1. Among the various modes of transportation, how important are
bicycling and walking? What percentage of city transportation spending
should be spent on biking and walking?
BAKER:
Alternative transportation in general deserves a greater chunk of our town’s
spending. It is difficult to assign a direct percentage to biking and
walking improvements because of the nature of the capital budget. But
certainly having the money available from the 2003 sidewalk and streets bond
has been an asset in securing federal matching grants for bicycle and
pedestrian improvements, and I’m grateful that our community was forward
thinking enough to put their money where their mouth is by approving the
referendum to issue those bonds. As a town council member, in addition to
working to fund bicycle and pedestrian improvements with town money, I will
vigorously lobby NCDOT to consider bicyclist and pedestrian needs in their
projects and with their spending within and neighboring our town.
Additionally, as we begin the process of revising our comprehensive plan
this year, I think it is imperative that alternative transportation
activists come out and be a part of the process to ensure that bicycle and
pedestrian access is a central part of the plan. Doing so will be crucial
in guiding the council’s actions in the coming decade.
BELL:
I’ve said in other forums, that I have the unfortunate circumstance of not actually liking my car very much. I’ve chosen to live closer to downtown because I prefer walking to driving. So to me, personally, as a citizen, biking and walking are extremely important to Chapel Hill. As a council member, having a pedestrian and bike friendly city helps support our ideals of sustainability and affordability. I would not define a percentage of transportation spending, as different technologies require different scalesof cost, but I do believe we should set reasonable, systemic goals to improve our current system and remain accountable to those goals. Building our bike and pedestrian infrastructure should be valued like other capital investment projects on our books.
CZAJKOWSKI:
Bicycling and walking are enormously important for Chapel Hill. Obviously it is great if people can go about their daily lives on bicycle or foot. That having been said – the commuting patterns and the way people live in Chapel Hill is an enormous road block to most people using bicycles for transportation. We love to say we are a “bicycle friendly” community but I know from extensive personal experience that simply isn’t true. Ther are some pockets where that is more or less the case – I would say primarily in Carrboro. We talk about our Greenways – and it is true they are great places to cycle – but as any commuting cyclists knows – they are primarily for recreation not commuting. The biggest problem Chapel Hill has is the main thoroughfares and the intersections such as 54 and 15/501. That is a very dangerous place to ride – or cross on foot. Until we’re prepared to spend the enormous amount of money to find solutions to intersections like that it is hard to see that many people will commute via bicycle.
DALE:
Bicycling and walking have to be at the top of our list for future transportation spending and efforts. As an active cyclist for the last 20 plus years I believe that Chapel Hill must develop and implement a strategy for alternative transportation methods such as biking and walking. We need to invest in greenways and bike routes that allow us tomove around town easier and encourage use. We have begun to add crosswalkson various street and now need to make them safer by adding lights that can be activated by user to warn drivers that they are entering the road.
DEHART:
HUGE in Chapel Hill . a large perentage, I would like to see us increase our cross walks on Franklin and bike lanes all over town.
SOOKRAM:
I’m really lucky to live in acommunity that has stuff close together. I’m like 20 yards from a grocery store. We need to focus on building future crap closer together and in a manner that makes sense (A GRID) so biking and walking are viable options for people who want to live in cheap apartments and stay alive.
90%? What’s the current transportation spending on things that aren’t buses and roads? Like 1%?
STORROW:
Bicycling and walking are extremely important to promoting a message of sustainability in our community and working towards decreasing our collective carbon footprint. We should spend as much as is necessary and reasonable to ensure that walking and biking options are safe and accessible.
2. Are you familiar with Chapel Hill’s Bike and Pedestrian Action Plan? Which parts of the plan would you rank highest for implementation?
BAKER:
As a planning board member and formerly as a transportation board member, I annually read and comment on the transportation improvement priority list that is included with the Bike and Pedestrian AccessPlan. The main change that I wanted to see in the past year was the movement of the campus-to-campus connector to the top spot on the list, as I think we’ll find a huge demand for such a facility as the buildings at Carolina North come online.
