This is an update from a letter to the City of Arcata.

At the beginning of July I was driving back home, yes in my truck, and passed through the new road construction on K Street, Arcata near 11th Street. As I crossed 11th Street heading north I was completely shocked and pissed-off that the new, temporary lane markers indicating the centerline directed motorist right into the class II bike lane. It frustrates me that it appears that construction crews and the City only acknowledge that motorists use the roads, and fail to meet the needs and safety concerns of bicyclists while construction is taking place.

This event, combined with the lack of maintenance of class II bike lanes on Alliance Road (the road I ride nearly every day) after road construction a year ago (July-Aug 2006), prompted me to attend the 17 July meeting of the Arcata Transportation Safety Committee. I personally would have liked to put all the Committee members on bikes and taken them on a bike lane tour of Arcata, but that wasn't totally practical. The next best thing to do was to bring the bike lanes to them. The following is a short, 3 part video presentation outlining some of my concerns as a cyclist.

An example of a "good" class II bike lane in Arcata (Spear Rd east of Alliance Rd):

Poorly maintained class II bike lane on Alliance Rd:

Alliance Rd is a popular & busy bicycle corridor for cyclists traveling north or south in Arcata. In addition to the candid conversation on video, I also spoke with another middle-aged woman the same day. She was also concerned with her safety and commented that she has to bike commute because she has epilepsy and is not permitted to drive.

Poorly marked centerline directs motorists to drive in class II bike lane:

The real problem here is inattention to detail. The centerline of the traffic lanes is not in the center of the roadbed. This portion of K Street has a bike lane and no parking on the southbound lane, and a bike lane and parking on the northbound lane. Hence, the centerline should be offset more to the west to accommodate a motor vehicle lane, bike lane, and on-street parking. **Note: The City of Arcata promptly had this portion of K Street temporarily re-striped. However, road construction in the area still infringes on class II bike lanes and no signage warns motorists to "watch for bicycles." The eventual roadway after construction should be excellent as long as the class II bike lanes are properly marked.

In addition to the videos, I presented 2 documents to the Arcata Transportation Safety Committee outlining my concerns and they can (might?) be obtained at the new Humboldt Bay Bicycle Commuters Association Google group (HumBike group files).

I do believe that the City of Arcata is interested in improving and maintaining its bicycle infrastructure. They seem responsive when I report hazards in bike lanes (such as abandoned vehicles & glass). However, I also feel that they can do more (post "watch for bicycles" sign in construction zones), and its my duty as a cycling citizen to provide them some focus.

~Brian Acord

Arcata, CA

P.S. If you can't tell, I'm not a professional videographer. These videos were taken with my Cannon Power Shot A520 4.0 mega pixel hand held digital camera while riding my steel steed, and then edited in Windows Movie Maker.