Idaho Falls is Hostile to Pedestrians
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I was encouraged to see the Community Pathways group recently featured in the Post Register, however our city needs much more help and involvement than one volunteer group. We need civic leaders, citizens, business owners, and developers to get on board with the pedestrian-friendly environment that Idaho Falls is lacking. Some problems are city-wide design issues that must be addressed by large-scale planning. Other problems are localized but still found city-wide and so must be tackled one location at a time.
Our area prides itself on living cheap. When folks complain about our low wages or lack of entertainment, the answer always reverts to “but it’s so cheap to live here”. Why then have we painted ourselves into a corner where the only way to travel around is using the most expensive transportation model? This does not jive with our low cost of living value!
Look at 17th street and Hitt Road for the perfect wrong example of how development has forced us to pay more for travel. I once heard an urban designer described what we have in Idaho Falls as an ocean of retail islands. You have the jet stream (main arterial roads) taking you along lone stores sitting on “islands” in the middle of their own parking lot seas. Walking from store to store becomes a cruel joke, because pedestrians must cross those parking lot seas along the blacktop where cars speed across like sharks in the ocean.
When the city or developers give the slightest nod to pedestrians, they still do it all wrong. The urban designer I spoke of before also showed slides of thin sidewalks along busy streets. He said “that was a great idea, because look at all the people using those sidewalks”, which caused much laughter since none of the photos featured anyone using the sidewalks.
We have all seen these thin sidewalks directly next to busy streets, and the pedestrian pathways are rarely used. The problem is that pedestrians do not feel safe walking inches away from passing cars, and they do not want to breath in all of the exhaust fumes. Every time I walk along these sidewalks I think about an uninsured drunk driver hopping the curb and mowing down my family. I think this works against the family friendly environment that Idaho Falls wants to foster. At the very least, put a two- or three-foot green buffer between the street and sidewalk, where you can plant shrubs and small trees. Pedestrians will feel much safer with a green buffer.
A big design issue in Idaho Falls is the disconnect between pedestrian friendly areas. For example, most (but not all) of the greenbelt is pedestrian friendly. However, this nice area is only accessible by routes which are very hostile to pedestrians. Idaho Falls’ west side pedestrians are essentially forced to funnel through Broadway if we want to bike anywhere around town. Our northern route has a dangerous stretch east of where Grandview crosses Skyline, where the three-lane road has no sidewalks and the borrow pits drop off steeply to each side. Idaho Falls reworked this road stretch last summer, and yet again failed to add sidewalks on either side of the road. The southern route uses the thin, two-lane Pancheri bridge that makes even drivers nervous. I routinely see bikers either pedaling madly over that big bridge, causing traffic hazards, or taking their lives into their hands as they cross the brush field and both high-speed interstate freeway lanes. The state of Idaho Falls’ anti-pedestrian environment is captured perfectly when you see a high school kid running their bike across two freeway lanes.
Idaho Falls recently got some long overdue and well deserved negative press attention regarding bad curbs. Idaho Falls has many curbs where pedestrians are supposed to exit and enter city streets from the sidewalks. Unfortunately many Idaho Falls curbs have cracks, high curbs, puddle accumulations, and other problems. A disabled Idaho Falls man (I forgot his name) kept after the city to improve their curbs, and finally started forcing them to put more energy into this issue when it became apparent Idaho Falls was violating the law. That is an indicator of how anti-pedestrian Idaho Falls has become.
As I ride my bike around Idaho Falls, I am not only disgusted at what bicyclers must put up with, but I think how much worse these pathways must be for wheelchair-bound pedestrians. Curbs are a huge problem for Idaho Falls pedestrians, but the sidewalks and street interactions are horrible also.
Many Idaho Falls sidewalks are difficult to travel because homeowners do not trim their tree branches, especially in the Crow Creek neighborhoods. Many Idaho Falls sidewalks feature huge frost thrusts where one concrete square pushes up several inches from the next. This creates a serious safety challenge for bikes riding the sidewalks, and an almost insurmountable cliff for the wheelchair-bound. These frost heaves should be repaired or replaced, and the city should mark each of these heaves with bright orange safety paint where the elevation difference exceeds two inches, to serve as a pedestrian warning until the heave can be repaired.