In general, I believe the goal of connectivity is paramount when planning our transportation infrastructure, and I think that increasing the connectedness between existing facilities should be our top priority.
BELL:
We would be able to support a huge non-motorist commuter population if there were safer routes between Chapel Hill and Durham. Ed Harrison has been and advocate for safe bike routes on Old Chapel Hill Road for years, and now others are working to get momentum on projects on NC 54 and Erwin Road. Internally, the path connecting Carrboro and Chapel Hill through Carolina north near the railroad tracks would create amazing connectivity for a diversity of communities by foot and by bike.
What I would also like to see is work to improve relationships and education on a regional and state level. If we are not able to partner with NCDOT and our regional neighbors, we limit what we can eventually accomplish.
CZAJKOWSKI:
I am – even though I believe it was created in 2004. It has very little in it that is applicable to bike commuting. The plans for sidewalks and greenways are great – but they don’t address the core issue of commuting. As such it is hard for me to prioritize a particular aspect of the Action Plan. I would personally rather see greater emphasis on widening the roads to accommodate cyclists. I’m sure you’ve ridden on Estes or Homestead – scary!.
DALE:
I am familiar with the plan and I think that itis a great start. When I look at it I feel disappointed that it appears to try to address problems by making users adjust to automobile traffic. I think that this is the wrong approach. Truly making Chapel Hill a great placeto ride and walk requires a plan that looks at these methods of transportation as their own. Look at MLK, this is a natural feeder into and out of downtown, however, the hills make it difficult for some riders. These issues and many more must be considered when planning a real bike plan.
DEHART:
Somewhat, I currently serve on The Chapel T Board, I need to learn more.
SOOKRAM:
Nope.
STORROW:
I am familiar with the Action Plan. The plan prioritizes different capital improvements based on a variety of criteria, and I believe the plan adequately prioritizes improvements that need to be made. I would rank. The plan is dated, and I hope that part of the Chapel Hill 2020 process will include discussions about our current priorities.
3. How often do you ride a bicycle on Chapel Hill’s public roadways?
BAKER:
I ride less often now than I used to because the length of my commute has significantly increased. In the recent past, when I was a student atUNC living off-campus, and briefly afterward when my office was still in Carrboro, my bike was my primary mode of transportation. Close to half ofthe time I have lived in Chapel Hill was without a car, and could not havedone so without the combination of my bike and our fare-free transit system.
There are many places around town that I have always avoided on my bike: Fordham Boulevard, South Columbia Street, Weaver Dairy, and though it’s in Carrboro’s jurisdiction the western part of Estes Drive come to mind as some of my least favorite. Fortunately many of these areas are having their issues addressed, albeit slower than some of us would like.
BELL:
I very rarely get a chance to get on my bike. But I am an avid walker and runner. I live in Northside due the walkability of the area. Getting around town with Olivia at gives me a chance to experience the vulnerability of non-motorist at the street level.
CZAJKOWSKI:
Several times a week – but I usually head up to Dairyland where it’s safer. During my first year on the Council I used to ride my bike to Council meetings but I eventually succumbed to driving because coming home at night was just too scary.
DALE:
I ride a bike on public roadways several times a week. I try to ride a minimum of 3 days a week weather permitting.
DEHART:
Not enough.
SOOKRAM:
I don’t have a bike.
STORROW:
I move around Chapel Hill via public transit, my vehicle, and walking. I have become very sensitive to the concerns of my friends and colleagues who use bikes as a mode of transport, and talked to many residents on the campaign trail who were concerned about biking in Chapel Hill.
4. What steps would you take to make Chapel Hill’s streets less
intimidating and more accessible for bicyclists? What intersections
or streets do you think are most in need of improvements?
BAKER:
When I wasa member of the town’s transportation board, as well as a member of the university’s advisory committee on transportation as an undergraduate, I tried to make concern for alternative transportation my top priority. I think the sharrow experiment on MLK has been a success and I would like to see us mark additional streets with similar markings. While I’ve heard a good bit of debate as to whether it is better to provide bike lanes or alternative routes for bicycles, I think the best approach is to tackle the problem from both ends and provide facilities that allow the cyclist to choose the best path on their own based on his or her comfort and ability.
