Bike Lanes on 3rd Street?

[TulsaGoldenHurriCAN]

The Central Market in OKC is already interesting and has lots of potential to be great. There's a food truck yard now (Delmar Gardens) along with several local produce markets and local vendors in the main Central Market building. I think this was a historic market area that survived the 70s-00s fairly well and reemerged recently. This would be a perfect place to make into a covered outdoor festival area and is a model worth keeping an eye out and perhaps replicating in Tulsa.

Check out the street views around there:

https://www.google.com/maps/uv?hl=en&pb=!1s0x87b210d7b9700813:0x781ccb37033a5853!2m19!2m2!1i80!2i80!3m1!2i20!16m13!1b1!2m2!1m1!1e1!2m2!1m1!1e3!2m2!1m1!1e5!2m2!1m1!1e4!3m1!7e115!4s/maps/place/delmar%2Bgardens%2Bokc/@35.4633257,-97.533701,3a,75y,355.8h,90t/data%3D*213m4*211e1*213m2*211sKWedpySybj73qw07DgAvmQ*212e0*214m2*213m1*211s0x0:0x781ccb37033a5853!5sdelmar+gardens+okc+-+Google+Search&imagekey=!1e2!2sKWedpySybj73qw07DgAvmQ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjEjZnQ-_bQAhUGfiYKHUfTDhMQpx8IcTAK

https://www.google.com/maps/@35.4635427,-97.5326384,3a,44.2y,220.46h,88.41t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1srIfsWXuuSZtZkwklKTogVQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

[SXSW]

I've long thought the vacant building at 1st & Elgin would be a great "market hall" concept.  If only the owners would sell or redevelop it..

[johrasephoenix]

If you're talking about that red warehouse looking thing, apparently the owner has no interest in selling.  Just sitting on it. 

[SXSW]

If you're talking about that red warehouse looking thing, apparently the owner has no interest in selling.  Just sitting on it. 

Yep that's the one.  Such a shame hopefully it can be redeveloped sooner than later.

Back to bike lanes I've always thought Cincinnati and Detroit would be perfect for a single protected bike lane going each way (north on Detroit and south on Cincinnati).  Those are such wide streets already.  Figuring out a way to connect that to the Midland Valley trail would be awesome, maybe adding a protected lane to the Cincinnati bridge?  That would give you the easiest bike access from downtown to the Gathering Place..

[Conan71]

Yep that's the one.  Such a shame hopefully it can be redeveloped sooner than later.

Back to bike lanes I've always thought Cincinnati and Detroit would be perfect for a single protected bike lane going each way (north on Detroit and south on Cincinnati).  Those are such wide streets already.  Figuring out a way to connect that to the Midland Valley trail would be awesome, maybe adding a protected lane to the Cincinnati bridge?  That would give you the easiest bike access from downtown to the Gathering Place..

Most cyclists I know are comfortable riding in traffic on Cincinnati or Detroit. Personally, I feel safer taking a lane there than I would riding on the right or left margin of the street. The right shoulder on the Cincy bridge functions well as a bike lane now. No mods needed there, JMO.

[johrasephoenix]

Peoria is what needs bike lanes.  Or a cycle / walk track on one side.  Anything to make it so you can safely use Tulsa's main streets if you're not in a car.

[dbacksfan 2.0]

This was brought up earlier in this thread, re-educating Tulsa drivers and enforcing laws to protect pedestrians and cyclist is more important than bike lanes. Bike lanes and sidewalks work, but until the drivers respect and follow the laws it won't make a difference.

[SXSW]

Most cyclists I know are comfortable riding in traffic on Cincinnati or Detroit. Personally, I feel safer taking a lane there than I would riding on the right or left margin of the street. The right shoulder on the Cincy bridge functions well as a bike lane now. No mods needed there, JMO.

A marked lane with paint would be sufficient.  You could even avoid taking away a parallel parking lane if you put it between the parking lane and the traffic lane.  Something like this:

[Conan71]

A marked lane with paint would be sufficient.  You could even avoid taking away a parallel parking lane if you put it between the parking lane and the traffic lane.  Something like this:

It's most likely my severe OCD rather than logic which doesn't like a bike lane to the right.  I don't feel as visible up against the curb to either a car turning right in front of me from the lane to the left of me or from someone pulling out of a parking lot or perpendicular street intersection as a bike will visually tend to blend in with trees or parallel parked cars.  A bike in a car lane actually does tend to stand out better to me when I'm in my car anyhow.

[SXSW]

I agree with you Conan in that example.  But if the bike lane is clearly marked/protected with priority signals on the lights for bikes then motorists are more likely to watch out.  

Cincinnati is 6 lanes wide: two lanes for parallel parking and 4 traffic lanes.  If you take the right lane and turn it into a bike way you then move the parallel parking adjacent to it.  So you only go from 4 traffic lanes to 3.  Plastic dividers would be fine at first but eventually the barrier between the parking and bike lane could be enhanced with concrete planters and trees.

[johrasephoenix]

This was brought up earlier in this thread, re-educating Tulsa drivers and enforcing laws to protect pedestrians and cyclist is more important than bike lanes. Bike lanes and sidewalks work, but until the drivers respect and follow the laws it won't make a difference.

Drivers will always drive like the street is designed.  Law enforcement is not the right tool to change poor driving behavior.  You need to change the way the drivers experience the street to change the way they drive.  For downtown, this means breaking up the highway-like street design. 

[cannon_fodder]

The only enforcement actions I have heard of in the metro area are DUI, red light, school zone, and AGAINST cyclists by Sand Springs PD (last year, after cyclists complained of several motorists running them off the road, throwing objects at them from cars and generally trying to murder them - the PD ticketed cyclists who do a rolling stop instead of a full stop at a stop sign on a group ride).  I've never heard of an enforcement against a motorvehicle for violating pedestrian or cyclist right-of-way unless it ends in catastrophe. I hope it does happen.

In any event, enforcement is no replacement for good design.

(I've had very few problems in Tulsa myself, so enforcement might be inefficient use of time for law enforcement.  I am certain enforcement could be beneficial, but harder to focus LEO efforts efficiently)

[heironymouspasparagus]

And Cincinnati is just a long drag race track with traffic lights to be ignored.

[dbacksfan 2.0]

The only enforcement actions I have heard of in the metro area are DUI, red light, school zone, and AGAINST cyclists by Sand Springs PD (last year, after cyclists complained of several motorists running them off the road, throwing objects at them from cars and generally trying to murder them - the PD ticketed cyclists who do a rolling stop instead of a full stop at a stop sign on a group ride).  I've never heard of an enforcement against a motorvehicle for violating pedestrian or cyclist right-of-way unless it ends in catastrophe. I hope it does happen.

In any event, enforcement is no replacement for good design.

(I've had very few problems in Tulsa myself, so enforcement might be inefficient use of time for law enforcement.  I am certain enforcement could be beneficial, but harder to focus LEO efforts efficiently)

The reason I mentioned it is most western states seem to enforce pedestrian encroachment laws like not yielding to pedestrians while they are in the crosswalk, crowding cyclists on the road, cutting across a bike lane between a through lane and a turn lane at an intersection. By the same token they enforce the laws that apply to pedestrians and cyclist as well, the will arrest cyclist for Biking Under/While Intoxicated.