Another challenge to pedestrians are homeowners who snake their garden hoses across sidewalks, and who park vehicles squarely where sidewalks cross driveways. Two summers ago I experienced a biking accident in the Elm Street neighborhood due to hoses snaked across the sidewalk. My forearm was turned into hamburger, and I had to paw around in the sprinkler streams to recover my glasses. If a homeowner can be sued for not shoveling the snow from their sidewalk, could a pedestrian sue a homeowner if an accident occurs due to huge frost heaves or hoses snaked across the sidewalk? The solution here is simple: homeowners please pull your hoses straight across the sidewalk if you must cross it. Lay the hose so it lies perpendicular across the sidewalk, not running down the middle or snaking across the sidewalk. Should Idaho Falls enforce legal violations if homeowners fail to observe these simple safety precautions?
Another challenge to pedestrians is when gutter water pools at curbs. The NE freeway entrance ramp on Broadway is especially aggravated by this problem. Huge pools of water collect at this crossing, so pedestrians make a huge splash when they leave the curb. Idaho Falls could easily improve these situations with better drainage solutions, yet they do not. Why?
Yet another challenge is the lip service given to pedestrian crossings. Pedestrian crossings should have bright yellow signs warning drivers of what is going on, the streets should have bright stripes painted across the street where the crossing is, and the pedestrian crossing path should be bordered with tactile rumble strips so drivers see and feel the roadway difference where pedestrian crossings are located.
I hope Idaho Falls develops a true commitment to fixing these numerous challenges to pedestrian traffic. Pedestrian traffic will help Idaho Falls citizens live cheaper, healthier, and friendlier. The more motor vehicle traffic we replace with pedestrian traffic, the more we reduce dependence on foreign oil sources.
What do you think of these challenges and proposed solutions?
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Comments
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0 
0 Lincoln Road was just expanded to five lanes this summer. Once finished, I was hoping I could ride my bike safely along the new road to get to town. No luck. It’s even MORE dangerous to ride a bike on Lincoln Road. There’s no sidewalks.
I’ve noted that when I’m driving 40 mph in my car down Lincoln…95 percent of motorists speed around me going at least 45-55 mph without a conscience. We eventually all meet up at the red light on Woodruff or the roundabout on Hitt. Don’t get it.
Can’t ride my bike to town…can’t safely drive my car either. Sad.
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0 0 It is yet more evidence of Idaho Falls’ hostility to pedestrians.
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0 0 Wow, what a post! Obviously you haven’t done much travelling around this country of ours. The ONLY places I have ever seen that are “pedestrian friendly” are along the beach area’s in California and Florida, Galveston Texas, along Lake Michigan in Chicago, etc. And those locations are right on the beach or lake areas. If you go a couple miles inland, into any number of the coastal cities, it’s not any better than it is here. Limited sidewalks, numereous hazards,etc. The majority of the cities I’ve been to around this country, don’t allow bicycle traffic on sidewalks as it is. They want you to ride you bike next to traffic. Now I’ve seen a few cities, mostly in the south that have a small strip right next to the far right hand lane on each side of the road, that is dedicated specifically for bike traffic. But if you go into any major city such as Miami, New York, Chicago, etc. You can’t ride your bike on the sidewalk anyway so you’re stuck riding next to traffic and your basically taking your life in your hands doing that. But I’ve seen it done many a time, so it is possible if you’re so inclined. I’ve been to smaller towns all over the country as well, and they have the same problem we do in this town. You either learn to ride your bike on the side of the road with traffic, or you get in your car. This is why your supposed to ride your bike “against” traffic, so you can see vehicles approaching you, as opposed to being run down from behind, and not even having a chance to move out of the way.
Unfortunately most places in this country weren’t set up for bicycle traffic so its important that we learn to share the road and be aware of our surroundings when biking.
