Category: News

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The need for better law enforcement training

Destination positioning is a central and foundational concept of bicycle traffic safety. Moving away from the far right is at times not just legal and not just safer for a bicyclist, but is at the same time courteous to drivers behind. While most law enforcement officers know the rules and do the right thing, there are times where better training is necessary. Read here about one bicyclist in Phoenix recently who was unfairly ticketed for not being “far to the right” while waiting at a red light, and the great lengths he had to go to  get justice.

If you believe you have been unfairly ticketed by a police officer, although the Coalition cannot represent you, we would like to know about it. We would also encourage all bicyclists to view the law enforcement training that was put together jointly by the Coalition and Glendale Police Department; and encourage your own local police force to provide specific training to their officers on bicycle traffic safety and law enforcement.

South Mountain Freeway Shared Use Path

— Path OPENED 10/30/2020 —

The South Mountain Freeway, the last and final portion of loop SR202, was constructed atop what was Pecos Road, in the Ahwatukee area of the city of Phoenix.

Although some form of path was seemingly promised as long ago as 2010, that was all seemingly forgotten by 2015 when preparations for the construction of the freeway were reaching final planning stages.

A group of local cyclists banded together, most notably the Pecos Action Group led by Joe Struttman, was well as Bob Beane of the Coalition, along with other stakeholders including elected officials from both the city and state to cause a shared use path to be built; and not just any path but a 20 foot wide asphalt path suitable for higher-speed cycling. Curves, bends, and dips were eliminated, which also has the side-effect of making the path all-weather; it will not flood in low spots during normal storms. Commitments were made finally in 2017 that this path would actually be constructed:

Shared Use Path running along the southern side of the 202- The final design will be completed shortly with direction to make it compatible with high speed bicycle use. This facility will be the first of its kind in the nation and is expected to bring cycling enthusiast from all around the state to our community. This started as an idea and has now transformed into what could be the first cycling park of this kind in the nation thanks to the collaboration of this group.

The path is approximately six miles long, spanning from 40th Street to 17th Avenue. Access the path from any of the following: 40th St, 32nd St, 24th St. Desert Foothills Parkway, or 17th Avenue. The path is runs along the south side of the freeway; to the south of the path lies the Gila River Indian Community; and offers great views of the Estrella Mountains to the west

The freeway connects the communities of Ahwatukee (and the east Valley) to Laveen (and the west Valley). Unfortunately, there are no feasible routes for bicyclists to commute between the two; it’s an effective dead end at 17th Avenue. The Coalition requested ADOT to evaluate a small section (between 17th Ave and Vee Quiva Way) in 2016, years before the freeway was opened. They inexplicably never conducted this evaluation; after over three years of waiting, in 2020 ADOT finally issued a written determination that does not follow their own policy and is arbitrary. We await an actual evaluation and decision based on facts and in keeping with their own policy. Until then, ADOT will continue to deny bicyclists the advantages and economic opportunities that access to this multi-billion dollar project — funded primarily from sales taxes — provides the motoring public.

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See news item: ahwatukee.com: Remaining SM Freeway pieces opening Oct.19

…Both the interchange and the multi-use path have a long history that took a long time to iron out as the former was an off-again on-again component and the multi-use path the result of persistent lobbying by the high-speed bicycling enthusiasts.

For years, bicyclists across the Valley flocked to Pecos Road, which was considered a premiere training facility where they could cruise up and down hills while reaching speeds of up to 40 mph for stretches between traffic lights.

But it was a far from perfect place for cycling, given that motorists reached hit higher speeds. Two cyclists were killed in 2004 and 2014.

Cycling community leader Joe Struttmann saw the imminent disappearance of Pecos Road to make way for the freeway as a perfect opportunity to build a safe path for cyclists that would be the first of its kind in the country – and far safer than Pecos Road…

Shoulder access to South Mountain Freeway

R5-10a

ADOT recently completed and opened the South Mountain Freeway in late 2019; which was heralded — rightly so — as a great accomplishment that will provide a much needed connection between the communities of Ahwatukee and Laveen, or more broadly a direct connection between South East and West Valley, bringing for example enhanced employment opportunities. This publicly funded project (funded mostly from sales taxes [4] ), at present, and by default prohibits non-motorized users; this leaves members of the public who choose to or must travel by bicycle excluded.

