Originally Posted by
CrankyOne
Longer term you need to talk to your city and county about making this road safer and better for all users. It sounds like at a minimum it should have a 10' wide MUP on each side with appropriately designed junctions (see CROW Bicycle Traffic Design Manual and MassDOT Bicycle Guide
MassDOT?s New Bikeway Guide is the Beginning of Good Things | streets.mn).
Ideally though it should likely have a protected bikeway on each side as well as a sidewalk (both designed to CROW or MassDOT standards). Don't you wish someone had come along 10 years ago and fought for that so you'd have it today?
I agree with you that separate pathways are the best answer and a long term solution, but another frequently overlooked option is to ask for increased enforcement of existing laws protecting our right to ride on the roadways. I've been a member of several city bike advocay groups and whenever I've brought up that idea I always get the "well that would be nice, but let's be practical" answer and then the conversation goes back to how there isn't enough money to pay for all of the proposed infrastructure projects.