Its makes sense that we see more dedicated bike paths in the south where there isn’t much of a winter, than opposed to here where winter lasts so long. You’re just not going to see people riding their bikes to work or the store in the winter months.
As long as you cross at the crosswalks and learn to ride next to traffic, you won’t have it any different than any other city in this country.
I do believe certain curbs downtown can be fixed for those in wheelchairs. I remember seeing that news story and it can be quite difficult on those wheelchair bound folk.
I just don’t think you’re going to see any drastic improvements made with the biking issue. It would just be way too expensive and there aren’t enough bicyclists on the road here in the northern states to warrant such drastic changes and/or improvements.
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0 0 There are some bicyclists who are very rude. They act like they own the road and ride right down the center of the lane. Some bicyclists are traffic conscious and try to stay as far to the right (or left) as possible. I have to admit that when I moved here I was amazed that bicycles were allowed on the sidewalks. Most of the places I have been it is illegal to ride on the walks, and if they do get on the sidewalks, they have to get off and walk their bikes. Maybe there is a reason it is named sideWALK.
I have been a car driver, a bicyclist, and a walker. I have come closer to being run down by a bicycler on the greenbelt than I have by a car when I am on a bicycle. The bicyclers come zooming up behind you and go clipping by at an alarming speed if you are walking. I really think one of the biggest problems is that the bicyclers need to be trained and taught which side of the path (when on the sideWALK) they need to be.
One more point, it was not too long ago that I was out in the Sunnyside area where they have bicycle paths, and guess what, the bicyclers in front of me were NOT riding in the designated paths. They were riding in the car lanes.
Yes, bicycle riders are vulnerable, but they need to also accept responsibility when they are on their bicycles.
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0 0 Idaho code grants bikers dual status as both pedestrian and vehicle, so they have as much right to go down the middle of car lanes as cars do.
I have not been all around the country on my bike. I probably got spoiled in Moscow, which is an extremely pedestrian-friendly town.
When the downtown area was redesigned in the 80’s, they did a few things specifically to slow down traffic and make it better for pedestrians. Pedestrian crossings were clearly marked, and the crossings were raised and textured so motorists experienced three things to alert them to the pedestrian zone. The parking on each block varied so one block had parallel parking, the next had angle slots, the next when back to parallel, etc. This created a situation where motorists were cued to slow down. Because of the lost parking, more parking lots were created behind buildings. The Highway 95 was also routed around the blocks around downtown instead of directly through downtown.
I heard the business owners howled at the time, but over time they realized they got more business because everyone feels safe walking around downtown.
I felt Boise was also very pedestrian friendly, I often rode my bike clear across town from the airport area up to past the downtown city area. The buses there also have bike racks. Do the buses in Idaho Falls allow bikes?
The problem with bikers on the greenbelt is not bikers but that the paths are too narrow. It gets crowded just with folks walking by each other, not just bikers. If our city could double the path widths, everyone would be much happier.
Sure it costs money to invest in bike pathways, but what’s the savings? When more people ride their bikes in our town, fewer people are driving their cars. We save gas money and pollution. We gain health benefits so we live better and longer. Our roads do not need repairing as often. We do not have a pressing need for “more lanes”.
Like I said, we pride ourselves on living cheap around here, but we’ve boxed ourselves into this “must drive everywhere” urban layout and mentality.
Just because Miami and Chicago failed to plan for bikers does not mean we need to make the same mistake.
For that matter, what was the point of that BMPO plan published in 2001? Why make a plan like that and promptly ignore it?
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0 0 I’d have to agree that east Idaho drivers are especially careless and rude to pedestrians. You don’t see that much disregard elsewhere (where pedestrian laws are actually enforced). Pedestrians have the right of way, especially in crosswalks, but you rarely see Idaho drivers stop or yield for them. For an extreme contrast to this attitude, just go across the border to any town in Wyoming. Pedestrians and cyclists can roam anywhere they want and traffic will stop or yield, always.
