Advocacy & Safety - Getting Public Works to post signs

For years, I've been wanting to have the Public Works department of Portland, Maine, a small city, post a bunch of these signs:

http://photos3.meetupstatic.com/photos/event/b/b/6/d/highres_827981.jpeg

I've participated in various bike/ped organizations and committees thereof, and met with public works officials, in the hopes of finding an opening to propose this "mini-project". But my sense from Public Works is that they would look at it more as an education project, whereas they mainly do infrastructure. Simply putting a bunch of these up seems like too small a project to be worth their allocating funding for and treating as a stand-alone project, yet the signs themselves will cost something, and in the end, Public Works is the only group authorized to put up traffic signs.

Should I just ask Public Works point-blank if they would take this on as a project? They probably couldn't promise that it would get much priority. Or should I be looking for outside grants to purchase the signs, so I can propose to Public Works that they only need to plan and execute their distribution, which they might be more willing and able to do?

Yes, I have thought about a guerrilla effort involving making them into large stickers or cheap foamboard signs that could be easily attached to the back of existing signs, but I'd rather feel like I had exhausted all the above-board options first. That would give them more of the voice of authority, and they would stay up longer.

(Of course, if I make a big push that ends up being unsuccessful, then do a guerrilla effort afterwards, they'll have a pretty good idea who's doing it! :innocent:)

It would eventually be useful to push for a policy of posting these signs whenever any general maintenance occurs on a major roadway, but that would not initially address roads which are not due for maintenance for a few years yet.

Has anyone here been successful in pushing this kind of signage-only project?

One has to first ask: What purpose do the signs serve?

My guess is you're talking about signs advising against riding against the flow of traffic?

Many traffic engineers consider signs as "visual pollution". Our roadways are already inundated with signs, and adding more rarely helps. Studies have shown that most roadway users ignore them anyway.

I doubt that many wrong-way cyclists would get the message (even if you were to post some in Spanish).

I just yell at them ("Wrong Way!", "Other Side!!", or "You're on the Wrong Side of the Road You Moron!!", depending on how I'm feeling :D).

My guess is you're talking about signs advising against riding against the flow of traffic?

Sorry, I thought that would be obvious.

Maybe not so obvious, and so I should have mentioned it, is that these signs are posted on the LEFT side of the street, where their audience is. That also argues against the visual pollution effect, since they would be the ONLY signs facing that way, and not be polluting the sign space of motorists and right-way cyclists. Still, I have indeed heard that objection several times already.

Personally, I've done my share of yelling "wrong way" (or even saying politely), and I'd like to see something that carries more official weight.

The signs are from the Federal Highway Administration's Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (http://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/index.htm) (MUTCD). Notes about its usage may be found on this page (http://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/HTM/2003/part9/part9b.htm), under Section 9B06 (http://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/HTM/2003/part9/part9b.htm#section9B06).

Dunno how much good they would really do, but to reduce cost and save on sign pollution they could make them huge stickers and put them on the back of the existing speed limit signs...they will be facing the wrong way cyclists, but will they heed them, comprehend them or even see them is the big question.

Aaron:)

Since I'm not a police officer, nor their mother, I tend not to yell 'advice' at wrong way riders.

I really doubt they'd care about what some signs say.

However, I still remember being pulled over by the police in 5th grade when I went against traffic about 100 feet on a road. I didn't understand the reasoning at the time, though.

Many bike lanes have arrows painted on the ground in the proper direction of travel near the "bike lane" text or logo of a bicycle in the lane. Do your bike lanes not have those? See here for a unique example:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kevinwagoner/2053159687/in/pool-95715266@N00

It seems to me that you need to establish "need" ether by documenting bicycle traffic counts (with and against traffic.) You might want to look into the crash reports as they might also contain information about the direction of travel of bicyclists involved a crash.

Unfortunately for every cyclists that rides against traffic there is probably 20,000 non-cyclists who think that is where cyclists should be riding as well. So you have a very up hill battle trying to convince all those that think riding the wrong way is safe.

It might be worthwhile to approach City Council for the required amount during budget time. Once DPW has a line item for the signs (or City Council(or) says put them up with the current budget) they should be more cooperative in installing them.

Many bike lanes have arrows painted on the ground in the proper direction of travel near the "bike lane" text or logo of a bicycle in the lane. Do your bike lanes not have those? See here for a unique example:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kevinwagoner/2053159687/in/pool-95715266@N00

YES!! They're caled "sharrows (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shared_lane_marking)", and are the best solution for the OP's needs.

They present no "sign pollution", and they're cheaper than signs to install. And they clearly indicate :

that bikes belong
where they belong
which way they should be travelling


http://www.mitchrice.org/bike/wp-content/uploads/2007/07/sharrow.jpg

Talk with the relevant elected officials.

These very signs are attached to the back of 'Bike Lane' signs around the ASU campus area. They are needed as the bike lanes are heavily used by wrong way cyclists in this area.

Al

Many bike lanes have arrows painted on the ground in the proper direction of travel near the "bike lane" text or logo of a bicycle in the lane. Do your bike lanes not have those? See here for a unique example:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kevinwagoner/2053159687/in/pool-95715266@N00

We don't have bike lanes....the wrong way riders are usually attempting to ride on the disappearing shoulder, or in the gutter against the curb.

Aaron:)

There was a guy down in York ME who formed and organization to put up metric equivalent kph signs on all speed limit signage and payed for it out of his own pocket. While there was a majority who didn't want to pay for it out of town tax revenue, no one had any real objection to him paying for it himself... just looked at him askance a bit for wanting to pay for something most thought was not worth doing, but allowed him to do it. I don't remember if it was a board of selectman vote or town referendum issue, but there was some kind of approval process before he could just pay DPW to do the work.

Some public hearings allow for public input--check the agenda for public DPW meetings to see if there's such a forum where you could voice your suggestion for these signs. Failing that, contact your city selectman/alderman/councillor and push them to introduce the subject either at their meeting, or facillitating a meeting with DPW over the issue.

You might also check with the Bicycle Coalition of Maine to see if they can help or if it might hinder anything they might have in the works in Portland as well. They might know the people you need to contact to get the ball rolling.