington Street, according to Grand Forks Police Department.
An unidentified female suffered minor injuries when the bicycle she was riding westbound on 24th Avenue South was struck by a vehicle that was turning from 24th Avenue unto Washington Street, according to the police report. Police said the driver reported not being able to see the bicycle because of the glare of the sun.
Names of the operators were not immediately available. The accident remains under investigation and no citations have been issued.
It’s currently becoming “proper” to refer to these events as “crashes” rather than “accidents,” because the word “accident” absolves everyone of blame, often before an investigation is completed.
Roundabouts
grab some comments from AV http://topics.areavoices.com/2012/11/27/grand-forks-officials-seek-traffic-signal-at-crash-prone-crossing/
Tyrone FB discussion 11/27 https://www.facebook.com/tyrone.grandstrand/posts/10100393608477545
http://bismarcktribune.com/bakken/north-dakota-s-first-highway-roundabout-working-out-well/article_5c544faa-22db-11e2-bc55-001a4bcf887a.html
http://www.wdaz.com/event/article/id/14023/
http://www.grandforksherald.com/event/article/id/250822/
Announcing Homestays
[This post refers to functionality that has since been removed.]
All these guys slept on the floor so they could be here.The Cost of Racing
After almost three years and thousands of event details entered into the Northern Plains Athletics database, I feel like I have an idea of what the regional racing scene looks like. During this time I’ve also been racing: mostly locally, but sometimes I travel for the sole purpose of racing myself or supporting my wife. I’ve noticed a few loose trends.
- Racing is expensive.
- More races are free.
Obviously these trends contradict each other. Racing is expensive across the board, but it is less so where people have been making a point to hold free races. I’m not going to comment too much on the idea of free races, except that I think more of them can be held and they will be awesome, as long as sponsors or private donations compensate the race director. Obviously Chris Skogen makes enough money somewhere to have been able to support the Almanzo the past few years, but not everyone who could be a great race director has those resources.
But why is racing only “less so” expensive when the race is free? Travel and lodging costs. Traveling to races adds up, and if there isn’t a good local scene where you are, you probably don’t even have a good crew to carpool with you every weekend. I give the Minnesota Cycling Federation a fair amount of crap for only organizing races in southern Minnesota, but that’s honestly the most cost-effective for the majority of their members. So let’s amend our previous list:
- Racing is expensive [even if]
- More races are free.
If you don’t pay, you can’t complain.Announcing Homestays
There are ways to reduce costs, however. We could start lobbying our local race directors to reduce prices. We could only go to races close to home. We could each host one free race a year to “grow the sport of [your sport here].” We could take the time to build our local club up to the point where travel costs are negligible because of carpooling and shared lodging. All of these options are very location-based: what works in Grand Forks might not in Rapid City, and Duluth has its own problems altogether. So what can a regional event calendar hope to do to help everyone?
There’s a new feature for finding cheap or free lodging here on Northern Plains Athletics: Homestays. It’s a simple idea, stolen from my few seasons as a collegiate cyclist. You find a race, you find people living there who are willing to let you crash with them because you’re a [cyclist | runner | skier | triathlete], and you pay them back with a six pack and a promise to pay it forward. Detailed instructions are here. It’s easy to host. It’s easy to not host. If you view an event page, local homestays are listed–or will be, if we can achieve a critical mass. It’s free–Northern Plains Athletics isn’t involved in any transactions between host and traveling athlete–although we do provide a place for your airbnb or Couchsurfing URLs.
With costs going up, it makes no sense to not take advantage of the incredible network of people you race against, sometimes week in and week out. I envision a way to make these bonds stronger, to make the distance from here to there seem a little bit less, and to build up a real social network. You can use this website, or not. You can take the idea and use it to get more people to your club’s event, or not. Think of it as a grand experiment. Tell me what works, tell me what doesn’t, and we’ll go from there.
How well do you know the person next to you?
Race Report: Single Speed USA (SSUSA) 2013, Winona, MN
This is a race report by “The Shred” that was previously published at Northern Plains Athletics, a site I used to run.
via Twin Six
In the spirit of SSUSA I bought a tallboy PBR before writing this race report. Keep that in mind because PBR tallboys and Miller Highlife seem to be the backbone of this race. Grand Forks, ND’s famous “Dave the Bike Guy” tricked me into signing up for SSUSA late one night, convincing me somehow that they were running out of registration spots. Without heed and following my own late New Years resolution of actively trying to mountain bike more I registered. The general description of this race is a Single Speed National Championship located in Winona MN this year. The thing is, no one really cares who wins or what place you came in or if you finished at all. And you don’t have to qualify to compete. Sure, 1st place male and female win a pretty cool handmade trophy (and so does the person who is “DFL” Dead F@!#$%^ Last), but other than a white board where someone who was still sober was able to write the names and times of the first 20 people to finish it’s more of a party than a race.
SSUSA changes locations every year and the next location is determined at the end of the race during the post race party via derby (bumper bikes), keg stands, and whatever events happen at the bar that evening.
Onto the race/party. I had a great time. Registration was an all night event at the bar, with many racers partying till last call. Bikes were everywhere. Expensive bikes were everywhere. Some were piled above my head in a stack. Dave and I stayed up late eating free popcorn and joining in on the rowdy unchained world that is SSUSA. I’m really surprised no one was arrested all weekend. Genuinely surprised.
Photo by Dave Sears
SSUSA started with tons of people in costumes, spandex, and nothing at all. It was a Le Mans start (meaning we ran to our bikes) before hitting the trails. I was on a fully rigid Redline Monocog 29er with v-brakes. The trail was 30-40 miles and gaining a total of 4,000 ft elevation. The trails in Winona were great. Some had to be connected by moderate sections of road, but I enjoyed them as a means to give my arms a rest. There were such steep uphills, that everyone ran or walked them. There were such steep and long downhills that my arms felt like Jello and for the 1-2 minutes that I was flying 20+mph down double track I had to yell at myself to hold on. This happened repeatedly. I literally thought I would destroy myself in an accident had I not held on to the brakes as tight as humanly possible. My arm muscles were so weak with fatigue trying to hold on and I kept feeling my biceps slapping on the bone they were attached to. It was a lesson of pain management and it made me jealous of everyone with a suspension fork and hydraulic brakes.
The trail had a few sag stops with more beer than water. If you thought you were going to fly through without putting one back, be prepared to be heckled, have things thrown at you and (in one case) someone with a slingshot was taking aim on racers who were “losing the race.” The beer stops were great and hydrating. My legs held up all day without cramping and after however many hours it took me to finish I was exhausted, happy, and looking for food and water.
For any of the gear heads, I was riding a 32-20 and it did me great. I could ride almost everything except for the parts where I couldn’t. I wouldn’t have picked an easier or harder gear. SSUSA revived my mountain biking appetite (as I was hoping) and I am stoked to get on any trail I can find.
I took a nap and thankfully Dave forced me to go the after party. It was at another bar downtown and featured music by a band called “DNF”. It was loud and fast, which matched pleasantly with the fireworks people were setting off inside. Students back in town for the semester would come up to our party floor, look shocked, disgusted, or incredulous that people twice their age or greater were getting wild. Again, I don’t know how I never saw any cops. I had a great weekend. I’d do it again, and I’d encourage anyone to join. Tons of great trails and tons of great people. Thanks Dave!
Here are some links:
https://www.facebook.com/singlespeedusa
http://gearjunkie.com/singlespeed-bike-champs-2013