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0 0 I don’t think I agree with the first part of that. I think the problem is not so much how people act as drivers or as pedestrians, I think the problem is our environment. I find most drivers are nice when I ride, but it is the traffic design situation that is bad, which is how the blame falls on area leadership and developers over the past 20 years.
If drivers do not yield for pedestrians it is because our environment is designed for automobile traffic only; pedestrians are an afterthought if any thought at all.
We need more and better designed paths, better pedestrian tools, and better pedestrian crossings which cue drivers they need to slow and yield.
It is really difficult to understand until you try walking or biking around Idaho Falls for significant distances. That’s why I challenge everyone to walk or bike for a week to your workplace. I dare you to try!
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0 0 I have to agree with Cafedelsol here. I have also travelled extensively around this country and most places are set up just like Idaho Falls. It has nothing to do with the environment. Bikers do have the right of way, period. And I’ve noticed the same thing, where people around here just do not yield for pedestrians, those on bikes, etc.
Drivers shouldn’t need to be “cued” that they need to slow down and yield for pedestrians or those on bicycles. It’s common sense and it’s the law.
You think this is the norm but it’s not. And you’ll realize this once you move to Austin and see how different it is compared to here. You can’t place blame on the developers, as bicyclists have just as much right to the road as motorists. The real problem is the drivers and their lack of respect and willingness to share the road and yield to pedestrians and bikers. Bicyclists have to follow the exact same rules as those in vehicles. They have to stop at the same red lights and stop signs, they’re required to use their hand signals when turning etc etc. You shouldn’t need a yellow line painted on the road telling you where to stop or how to ride your bike in traffic.
You really cant judge this town against a couple of other towns in Idaho. Get out there and see how other cities are in this country, and you’ll realize their not set up any different than Idaho Falls when it comes to this issue.
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0 0 I think it’s unfair to distill the entire argument down to “every other place is like this place, so get over it” because there are plenty of examples of the contrary.
Denver, Colorado did it right…nearly 100 miles of groomed bicycle/pedestrian paths that snake all over town. Most of the paths are off-road…separate from roadways, so bikers and pedestrians experience minimal interference from automobiles.
I could bike to work faster on the trail than I could drive. I could ride downtown just using the trail and not have to pay for parking. It was awesome. My bike ride to work here takes me straight down Broadway, which is always fun during rush hour.
I’ve been biking in Idaho Falls almost all my life, and I’ve had too many close calls to count. Partially because of poor city planning and lack of bike lanes, and also because of ignorant or reckless drivers. (I, of course, am infallible.)
I agree, the city has largely failed to plan its transportation strategy on all levels…roadways included. It’s been particularly ignorant of pedestrian and bicycle traffic, and needs to make significant improvements. And in general, drivers need to be more courteous and share the road.
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0 0 Why don’t you get over it? He never said “every other place was like this place”. If you would read correctly, he said “MOST places”. So you’ve been to Denver, big deal….that’s one example. I’ve been all over the country and I’ve been to every major city in every state, and I can garuntee you, MOST are not like Denver, but more like Idaho Falls. I’m glad that you like to bike to work. Horray for you. The fact of the matter is, the majority of people in IF (AND in this country) do NOT bike to work and WILL NOT bike to work whether or not their are specific trails designated for bikes or not. The fact is, it’s not nearly as much to do with city planning and development, as it does with the drivers of this city. Cyclists have just as much right to the roads as vehicles do, and if you’re getting run off the road, it’s because of careless drivers.
If you think this city is going to spend millions of dollars to add to your cycling comfort, you better think again. (or move to Denver)
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0 0 The fact of the matter is, the majority of people in IF … do NOT bike to work and WILL NOT bike to work whether or not their are specific trails designated for bikes or not.
That’s generalizing quite a bit, speaking for quite a few people. I have tried biking to work several times at each place I’ve worked around Idaho Falls. I have to give up each time because the traffic is too big of a hassle here.
To the people who think I’m full of it on this issue, can you honestly say you have tried biking to work a few times and found no problem with it? I strongly urge you to try biking one week to work. Show me how tough you are and that I’m wrong on this. I dare you!
