Advocacy & Safety - New MUP and Sharrows in New Orleans - video

All of a sudden, some of our "20 Year Plan" for some cycling infrastructure has come to be reality. This video combines some old MUPs with the new ones. Some are separate from the roadway, some are Sharrows, some are BOTH! Woohoo. It's about time.

Anyways, in the interest of A&S, I thought you folks might find the whole thing interesting as old paths (before there were any guidelines for paths) transition to new ones in an unbroken string for about 10 miles.

WARNING: This video does not contain any red light running or lane splitting, fingernail chewing action. I think I ran a couple of stop signs.

So come ride with me on the path!

http://www.vimeo.com/2382951
(http://www.vimeo.com/2376913)

I'd be leary of riding some of those sections that remind me of glorified sidewalks having to contend with peds and to cross traffic lanes numerous times. I'm also not fond of the section that the sharrow markings were painted next to the curb only to be obstructed by parked cars. Are any of these MUPs and sharrows close to any retail businesses you frequent, and your workplace?

so does it go anywhere?

I'd be leary of riding some of those sections that remind me of glorified sidewalks having to contend with peds and to cross traffic lanes numerous times.

Yeah, that first section (sidewalk thingy) is very rarely biked by most cyclists. Did you notice the concrete wedges at every street transition? Many tipsy cyclists riding home from the pub after dark have broken faces and collarbones on those silly things. Also, the bridge I started on is usually loaded with broken glass. Some volunteers cleaned it recently.


I'm also not fond of the section that the sharrow markings were painted next to the curb only to be obstructed by parked cars.

I wish the cars would have been parked there when they placed the sharrows in the parking area in City Park - I bet they would have put them more in the middle of the lane. They got it right almost everywhere else I think.


Are any of these MUPs and sharrows close to any retail businesses you frequent, and your workplace?

For me, these things are just a nice place to get 40 minutes of relaxing bonus miles after work. The new Wisner path could be valuable to some folks going to the University of New Orleans on the lakefront. However, there is a Rails-to-Trails corridor planned (I crossed it in the video at 1:58 - look for the train signal to the left - the tracks are long gone) for the near future that would link this network to a direct route into the city core. That will be significant if they can make it safe from the sketchy neighborhoods it will go through.

The intersection of the RtT and the path in my vid is slated to be developed into a huge "city center" format of condo / retail and eatery space. Then it will all make sense.

The planned Rails-to-Trails goes past my house 4 blocks away. It will get me within 2 blocks of the French Quarter and eliminate all of my high-speed traffic commute.

Yeah, that first section (sidewalk thingy) is very rarely biked by most cyclists. Did you notice the concrete wedges at every street transition? Many tipsy cyclists riding home from the pub after dark have broken faces and collarbones on those silly things. Also, the bridge I started on is usually loaded with broken glass. Some volunteers cleaned it recently.



I wish the cars would have been parked there when they placed the sharrows in the parking area in City Park - I bet they would have put them more in the middle of the lane. They got it right almost everywhere else I think.



For me, these things are just a nice place to get 40 minutes of relaxing bonus miles after work. The new Wisner path could be valuable to some folks going to the University of New Orleans on the lakefront. However, there is a Rails-to-Trails corridor planned (I crossed it in the video at 1:58 - look for the train signal to the left - the tracks are long gone) for the near future that would link this network to a direct route into the city core. That will be significant if they can make it safe from the sketchy neighborhoods it will go through.

The intersection of the RtT and the path in my vid is slated to be developed into a huge "city center" format of condo / retail and eatery space. Then it will all make sense.

The planned Rails-to-Trails goes past my house 4 blocks away. It will get me within 2 blocks of the French Quarter and eliminate all of my high-speed traffic commute.

The current route you took looked too much like a maze of back streets and scenic causeways, but from what you said, the future looks much brighter for utilitarian cycling in New Orleans.

the sharrows seem pretty far apart and some are also in the parking lane, yes?

some seriously bad pavement at many places where the route is on the street, too

What is with the crappy pavement?

What would it be like if you had to deal with frost heave and snow plows?

I suppose it's primarily that nobody wants to spend any money on it. Also the fact that when you build anything on the giant sinkhole that is NOLA, it's gonna crmble in a few years.

There was an appaling lack of traffic law violation, but, watching that old lady scatter out of the way was mildly entertaining.

What would it be like if you had to deal with frost heave and snow plows?


Please define frost heave and snow plow for people who live down there.

Yeah, that first section (sidewalk thingy) is very rarely biked by most cyclists. Did you notice the concrete wedges at every street transition? Many tipsy cyclists riding home from the pub after dark have broken faces and collarbones on those silly things.

Those concrete wedges are in violation of AASHTO and a known hazard, somebody who has been hurt needs to sue the city.

That MUP at 7 minutes looks super curvy at 2X.

What is with the crappy pavement?


It's New Orleans.



What would it be like if you had to deal with frost heave and snow plows?


Connecticut?