The Coalition of Arizona Bicyclists (CAZBike) in September 2016 requested that ADOT evaluate access to a very small portion, between two adjacent traffic interchanges, pointing out lack of frontage roads or other suitable routes:

9/29/2016 “(CAZBike) formally request(s) a response from ADOT on allowing bicyclists to use paved shoulders to connect between the western end of the Ahwatukee Foothills and 51st Avenue [since that was written, the since-added Vee Quiva Way would now be the most appropriate western terminus, and 17th Avenue would be the logical eastern terminus because that would coincide with the western end of shared-use path ADOT has since constructed]

And partially reiterates 11/18/2016 “What is the status of my request … and my request that this be done formally with documented response? I want this to all be public record so I want to do it the right way”

We received the following response 4/20/2020 [1], this would be over three years after the request was made. Unfortunately, the response fails to take into account the policy referenced [2], no traffic study of alternate routes was mentioned, and the decision appears arbitrary. The referenced policy makes no mention of ‘metro’ (or ‘urban’,  or ‘rural)’. The reference to Table 1030-A as constituting documentation is specious — the route of the South Mountain Freeway portion of SR202 was not even sited for many years, possibly decades, after SR202 was added to that table. The policy demands a study, and that “Each case shall be judged on its own” yet it wasn’t.

We continue to request that ADOT prepare a traffic study of the area in question, and only then make a decision informed by those particular facts. Prohibiting bicyclists from using the shoulder may in fact be more dangerous; without an objective traffic study we cannot know. ADOT will need to assign the task to an engineer who is skilled in bicycle traffic; and should be familiar with the ADOT reference documentation[6], below.



In addition, it should be investigated how such matters get handled, as the process was frustrating, needlessly protracted, and at times even dishonest and non-professional. The personnel we were instructed to deal with which included at different times Mike Sanders (the bike/ped coordinator at the time the request was made), then on 6/8/2017 (per our meeting with Director Halikowski) Eric Gudino, and as of 12/6/2019 Mr. Gudino informed us our contact would be Donna Lewandowski (the current bike/ped coordinator). The few answers we received over the years were a mixture of: incomplete, lacking documentation, diversionary, falsehoods. See timeline[3]. It is quite clear after viewing some ADOT-internal emails dated 11/22 and 11/23/2020 at that time ADOT engineers were planning a traffic study, consistent with policy. Just after, all activity suddenly and secretly ceased; and we were never informed. We met in-person with numerous ADOT managers 6/8/2017, including Dallas Hammit, when the issue was raised by CAZBike, no one present had anything to say.

ADOT is a public agency and as such has a duty to operate openly and transparently.

Continue reading Shoulder access to South Mountain Freeway

Coalition of Arizona Bicyclist’s Annual member’s meeting 10/20/2020

This year, the annual business meeting will be held via tele-conference.
A business meeting and election of open board of directors seats will be held.

  • Tuesday, October 20 , 2020 at 6:30PM Arizona Time.

Members in good standing who wish to attend/listen/vote please contact cazbike@cazbike.org no later than 10/13 to obtain the phone in details. Not a member? Click here to join.

Nominations, or self-nominations for the Board of Directors are still open, and as always we’re looking for volunteers in any capacity. Continue reading Coalition of Arizona Bicyclist’s Annual member’s meeting 10/20/2020

Cycling Savvy Training

CyclingSavvy offers traffic safety training that uses cutting-edge graphics and animations to help you best navigate any situation, you’ll learn how to recognize and avoid conflicts, making your ride as safe as possible, at the same time reducing stress.

The Coalition is now a CyclingSavvy Affiliate: you receive a 25% discount off the online  Ride Awesome package. This is $25 off the usual price of $100.

The online CS Ride Awesome package has a 30-day money-back guarantee. CAzB will receive $10 after the 30-day money-back period has expired.

To sign up for the CAzB affiliate Cycle Savvy Ride Awesome Package

  1. Go to cyclingsavvy.org
  2. Under the Courses label click the “Online Courses” menu option
  3. Click the green “Sign Up for Ride Awesome!” button on the left side of the page
  4. Click the blue “Add to cart” button
  5. When checking out enter coupon code “CAZBIKE” and click the blue “Apply coupon” button
  6. Click the blue “Proceed to checkout” button and follow the instructions

Please note; once you purchase access to the online course you can watch it as many times as you want, offering lifetime access to the current Basics and Mastery and future courses (that are offered to the public; excludes certification courses).