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0 0 Joe, When my workplace is closer than an 87-mile one-way trip, I’ll take you up on this.
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0 0 Well that is different, I refer to folks who work in town. Plus I hadn’t seen you bad mouthing my idea 8^)
Someone said earlier that we should not blame developers or anyone for our anti-pedestrian environment.
How about this, that stretch of Grandview that was reworked this summer, who signed off on a simple rework of that road? Who could have said, “please add sidewalks to both sides”? Was it the mayor, the local P&Z, county commissioners, state transportation department?
Someone said Lincoln is now worse to ride on than before the work. Who was responsible for signing off on that plan, who failed to say, “we need a bike path on the north or south side”?
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0 0 I work in a professional environment and am only 5 miles from work, but there’s no way I’m going to get all sweaty peddeling my bicycle to work because somebody’s worried about the ozone layer, or the price of fuel or what have you. Like I’ve stated numerous times, it’s just not feasible nor is it realistic for the majority of the public.
Now if you work in construction or don’t mind smelling like a sweathog first thing in the morning, that’s another story. But lets be realistic here. There are few people that are going to get up in the morning, take a shower, than hope on their bicycle while trying to carry briefcases, paperwork, laptops, lunches, etc. and work up a sweat peddeling their bikes to work. No matter if there’s bike paths or not.
The reason I can and do generalize, is because I’ve worked for a number of high profile companies and have travelled all over the US, so I know how the majority of the people I’ve worked with feel about this issue. It’s no different than any poll that’s out there whether it’s on CNN or IFz.com.
As for biking for pleasure and excercise, I do it all the time all over IF.
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0 0 I don’t think it’s not a matter of how tough you are, it’s a matter of personal comfort. The majority of people will not give up personal comfort to save a few bucks in gas by riding their bikes to work. Especially when they can sit in their cars and listen to morning radio or news, in the warmth or air conditioned vehicle. It’s a no brainer.
Which is why we don’t often see people riding their bikes to work in the morning.
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0 0 Wow. I never thought my opinion would incite such a venomous response.
For the record, I wasn’t addressing SlimPickens directly about oversimplifying the issue. It was more of an overall cautionary statement for everyone in the pool.
I was just pointing out that there are some really cool examples of how proper planning and judicious use of tax dollars can really pay off. And I think our city has dropped the ball more than once, and that there’s room for improvement.
Argue all you want about the city spending money for *my* comfort, or *my* benefit. The fact is, the city spends all kinds of money to accomodate its public. That’s kinda how it works…libraries, parks, playgrounds, baseball diamonds, tennis courts, streets, street lamps, skateparks (another enormous failure on the city’s part, until recently), snow removal, etc. Whether or not they receive your individual stamp of approval, based on how regularly they may be used.
I personally could do without the snow removal. I assure you, I’ll be just fine without it. So take those funds and build me a quarterpipe and a box jump with a big roll-in instead.
The bottom line is, whatever is deemed essential, or beneficial (within reason, and by some degree of consensus) to our quality of life, our taxes are a contractual agreement with the city that they provide them, or at least demonstrate due diligence to address the need, whether real or imagined.
I don’t think—as you do, CR67—that it’s an unreasonable request.
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0 0 In 1998 the unsubsidized price of gasoline was between $7-15/gal. What do you think it is now!? If gasoline wasn’t as subsidized and prices went up above $10/gal, I think bikes would start to look a lot more “comfortable.”
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0 0 I’m very glad to see this discussion is generating lots of interest. Thanks Joe!
I share your concerns about the need to move toward a more walkable and bikeable community. I won’t get into the discussion whether it’s worse here in IF, or about the same as other similar towns in the nation. But I do think it is quite possible to improve on our current situation for cyclists and pedestrians. Will it cost money? Of course it will. Is it prohibitively expensive? I don’t think so.
