Originally Posted by
jkizzle
Thats the thing, the radial roads actually are the main arteries. Thanks for the tip on the bike station link!
Our downtown is very, very small, but pretty dense. The idea is to create both a spot for commuters to park safely, that has a utilitarian use during the day, and on the weekends and nights when the city is basically deserted, become a place to meet and ride from. We have a great bike culture, its just that they will meet up 20 miles outside of town all the time, when the roads they are riding can be easily accessed from the downtown -going back to that radial layout of the city.
Another student is working on a path system that works for connecting parks and leisure areas, but I am trying to get her to incorporate more commuter style paths as well.
Both of us are working with flow diagrams and actual studies of foottraffic, auto traffic, and frequented bike routes, maps are the last thing we would look at!
Sounds like something similar to what Denver metro has for bikes. The problem, and where other people try to point out as a breakdown in using such a system is that if I want to go somewhere ACROSS the spokes... there's no GOOD way to get there. I can bike out to Golden, and travel around the outer circle of bike paths... or I can bike downtown, get on one of the other 'spokes' and travel to where I want to go. It's 15 or 20 miles out of my way, depending on the route.
Sure, it's great if you're going from the outskirts to downtown, or from downtown to the outskirts... it's trying to get from one point on the outskirts to another that is much more difficult by bike alone. That's where a bike path system becomes unusable from a transportation standpoint. Not EVERYONE is wanting to travel on the 'spokes' you've provided.