Bicyclists belong in the Traffic Lane

Amtrak Releases Results of Carry-On Bike Tests

Photo courtesy of Christopher Parker of Vermont Rail Action Network, www.railvermont.org

In July, Amtrak conducted a series of bicycle tests on its passenger trains in New York and Vermont.  The VT Bike/Ped Coalition was asked by Amtrak to recruit bicyclists to participate in tests on the Vermonter and Ethan Allen train routes.  Each volunteer bicyclist was asked to board at a particular stop with a carry-on bicycle and detrain at the next stop.  Over 40 bicyclists were recruited by the VBPC to participate in these tests.  Unfortunately, the Vermonter test took place during the hottest week of the summer.  Multiple days of extreme heat caused a heat kink in the track, which resulted in the need for a repair crew and a four-hour delay in the train schedule.  This huge delay forced many of the volunteer testers to drop out, so only a limited number of survey responses were collected on the Vermonter.

To see the summaries of what bicyclists had to say about their experiences, you can click on individual links for the Vermonter test, the Ethan Allen test, the Northeast Region test and/or the Adirondack and Niagara Falls test.  Please go to the VBPC home page  http://www.vtbikeped.org/ and scroll down to the second item to see the Amtrak survey results.

The VBPC will be meeting with Amtrak officials in September to discuss the next steps to implement carry-on bicycle service in Vermont.  Please support the VBPC as we work to enhance train access for bicyclists by becoming a new member or by renewing your membership if it has lapsed.  Thank you.

Intersections Scoping Study for Burlington

From Burlington Bike Path
http://www.btvbikepath.com/intersections.asp
The Intersections Scoping Study involves alternatives analysis for twelve (12) at-grade roadway crossings with the Burlington Bike Path. These crossings are being examined for potential improvements to enhance user safety and wayfinding. The findings from this study will be presented in a Scoping Report with short and long term crossing improvements. Short term improvements will be implemented as soon as possible after the completion of the study whereas alignment and larger scale solutions will be recommended for incorporation in the Rehabilitation Project.

Project Objective

The objective of this project is to increase user safety and wayfinding at the crossings along the Burlington Bike Path.

Documents

Yield Sign Analysis (Adobe PDF, 0.5 MB)
At the City’s request VHB analyzed ten intersections to determine whether a yield sign may be appropriate on the path rather than a stop sign as currently exists in the locations today. Using sight distance triangles and typical cyclist speeds on the path it was determined that only a couple locations may be feasible for yield signs on the path. It is still undetermined whether or not this will be recommended as this will be further evaluated under the Bike Path Rehabilitation Project. The memorandum and PowerPoint presentation below describe this analysis in more detail.
8/20/13 Alternatives Presentation (Adobe PDF, 14.2 MB)8/20/13 Presentation Support - Board 1 (Adobe PDF, 2.2 MB)8/20/13 Presentation Support - Board 2 (Adobe PDF, 2.2 MB)8/20/13 Presentation Support - Board 3 (Adobe PDF, 2.2 MB)
Draft Intersection Improvements Plans (Adobe PDF, 3.7 MB)