For all of you who care about these issues, I strongly encourage you to get involved in Idaho Falls Community Pathways. To see what this new group is about, check out http://www.CommunityPathways.com
Because if those of us who are passionate about these issues don’t make it happen in IF, who will? Our IFCP group has begun raising awareness of the needs of pedestrians and cyclists with some of our City leaders and managers, and the general response has been that while they receive many complaints from motorists about various transportation problems around town, they don’t hear much from cyclists or pedestrians. That leads them to believe that there aren’t that many of us out there. Naturally they respond primarily to the most squeaky wheels in our community. And that is why we’ve formed IFCP, so that we can speak with a collective voice of hundreds of people, and mobilize the energies of these people to get things done to improve bike and walkability.
I’d like to correct a few things that have been posted previously here. First, Google the Idaho Code Title 49, Chapter 7, and you will see that in Idaho, there are a few exceptions to the general statement that “cyclists must obey the same rules as motorists.” For example, the Code says that if cyclists are riding at speeds less than the normal speed of traffic, they shall ride “as close as practicable to the right-hand curb or edge of the roadway….” Exceptions are made when making a left turn, or where parked vehicles or other obstructions prevent riding toward the right. Unlike pedestrians, it is illegal to ride a bicycle in the left land (facing oncoming traffic). That pretty much goes for the rest of the states, too.
Even though Idaho law requires riding toward the right, many serious experienced cyclists do ride down the middle of the lane, and feel it is safer than hugging the curb (with all that gravel), and possibly being bumped off the road by a car passing in the same lane you’re riding in. The key is that those cyclists are moving at similar speeds to the vehicle traffic, so the law permits that.
Idaho law does give cyclists some additional rights at intersections that differ from those of motorists. To paraphrase Section 49-720 of the Idaho Code, cyclists must stop at stop lights, but then may proceed thru on the red light if all is clear. And they must slow down at stop signs, but may ride thru without stopping if all is clear. So this means that cyclists in Idaho can treat stop signs like yield signs, and red lights like stop signs. I won’t get into whether these are good rules or not, but that’s the way the law reads. Of course, many Idahoans are unaware of these rules.
Idaho Falls has its own cycling rules, and Ordinance 9-7-10 prohibits people age 15 and older from riding bikes on City sidewalks. It also prohibits people of any age cycling on sidewalks in the downtown area. Personally, I don’t like these rules, but that’s what it says currently.
As for the 2001 BMPO bike-pedestrian plan, I agree that many of the actions proposed there have not yet been done. But it’s incorrect to say that none of their recommendations have been carried out. For example, over the past few years, bike lanes have been striped on 25th Street, the Greenbelt multi-use path has been extended north to University Place, and approximately 4.6 miles of pathway was recently completed along Sunnyside (from Hitt Rd. all the way to and across the Snake River). BMPO has also hired a part-time bike-ped coordinator (Lisa Farris), who is now revising the bike-ped plan. Some bike racks have been installed downtown (though still not enough). I agree that progress during 2001-2007 has been inadequate, and that many of our multi-use paths are too narrow or otherwise dangerous. But some progress has been made.
The view that it is too cold in Idaho for cycle commuting is not supported by the data. I encourage you to go to the CommunityPathways.com website, and click on the link to articles by John Pucher. Then click on Publications, and the link to an article titled “Why Canadians Cycle More than Americans”. Turns out that Canadians are three times more likely to bike to work than Americans. And Montanans bike to work about 5X more than Texans, and twice as much as Floridians. Go figure. These rates are clearly not the result of differences in weather. Pucher examines why these differences exist, and concludes that higher cycling rates in Canada are the result of many factors, including the higher cost of owning and driving a car in Canada, and the fact that Canada has made it easier to get around their urban areas by bicycle.
Over the past couple of years, I’ve biked 4 miles to work at least 50% of the time. I don’t generally bike to work if it’s snowing or raining, but those days are pretty infrequent here in IF. Personally, I feel good and envigorated when I get to the office….not sweaty and smelly (or maybe it’s just that none of my coworkers is telling me). Maybe it isn’t realistic for “the majority of the public”, but for me it works out well. And I believe that infrastructure (pathways or lack thereof) makes a huge difference. I would be much less likely to bike commute if I was forced to ride along Broadway or Yellowstone (which I don’t).
