Today’s Headlines
- CalBike reports on its accomplishments for 2015 (California Bicycle Coalition)
- Caltrans issues new guidelines for protected bikeways (Caltrans)
- New statewide bike laws are not really new:
- Bikes must pull over to let vehicles pass if five or more cars are piled up behind them—same as other slow vehicles (KRCR News)
- Only one earplug, earbud, headphone, earphone, what have you: keep one ear uncovered, everyone, including bike riders (Ventura County Star)
- Electric bikes are now categorized and can ride on some bike paths (OC Weekly)
- BART’s new escalator update shows many in San Francisco out of commission (Hoodline)
- San Mateo City Council seeks money for bike, pedestrian projects (San Mateo Daily Journal)
- Don’t widen the Capitol Freeway in Sacramento, Caltrans; tear it down (Systemic Failure)
- Oh, and maybe that leftover bit of the 2 in Glendale as well, while you’re at it (LA Times)
- What’s ahead for high speed rail and transportation funding (The Business Journal)
- Massive transportation projects move forward in Solano County (Daily Republic)
- And a reminder that it’s not really that cold in California: at this bicycle race, the bicycles froze (Mirror)
More California headlines at Streetsblog LA and Streetsblog SF
Indeed, they are a big deal. http://cal.streetsblog.org/2016/01/04/new-caltrans-design-bulletin-oks-protected-bike-lanes-in-ca/
Caltrans’ new guidelines on protected bikeways are a big deal.
Though the guidelines are not perfect, it’s a huge deal that this guidance–including explicit reference to the design of protected intersections–is there in the first place.
More cautious communities all around California which have been reluctant to implement “experimental” designs will now be able to reference the official Caltrans guidelines with the knowledge they are officially endorsed.
Exciting! And props to CalBike for pushing for the inclusion of the protected intersections element.