Thread by @AllenCowgill

A thread on the #BikeDEN road conditions in NW Denver 4 days post snow storm and how Denver might consider taking steps to truly be a multimodal city year round. Here is what one of the main bike lanes looks like, 29th Ave:

Here is the West 23rd Ave bike lane. The city’s current policy is that plows will attempt to plow these when possible, the reality is that they often don’t get plowed at all even days after the storm and sometimes weeks in the cold winter months when it turns to hard pack ice:

Currently there are no provisions in place to plow any of the neighborhood bikeways like this one on W 35th Ave.

Here is the Perry Street designated bike route D1, a street that is also not plowed. It is the only major north south designated bike route in this corner of NW Denver, and is also a feeder route for 2 preschools and 3 elementary schools.

And here is what many of the sidewalks look like in NW Denver, not shoveled, and many of the busier ones are hard packed ice at this point. People I know in powered wheel chairs in our neighborhood can’t even go out for days or weeks at a time.

So it begs the question what can we do if we are truly going to prioritize the safety of people on bikes year round? This write up from @altaplanning offers great details on design and snow removal best practices: altaplanning.com/wp-content/upl…

Prioritization is a big factor in making this work. No one would expect Denver to keep the bike lanes pristine in a snowstorm, but cities that take this seriously have a game plan for which routes to have plowed by a certain time after snowfall as seen in the report:

Many cities put on powered brushes on existing smaller vehicles in the public works and parks and rec fleets for this kind of bike lane plowing job since bigger plows don’t work:

https://twitter.com/allencowgill/status/1199346821568450566?s=21

https://t.co/FLQ2A2k6sM

And the the laws and enforcement in Denver around shoveling your sidewalk are such that penalties are non existent. See this @StreetsblogDen classic on the subject: denver.streetsblog.org/2016/01/05/its…

The sidewalk shoveling lack of enforcement and substandard designs like this sidewalk right along Sheridan Blvd mean that people have to often walk in the middle of state highways. I saw several people walking in traffic today on Colfax because of conditions like this:

Here are some ideas from @WRIRossCities on cities that are making it a priority to keep sidewalks cleared, safe and accessible for all thecityfix.com/blog/snow-remo…:

That said, it is still inspiring to see folks out there on their bikes in-spite of the road conditions. After all, we live in Colorado, one of the best states in the country for year round outdoor enjoyment. We just need our bike lanes and sidewalks accessible for everyone.