{"id":691,"date":"2014-09-03T23:31:44","date_gmt":"2014-09-04T04:31:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/safetga.org\/?p=691"},"modified":"2014-10-21T19:05:20","modified_gmt":"2014-10-22T00:05:20","slug":"what-will-happen-to-cyclists-when-kingshighway-closes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/safetga.org\/?p=691","title":{"rendered":"What Will Happen to Cyclists when Kingshighway Closes?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"TGA+Kingshighway\"<\/a>

Tower Grove Avenue<\/a>.<\/strong>\u00a0The road,\u00a0mapped\u00a0above\u00a0with colored lines, runs north from\u00a0Tower Grove Park to the Cortex District and the Central West End. \u00a0The South Kingshighway Viaduct, highlighted in red, is being rebuilt. \u00a0In this post we are focusing on southern Tower Grove Avenue\u00a0(blue and green sections above) when Kingshighway closes. \u00a0(Click map for details.)<\/p><\/div>\n

Update<\/b>You can find the latest details about the City’s proposal for Tower Grove Avenue here<\/a>, and a petition to voice your concerns here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

In the Fall of 2014 a section of Kingshighway Boulevard – a major St. Louis arterial – will close for a year and a half to rebuild a bridge, and a lot of cars will need to find alternative routes. What will happen to cyclists on Tower Grove Avenue, a principal north\/south cycling corridor a half mile to the east? The City has in its hands plans to build bike lanes which would preserve bicycle safety on this route, but those plans are being scrapped to maximize traffic flow – no matter the cost to the road’s cyclists, pedestrians, and neighborhoods.
\n<\/p>\n

Tower Grove Avenue<\/a> next to the Botanical Gardens is a jewel of a road, with wide right lanes and no intersections. \u00a0Cars usually drive in the left lane and cyclists on the right, with plenty of clearance from parked cars, making the right lane feel like a bike lane. \u00a0With\u00a0no viable alternative routes for cyclists, Tower Grove Avenue serves as a critical north\/south bicycle corridor. \u00a0Its relative safety and convenience are a big reason Tower Grove Avenue is the busiest cycling route in St. Louis.<\/p>\n

\"Cycling<\/a>

Tower Grove Avenue is lovely to ride.<\/strong> \u00a0Cars take the left lane and cyclists take the right next to the Botanical Gardens. \u00a0This safe and enjoyable arrangement helps make this road a key St. Louis bicycle corridor.<\/p><\/div>\n

Still, there\u00a0are a number of hazards cyclists face daily. During heavy traffic cars will sometimes drive in the right lane, and this “bike lane” arrangement breaks down (see photo below). \u00a0Such driving is often aggressive, and is very\u00a0alarming and intimidating to cyclists. \u00a0Cars driving in the right lane are\u00a0especially\u00a0dangerous when both the driver and cyclist approach\u00a0parked cars.<\/p>\n

Another problem occurs on certain summer weekends, when cars park at 45-degrees on the southbound lane of Tower Grove Avenue for events at the Missouri Botanical Gardens (see photo below). \u00a0This increases the parking along Tower Grove Avenue but causes major problems for riders. \u00a0Cyclists must ride in the left lane with\u00a0car traffic, which is intimidating to many riders. \u00a0Worse, drivers pulling out cannot see cyclists until they’ve completely blocked their path, a real\u00a0hazard for all cyclists.<\/p>\n

Heavy traffic, right-lane driving, and angled parking pose a constant danger to cyclists on this generally safe and popular cycling route. \u00a0Unfortunately, things are\u00a0about to get worse.<\/p>\n

\"In<\/a>

Bicycle hazards on Tower Grove Avenue.<\/strong> In heavy traffic cars will sometimes drive in the right lane. Such aggressive driving is intimidating and dangerous, particularly near parked cars.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Bicycle hazards on Tower Grove Avenue.<\/strong> Cars pull in diagonally in the southbound lane of Tower Grove Avenue to park for occasional Botanical Gardens events. As they back out, drivers don’t see cyclists until they’ve fully blocked their path, creating a real hazard for all cyclists.<\/p><\/div>\n

The aging South Kingshighway Viaduct<\/a> was built in 1936 and is crumbling. \u00a0The city has plans to replace it<\/a>, with\u00a0construction scheduled to start in the Fall of 2014. Kingshighway will close for a year and a half as a\u00a0new bridge is built, and during this time traffic will divert to alternative routes. \u00a0The heaviest traffic will flow to\u00a0nearby arterials, but car volume\u00a0will increase significantly along Tower Grove Avenue along its entire stretch. \u00a0What impact this will have\u00a0on cyclists will depend on what bicycle infrastructure is in place.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>

Kingshighway is closing.<\/strong> The South Kingshighway Viaduct between Vandeventer and Shaw is in poor shape and will be torn down in\u00a0Fall 2014. Kingsighway Blvd will be closed for a year and a half\u00a0between Vandeventer and Shaw to replace the aging viaduct.<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