BELL:
Just today as I was passing a cyclist on Raleigh Road, I slowed down and shifted my car to left to share the lane with him, but did not think to move to the other lane until I had already passed him. We are a town with some narrow roads, steep hills, and blind corners. We really need to do a better job of educating all of our travellers how to share the roads and intersections, so that the action is second nature instead of a well intentioned after thought.
CZAJKOWSKI:
See the answer to question 1 above. Additional intersections that are frightening are Estes and 15/501 (easy to get killed crossing on the light there), Making a left turn onto Franklin from Estes .. and the list goes on.
DALE:
I think the biggest problem is the width of many of our large streets and a lack of a designated bike lane. Widening our busier streets and adding a real bike lane, or creating bike paths off the street would go along way to making Chapel Hill more bike friendly. I live off of Estes and ride it every time I ride. If I am heading towards franklinstreet from MLK the road is wide, but the lack of a bike lane and the speed of traffic can make it uncomfortable. Heading the other direction once you pass Cleland, the road is far too narrow and riders are faced with cars having to move into oncoming traffic to pass them. There are far too many streets to list that are this width and therefore make it dangerous forriders.
DEHART:
Adding more room for bike lanes. There are several, my highest personal priority would be Homestaed so my oldest daughter and her friends could ride their bikes to school more safely.
SOOKRAM:
I don’t know, maybe some BIKE LANES. There aren’t even bike lanes downtown. Come on.
STORROW:
The first step in making Chapel Hill’s streets more bike accessible is increasing the number of bike lanes so that cyclists and motorist may both utilize our streets with ease. Commuters are less likely to use their bicycles if they feel regularly pushed off the road and unsafe. West Cameron Avenue is an excellent example of a broad street with a clearly marked bike lane on either side. But bike lanes abruptly cut off at the intersection with Columbia Street and drivers and bikers are forced to compete for space on the road. The intersections most in need of improvement are those which have narrow car lanes, no bike lanes, and obstacles hazardous to cyclists such as construction equipment or potholes.
Additionally, the town has made a commitment to build up the infrastructure and community around Fordham Boulevard, Ephesus Church Road, and Ram’s Plaza. As we engage in that process, insuring that the roads are pedestrian and bike friendly will be vital to renovating that space. Every time there is a transit improvement, bike lanes should be installed.
5. How can Chapel Hill work with the university and surrounding
communities to promote cycling?
BAKER:
Providing facilities and infrastructure are the best ways to get people out of their cars and onto bikes. Whether that takes the form of new bike paths and greenways, encouraging the university and other employers to incorporate showers into their construction plans, adequate bike racks, bicycle detection loops in traffic signals, or providing amenities like the tire pump attached to the student union on campus, being committed to cycling as a form of transportation means putting the tools in place to make it a more attractive option than driving.
There is also a constant need for marketing and promotion of the facilities and services we already have in place. As a university town, ChapelHill has a very transient population and we therefore have a need for constant education efforts to reach all of our newcomers. Many people who come to Chapel Hill come from a place where cycling was not a viable transportation option, and need to be connected with the appropriate resources in our community for safety education, route finding, and the many for- and not-for-profit cycling services provided in our community.
BELL:
Chapel Hill and the University currently partner with Carborro on our free bus system. I think bus usage supports bike usage in our area, especially for those users who do not liveon main bus routes. As we think about bike oriented tourism, we could include our neighbors to the north and the west with the Haw River, Saxapahaw, Orange County’s rolling hills, and historic Hillsborough as beautiful destinations. I think Ed Harrison and Jim Ward, who are regular cyclist, bring additional technical and experiental knowledge to discussions with Chapel Hill Transit, Triangle Transit, Orange County Visitor’s Bureau and the Council.
CZAJKOWSKI:The interest is there. The candid answer is that there is very little commitment to bicycle commuting amongst the populace. Those who do are heroes. Maybe we could celebrate some of them with awards and have them tell us why they do it in the face of danger and foul weather.
