John C. Ratliff

I just returned from a family get-to-gether at our ol' homestead (built in ~1920, so it does qualify for that designation) in Bend, Oregon. This may be the last time we can do it, as it is being sold by my Aunt to get her the money for an apartment without stairs. She's getting up there, and has a hard time with the place. So we held a Labor Day family reunion there this weekend.

I brought my bicycle along, and this morning took a ride out Century Drive toward the mountains. It's a long loop, and I only went up about 7 miles before turning back. I was there to visit with family, not ride a long route, but what I saw may have some bearing to this thread.

Drivers going out Century Drive will have to contend with three intersection circles, with islands of plants in their middle. There is no way around them, and paths have been provided for bicyclists to use to stay away from the traffic. But drivers must slow to approximately 15 mph to navigate these intersection circles. Traffic from up and down the hill also comes in here, and can merge with the inflowing and outgoing traffic. I drove it just over a week ago, and it was somewhat disconcerting for someone used to traveling this section at about 55 mph, to be slowed down to 15 mph by these circles. But they are effective, and do positively slow drivers down.

I rode through these both ways, on paths and the road. On the paths, going uphill, I found them okay, but a bit problematical as they merged at 90 degree angles to the merging traffic from the roads. But going downhill (coming back), I had to slow the bicycle down from the 25 mph I had been doing to the designated speed limit, and go at the speed of the traffic in the middle of the lane, which worked out very well.

It helps that this is now a resort area, and seems much more tolerant of bicycles than in other areas. But I thought you may like to see an alternative to Cops enforcing traffic laws. This, in safety terms, is an "engineering control," whereas the enforcement of traffice laws would be considered an "administrative control." Engineering controls are always more effective than administrative controls for safety, and this case shows their value for bicycling.

John