The good news is that Tower Grove Avenue is slated to get buffered bike lanes as part of the Bike St. Louis Phase 3 project<\/a>. \u00a0Buffered bike lanes\u00a0are an improvement<\/a> over the standard bike lane, with a three-foot-wide buffer between the bike lane and parked cars, as well as a single driving lane (see photo below). \u00a0They are safer for cyclists than regular lanes, and the new buffered lanes on Arsenal have been getting rave reviews. \u00a0If the installation goes according to schedule, Tower Grove Avenue will be striped for such\u00a0lanes this fall.<\/p>\n

Buffered bike lanes aren’t great just for cyclists, but are also\u00a0a real benefit to the residents of the neighborhoods around Tower Grove Avenue. \u00a0Because they\u00a0limit car traffic to only one lane, they\u00a0calm traffic and reduce noise and pollution. \u00a0A single driving lane on Tower Grove Avenue would encourage drivers from distant neighborhoods to stay on the designated detours, which are arterial roads like Grand and Hampton that\u00a0are designed to handle such traffic.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>

Buffered bike lanes along Arsenal are the solution.<\/strong> The road has been restriped with\u00a0a 7′ parking lane, 3′ buffer, 5′ bike lane, and 10′ travel lane. \u00a0The exact same arrangement has been proposed for Tower Grove Avenue between Magnolia and Vandeventer as part of\u00a0the Bike St. Louis Phase 3 project<\/a>. \u00a0However, traffic engineers instead want to remove parking and send two lanes of cars each way on Tower Grove Avenue while Kingshighway is closed.<\/p><\/div>\n

Yet this scenario is in doubt. \u00a0We’ve recently learned that traffic engineers are insisting on opening up two lanes for cars in each direction along Tower Grove Avenue to maximize the volume\u00a0of traffic which can flow through it. \u00a0They are looking\u00a0to get rid of on-street parking and to delay any bike infrastructure projects until after the Kingshighway bridge is complete in Fall 2016 or later. \u00a0We have heard from people\u00a0closely involved in the project that Phase 3 buffered bike lanes are on hold indefinitely on Tower Grove Avenue. (Update<\/strong>\u00a0The\u00a0City announces its delay of Phase 3 infrastructure on Tower Grove Avenue here<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

If the buffered bike lanes are scuttled and two driving lanes go in, Tower Grove Avenue will become unrecognizable, an entirely different place to ride, walk, and live near. \u00a0The wide open lanes will encourage fast driving and invite more cars\u00a0to detour through this route. \u00a0Rather than ease traffic, two lanes will encourage more of it – this is\u00a0induced demand<\/a>, which guarantees that if you build it, they will come. \u00a0As a result, Tower Grove Avenue between Magnolia and Shaw will look a lot more like Kingshighway, a loud river of cars which is scary to ride and a real burden\u00a0to cross. \u00a0Worse still, since\u00a0Tower Grove Avenue narrows to one lane heading north to the I-64 interchange, at peak\u00a0traffic both lanes will become parking lots as two lanes try to funnel into\u00a0one. \u00a0Creating two lanes for just a short stretch of a road will create congestion\u00a0but won’t improve the flow of traffic.<\/p>\n

The evolving plans for Tower Grove Avenue illustrate in a nutshell\u00a0how driver convenience is reflexively prioritized over cyclist safety. \u00a0Yet it is not just cyclists harmed by this approach: the entire neighborhood will suffer from the noise and exhaust of traffic, and pedestrians will have a much harder time crossing. \u00a0Up the road, the developing Cortex District has committed itself <\/a>to the idea that being more accessible to cyclists and pedestrians is critical to being competitive on the national and international stage. Delaying bike lanes to speed traffic subverts all of this.<\/p>\n

\"Caption\"<\/a>

Your voice counts.<\/strong> \u00a0Public officials are sensitive to the concerns of their constituents, particularly during an election year. \u00a0Here, Alderman Conway demonstrates his commitment to pedestrian safety by helping to paint\u00a0decorative crosswalks on Tower Grove Avenue at\u00a0Magnolia.<\/p><\/div>\n

Buffered bike lanes are the only way to keep Tower Grove Avenue the jewel of a road that it is today. \u00a0They will keep things essentially the way they are now: a single lane used\u00a0mostly by drivers from\u00a0nearby neighborhoods at\u00a0reasonable speeds, on-street parallel parking on both sides for residents as well as Garden visitors, and a safe and convenient corridor\u00a0for cyclists of all ages and abilities.<\/p>\n

If this is something you care about, please share your thoughts with Alderman Conway (314-622-3287), Mayor Slay (314-622-3201), the Streets Department (314-647-3111), and your alderman (more details here<\/a>). \u00a0The next few months will be a real test of this City’s commitment to cycling, and your voice is critical.<\/p>\n

Update\u00a0<\/strong>This piece\u00a0has been republished on NextSTL.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Update 2<\/strong> The City has posted an official response in the comments section below. \u00a0Read the response as well as our reply here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Update 3<\/strong> Read here<\/a> for an additional response from the City.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

UpdateYou can find the latest details about the City’s proposal for Tower Grove Avenue here, and a petition to voice your concerns here. In the Fall of 2014 a section of Kingshighway Boulevard – a major St. Louis arterial –…<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more ›<\/a><\/div>\n

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