DALE:
Chapel Hill needs to lead by example and make bicycling a town priority. We need to invest in the necessary infrastructure changes. We need to host more bike awareness events. We need to incentivize the University and neighboring communities to join us. We need to install more bike lockers in areas like park and rides, the University, etc. I would also to see a program similar to the zipcar for bikes at the University.
DEHART:Education is the first step
SOOKRAM:
Stop writing press releases and start actually doing something. We’re missing basic things like walk signals and crosswalks at traffic lights. Come on, that’s just some white paint. I’m half tempted to paint the damned lines myself.
STORROW:
The process of promoting cycling requires understanding from both cyclists and motorists. We must encourage cyclists to agree to helpful riding procedures such as hand signaling and following the regular flow of traffic when appropriate. Motorist need to respect the right of cyclists to be on the road and be aware of and responsive to the presence of bikes. We need to facilitate open discussion about which roads and intersections need improvement and how we can use available funds to create a prosperous bicycle-friendly community.
6. Chapel Hill has been designated a Bronze Bicycle Friendly Community
and Business by the League of
American Cyclists. How can Chapel Hill use this award to bring in
bicycle tourism and other economic
benefits?
BAKER:
From a tourism perspective, I would like to see us use this award to attract conferences, trade shows, and cycling events to our community. Particularly, we have the opportunity to work with Carrboro (who I believe have a higher designation than our own) to jointly promote ourselves as a cycling destination. But I think the award has a greater impact in the broader economic sense. In order to build a vibrant economic community of arts, research, and private enterprise, we need to be able to attract the best and the brightest in their fields to our area. Building acreative class economy in Chapel Hill requires that we have a community that appeals to their values, and a green transportation infrastructure is a part of this. We’re not just competing locally or regionally, we’re competing with cities across the country where the creative class are locating: San Francisco, Austin, Ann Arbor, Boulder, Portland, etc. Our ability to get businesses to locate and stay in our area requires we providea high standard of living and appeal to the values their employees are likely to hold, and designations like this help us to do so.
BELL:
Chapel Hill and it greenways, local history, and great restaurants could easily take advantage of this award. The key is really valuing the system, improving it, and letting others know that we have it. I went to Park City, Utah this past spring. Park City is well known for its skiing in the winter, but I will always promote it as a spring and summer spot forits great hiking and biking opportunites. The same could be said of Chapel Hill. We need to let people know what we have, so they will come her an enjoy it. I also hope that as we push for greater density and increased office space, we will encourage local businesses to encourage employees and patrons to use alternative transporation by offering appropriate bike storage and cleanup stations.
CZAJKOWSKI:
We can tout it for recreational cycling on the Greenways – but it’s nonsense for cycling on the road.
DALE:
What a great marketing tool. We should be reaching out to groups and inviting them to come see what we can offer. We should be hosting bike tours on a regular basis. There are so many ways we can advertise this.
DEHART:Use it as part of branding and on our social media. This is a prestigious award and honor, we need to let others know about it.
SOOKRAM:
Great, we got an award. Chapel Hill sucks completely at bike friendliness. Whoever’s giving out these awards has never been here. Thecyclists ride on the sidewalks because there’s no room on the street/cars go too fast and pedestrians are screwed.
STORROW:
We should work in conjunction with Carrboro to promote our communities designation’s as Bicycle Friendly Communities. We should insure that the Chapel Hill and Orange County Visitors Bureau is prepared to explain to visitor where bike lanes and greenways are in Chapel Hill, and include our support for cyclists in our promotional advertising.
Chapel Hill 2011 Candidate Survey
Alternative transportation in general deserves a greater chunk of our town’s spending. It is difficult to assign a direct percentage to biking and walking improvements because of the nature of the capital budget. But certainly having the money available from the 2003 sidewalk and streets bond has been an asset in securing federal matching grants for bicycle and pedestrian improvements, and I’m grateful that our community was forward thinking enough to put their money where their mouth is by approving the referendum to issue those bonds. As a town council member, in addition to working to fund bicycle and pedestrian improvements with town money, I will vigorously lobby NCDOT to consider bicyclist and pedestrian needs in their projects and with their spending within and neighboring our town.