Not Ready to Purchase?

You can access the Essentials Mini-Course completely free of charge.

You are on the path to changing your perspective on cycling safety.

 

Coalition of Arizona Bicyclist’s Annual member’s meeting 10/15/2019

This year, the annual meeting will be held via tele-conference.
A business meeting and election of open board of directors seats will be held.

  • Tuesday, October 15 , 2019 at 6:30PM Arizona Time.

Members in good standing who wish to attend/listen/vote please contact cazbike@cazbike.org no later than 10/11 to obtain the phone in details. Not a member? Click here to join.

Nominations, or self-nominations for the Board of Directors are still open, and as always we’re looking for volunteers in any capacity. Continue reading Coalition of Arizona Bicyclist’s Annual member’s meeting 10/15/2019

National Bike Summit 2019

Jackie Martin attended the Spring 2019 National Bike Summit in Washington DC  with partial financial support from the Coalition, below is her report:

Children’s cycling education: “Bunny Hop”
I wanted to extend a warm thank you for your financial support of my trip to present at National Bike Summit this year. The funds contributed by TBAG & CAzBike paid for my registration fee and accommodations.  Since Ivan (my husband and TBAG board member) and I traveled together, we both bene
fited greatly from your generosity and wanted to say thank you, and share our experiences.
Here’s the presentation I gave. The panel I spoke on was called “Expanding Audiences,” and I discussed how TBAG worked to become more inclusive of families by offering children’s cycling education.  I discussed the public health research I’ve conducted as a nurse, and the best practices I discovered for children’s cycling education. I then implemented those best practices in a TBAG-sponsored ride called Bunny Hop, which just celebrated it’s 3rd anniversary. My presentation at Bike Summit offered a detailed toolkit for implementing Bunny Hop, or something similar, in other communities. I am proud to say that about half a dozen other cities are committed to hosting a Bunny Hop in 2020!
“Lobby Day” at National Bike Summit 2019

Here’s a summary of some of the lectures Ivan and I attended. Probably the most interesting of the sessions we attended was the tour of Crystal City, hosted by Bike Arlington. I’ve included photos of some of Arlington County (VA)’s creative solutions to offering active transport options in preparation for Amazon.com opening a headquarters to Crystal City. Another interesting point is the last slide of the Summary, “general impressions.” The biggest take-away from the Summit is that the approach to bike advocacy – on the local and national level – is changing to focus on “active transit,” especially pedestrians. Another shift in the dialogue is focusing on environmental and economic health of communities that promote cycling (rather than previous public health approaches focusing on staying fit, reducing traffic, etc).

We learned a lot and are very grateful for the experience. If you have never been to Bike Summit, I urge you to consider going next year – it’s a wonderful learning and networking experience.
And just as an aside, I have been asked by the Arizona Nurses Association quarterly publication to author an abstract on my research and the Bunny Hop project, from a public health perspective. When I finish it, I’ll send this along, too!

Arizona to place restrictions on cell phone use while driving

After over a decade of waiting, Arizona will become one of the last US states to place general restrictions on handheld cell phone use. Yesterday the Arizona legislature passed HB2318 and Governor Ducey is expected to sign the bill which would require electronic gadgety to be operated hands-free only; with certain exceptions. Credit must be given to the victims and families of victims who have pursued these laws year-after-year; as well as to former state Senator Steve Farley, as well as Brendan Lyons, a victim and also founder of Look Save a Life , and anti-distraction advocacy organization.

Brendan Lyons (center) looks on as Gov. Ducey signs

The offense will be primary, and enforcement can commence immediately once signed (emergency status), there will be with a lengthy warning period until the beginning of 2021.

The death of Officer Townsend, killed at a traffic stop by a driver who said he was texting, earlier this year appears to be the straw that finally broke the camel’s back. [UPDATE June 2021 — although this remains true; all charges against that driver were dropped; follow the same link for explanation] The fact that as many as twenty seven localities in Arizona had one-by-one painstakingly instituted various ban beginning 12 years ago should cause Arizona legislators great shame in their failure to act sooner; allowing the problem to worsen, particularly after large upticks in fatal traffic crashes after 2012.

An additional bill that also narrowly passed the house yesterday, SB1141, which is a more general anti-distracted driving law. This bill, however, must go back to the Senate; so it’s fate is unclear.