Comments on: Mack Town unfriendly to bicycles?

By: "HENCHMAN OF JUSTICE"

"HENCHMAN OF JUSTICE" — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 02:23:19 +0000

Good points above.

Jack is correct on street sweeping. The county only has one street sweeper. The funds apparantly do not exist to purchase the necessary equipment that keeps our roads and bike lanes safe. Some people do not ride in certain stretches because of the debris in the bike lane. I witnessed a child go over on his bike because Davey Tree did their limbing duties and then left the street much more hazardous with limbs, rocks, foliage, etc… from the tools of the trade. Other companies that cut grass around utility pools kick rocks onto the roadway and do not clean up the mess. Sometimes, a restaurant or even the blood mobile will put their signs in the bike lane or in the middle of the sidewalk. Respect eliminates most of these concerns.

Jeffrey Lytle
McKinleyville – 5th District

By: Karol

Karol — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 00:59:15 +0000

Hi Grade 8 Person, I’m sorry I didn’t see this until now and it’s probably too late for your test.

If you just think of all the ways cities and counties set aside land for cars, then think of why and how that works, you’ll probably be able to imagine lots of changes that would be necessary. And things that would become unnecessary.

Right now we require roads to have certain characteristics (fast lanes, slow lanes, bike lanes, on/off ramps, speed bumps, shoulders, turnouts, weigh-stations, overpasses, roundabouts, frontage roads…). And we need parking lots, parking garages (short and long term).

But if we all rode bikes, what would we need then? How would our needs change?

Of course it raise the question, how do people travel great distances? Would there be more public transportation? And what kinds of land use would that require. Different roads?

Google Green Wheels, a local bike advocacy group. I’ll bet they’ve thought this out well.

By: Grade 8 person

Grade 8 person — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 23:40:20 +0000

i need to know now so i can finish studying. so if anyone knows the right answer please tell me.

By: Grade 8 person

Grade 8 person — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 23:37:47 +0000

hey what land use changes would result if many people within a community chose to use bicycles instead of cars? please tell me as soon as possible cause i have a test tomorrow and i need to know what the answer is. thanxs

By: Jason

Jason — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 22:03:58 +0000

“There is also a lack of bike racks. But that’s not a big deal because there are ways to adapt.”

I agree. FYI – Hiller Park (west) and Hiller Sports Complex will have bike racks installed sometime next week…

By: TimH

TimH — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 20:22:30 +0000

Jack is correct, much of these amenities are dependent upon development. It should be noted that although the McKinleyville Plan was not adopted until 2002 large parts (or maybe all?) of the Mid-Town corrider were constructed prior to that as part of the Central Terrace, Silverbrook, and Fernwood subdivisions. All infill, by the way. To truly see sprawl, you need to travel away from Humboldt County.

By: Ben

Ben — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 15:47:31 +0000

I must agree with Loves McK. We can not forget the history of how a commnity developed. Arcata and Eureka were developed as a city with “developers” laying out the area in a grid pattern. McKinleyville was a rural area that developed along the roads of the time. Central Avenue was the main road when Minor started what he thought was to be the “town center” with the Minor Building, now A&L Feed. It started with a general store and a creamery. As time went on development began along the roads of the time.
Now to say that McKinleyville is expanding outside its current areas is wrong. Every development plan that I know of is infill.

By: Loves McK

Loves McK — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 14:08:23 +0000

Also,
The Google Maps photo you zoomed in to the maximum is a little disingenuous, calling the area in the designated town center “20 years of mcsprawl”. The bulk of McKinleyville growth has been infill. I find it odd people need to beat up on McKinleyville to prove their point. The same photo zoomed in to show the bikes lanes our out to show it is in the middle of town would be a little more accurate. A photo at 100 ft scale could be taken in the best “smart growth” cities in the world and make them look pedestrian unfriendly.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 13:50:12 +0000

Chris,
If the 1 – 2 mile ride in McKinleyville keeps people from riding their bikes despite having the infrastructure, what does that say about the bay trail?

By: jackdurham

jackdurham — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 00:24:04 +0000

Oddly enough, improved bicycle infrastructure will actually come about as a result of new development.

Take the Mid-Town Trail. It runs from near Murray Road to Railroad Drive. Once the Pierson and Miller properties are developed, it will extend to near School Road.

So in order to get first-rate, dedicated bike paths, we need to hope that those fields get paved over ASAP!

Also important for cycling are all the little connector streets. I’m looking forward to Heartwood Drive being punched through all the way to McKinleyville Avenue. That, along with the Santos subdivision, will greatly improve bicycle transportation – at least for me.