I’m apologize for this post being so verbose. But again, if those of us who care don’t get involved and push for these things, who will?
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0 0 Thanks for your great points, I was not aware of some of those nuances.
One summer I biked 3 out of 5 days a week across Idaho Falls to work, from Smith’s to the west edge of town and back. It took me a good 20 minutes, and I left 40 minutes early so I would have 20 minutes to cool down, apply deodorant, and change my socks (I carried a ziplock in my backpack). I don’t think I stunk, nobody ever said anything to me at least.
Looking forward, what are some changes Idaho Falls can make to improve our pedestrian climate?
Can the planning and zoning require every commercial and government buildings to offer five bike racks per 10,000 square feet (or thereabouts)? They have the choice of customizing the solution, but five bikes need to be securable.
Can all new intersections be required to have pedestrian crossings be 1/2″ taller than the street and the edges textured in some way? This would help reinforce to car drivers all over town to slow down and respect pedestrians.
Can all new sidewalks, whether on commercial/residential/government property, be separated from the roadway by at least 2′ of green space? The green space strip could be plain grass or cheap shrubs or little trees, and would make pedestrians feel much safer.
Some policy changes like these would set the stage for a great pedestrian future, and would reduce our automobile-related costs.
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0 0 I don’t know anybody in our office that would ride their bikes to work. (and I asked around) Everyone I know enjoys the conveinence of driving. Even with the price of gas, it’s just not very convienent for many of us. Many of us at work have kids we drop off at daycare or school, run errands at lunch, and its just basically a ridiculous suggestion. I’m not in grade school anymore and need to ride my bike to class. I have a nice vehicle that I’m sure not going to let gather dust all because a few environmentalists thing we should all be riding our bikes to work.
How bout this….those of you that wanna save gas and look “tough” as Joe put it….go right ahead. I for one will be cruisin to work in comfort.
btw…I never have a problem with traffic when I ride my bike on the weekends. I think this issue has been exaggerated just a tad.
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0 0 Mr. Bean and all,
I’m really glad you posted about not seeing, for you personally, a benefit in making Idaho Falls more pedestrian and bike friendly. It helps clarify for me a point easily mislaid when residents discuss the pros and cons of community improvements, especially relatively expensive ones.
I strongly support the IFCP even though i live 10 miles from town and don’t spend a lot of time there. I take my walks on a canal and my car lives mostly in the garage already since I work from home.
So why should I support this group and other community voices asking us to spend money on bike paths, bike lanes, education, wider sidewalks etc? For the same reason I am happy to help pay for public education although i have no children. If you decide to start riding your bike because the city made it safer and more pleasant to do so, I win. We all do.
As a nation we pollute too much, consume way too much fossil fuel, report being too stressed and are too fat. I doubt anyone would dispute those statements. And although it’s easy to lose sight of, I doubt anyone would dispute either the fact that those collective choices are expensive. Ask me what it cost us all to keep my diabetic father in law alive on Medicare/Medicaid the last two years of his life. The number scared me, especially when I read that the incidence and age of onset of diabetes is going through the roof. Leaving aside the deeply painful consequences of that disease to him and our family, I honestly don’t know how we as a nation will continue to foot those bills as they rise even higher. Look at the increase in childhood and young adult cancers, thought to be pollution and lifestyle related. Look at the complex and troubling roles this nation has played in the Middle East, a region chained to us by our need for its oil. Look at the cost of adding, widening, and maintaining roads as traffic burdens go up and up. Collectively and individually, we pay a massive bill for our sedentary, car based, supposedly convenient lives.
The cool thing is, we don’t have to personally take on every important issue to affect positive change as a nation.
My guess is that most folks, like me, picked a few ways to address health, environmental or energy issues. You’d go nuts trying to do it all but you decided to recycle more. Turn off the lights. Drive less. Volunteer at the nursing home. Or work out and make sure the kids play outside. Whatever. And that’s great, because each of those personal choices you made serves everyone.