Additionally, as we begin the process of revising our comprehensive plan this year, I think it is imperative that alternative transportation activists come out and be a part of the process to ensure that bicycle and pedestrian access is a central part of the plan. Doing so will be crucial in guiding the council’s actions in the coming decade.
I’m really lucky to live in acommunity that has stuff close together. I’m like 20 yards from a grocery store. We need to focus on building future crap closer together and in a manner that makes sense (A GRID) so biking and walking are viable options for people who want to live in cheap apartments and stay alive.
90%? What’s the current transportation spending on things that aren’t buses and roads? Like 1%?
As a planning board member and formerly as a transportation board member, I annually read and comment on the transportation improvement priority list that is included with the Bike and Pedestrian AccessPlan. The main change that I wanted to see in the past year was the movement of the campus-to-campus connector to the top spot on the list, as I think we’ll find a huge demand for such a facility as the buildings at Carolina North come online.
In general, I believe the goal of connectivity is paramount when planning our transportation infrastructure, and I think that increasing the connectedness between existing facilities should be our top priority.
We would be able to support a huge non-motorist commuter population if there were safer routes between Chapel Hill and Durham. Ed Harrison has been and advocate for safe bike routes on Old Chapel Hill Road for years, and now others are working to get momentum on projects on NC 54 and Erwin Road. Internally, the path connecting Carrboro and Chapel Hill through Carolina north near the railroad tracks would create amazing connectivity for a diversity of communities by foot and by bike.
What I would also like to see is work to improve relationships and education on a regional and state level. If we are not able to partner with NCDOT and our regional neighbors, we limit what we can eventually accomplish.
I ride less often now than I used to because the length of my commute has significantly increased. In the recent past, when I was a student atUNC living off-campus, and briefly afterward when my office was still in Carrboro, my bike was my primary mode of transportation. Close to half ofthe time I have lived in Chapel Hill was without a car, and could not havedone so without the combination of my bike and our fare-free transit system.
There are many places around town that I have always avoided on my bike: Fordham Boulevard, South Columbia Street, Weaver Dairy, and though it’s in Carrboro’s jurisdiction the western part of Estes Drive come to mind as some of my least favorite. Fortunately many of these areas are having their issues addressed, albeit slower than some of us would like.
The first step in making Chapel Hill’s streets more bike accessible is increasing the number of bike lanes so that cyclists and motorist may both utilize our streets with ease. Commuters are less likely to use their bicycles if they feel regularly pushed off the road and unsafe. West Cameron Avenue is an excellent example of a broad street with a clearly marked bike lane on either side. But bike lanes abruptly cut off at the intersection with Columbia Street and drivers and bikers are forced to compete for space on the road. The intersections most in need of improvement are those which have narrow car lanes, no bike lanes, and obstacles hazardous to cyclists such as construction equipment or potholes.
Additionally, the town has made a commitment to build up the infrastructure and community around Fordham Boulevard, Ephesus Church Road, and Ram’s Plaza. As we engage in that process, insuring that the roads are pedestrian and bike friendly will be vital to renovating that space. Every time there is a transit improvement, bike lanes should be installed.
Providing facilities and infrastructure are the best ways to get people out of their cars and onto bikes. Whether that takes the form of new bike paths and greenways, encouraging the university and other employers to incorporate showers into their construction plans, adequate bike racks, bicycle detection loops in traffic signals, or providing amenities like the tire pump attached to the student union on campus, being committed to cycling as a form of transportation means putting the tools in place to make it a more attractive option than driving.
There is also a constant need for marketing and promotion of the facilities and services we already have in place. As a university town, ChapelHill has a very transient population and we therefore have a need for constant education efforts to reach all of our newcomers. Many people who come to Chapel Hill come from a place where cycling was not a viable transportation option, and need to be connected with the appropriate resources in our community for safety education, route finding, and the many for- and not-for-profit cycling services provided in our community.