It seems to me that when an organization like the IFCP steps up to the plate, they’re trying to give us all a gift. Yes, we’ll have to pay for this one, but don’t kid yourself. We pay plenty for the impacts of our car-dependent infrastructure as well.
The IFCP and other community voices speaking up on this issue want to make it easier, safer and more pleasant for those who’d like to choose one particularly good avenue for positive change to do so. And if that’s not you or me because we’re doing our bit in other ways, it doesn’t matter. We still all win.
Let’s help them out. Or at least thank them, even if the change is not going to benefit us directly. Or at the very least, stay out of their way and let them help us all.
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0 0 I like riding my bike and walking, when the weather permits. But I also don’t believe its very feasible to think this city should restructure the whole community and pour lots of money into a project like this for a few cyclists to utilize. And lets be realistic, there’s only a few cyclists that will utilize it to get to work. People enjoy the comforts and convienence of their vehicles. I for one have a briefcase, laptop, thermos, my lunch and a water bottle I take to work every single day. I certainly don’t want buy a backpack to put all this stuff in, pedal to work in 30 or less degree weather, in order to make some environmentalists happy because they think we drive too much.
That’s great that you have your beliefs and your opinions. But I have mine too and I for one am not going to inconvience myself to save a little gas.
It’s also funny how Jo supports people putting their cars in the garage and riding their bikes to work, when he works from home! I’d like to see how some of you would do on a day like today. With the winds at 20-30 mph and the windchill being in the teens. You talk a good talk, but I know I didn’t see one person on their bike this morning.
But hey….keep fighting the good fight! 
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0 0 Well, actually, I commute on a bus five days per week, but whatever. And I think I’ve proven I’m not an environmentalist, but whatever again. I think the idea is to make you happy rather than environmentalists.
You’re right, I drove to my busstop, I did not ride my bike to it because it was too far for too cold of weather.
Maybe this pedestrian thing IS a bad idea. In fact we cannot use the parks in bad weather either so let’s get rid of our parks.
If something cannot be used 100% of the time by 100% of the people, it must be a waste of money and let’s get rid of it, ehh?
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0 0 I was speaking of Jo D. in post 22, but thanks for the response anyways.
I’m just talking on a personal level and stating my opinion. It seems that everyone else can state THEIR opinion, but if mine differs from it, shame on me!! Incredible!
Even during the summer months, I don’t see people riding their bikes to work. You guys are asking a city that has no money as it is, to put millions of dollars into an extensive project such as this, that basically won’t be used by that many people.
But once again….that’s just MY opinion. Perhaps I should include a disclaimer everytime I make a post on this site. (the views I share and express are solely mine and are in no way the accepted views or beliefs of anybody other than myself.)
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0 0 I work in lovely downtown I.F. and I know of at least 3 individuals who ride their bikes to work everyday in my building alone. Rain or shine. Hot or cold. I pass bike riders on their way to work every morning and I am not talking about one or two I see on any given day as many as a dozen. I have no idea how far these people all travel but one of the lawyers I know carries his laptop and breifcase and lunch all in a backpack with no difficulties.
I enjoy riding my bike to work when I can but I also understand the convienence of having a car for lunch time errands. I think new pathways would be a great idea and would like to see something achieved for a cross town commute.
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0 0 I wonder how that new Segway dealer is doing off of Pancheri? Those things have to be pretty difficult to operate around town here. Being that they take up quite a bit of room on the sidewalk, and aren’t really fast or safe enough for use on the road. It’d be interesting to know if his business is thriving.
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0 0 I’ve wondered that also, especially with our steep curb dropoffs and frost-heaved sidewalks. Anyone know what low temperature cutoff prevents you from riding a segway outside?
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0 0 This discussion has voiced many interesting and appropriate viewpoints about pedestrians and cycling in Idaho Falls, but it has also repeated many common misconceptions regarding cycling. One misconception is that cyclists are safest when they act like pedestrians on wheels. If you look at crash statistics for cyclists, you will find that cyclists who act like pedestrians have a much higher crash rate than those who act like vehicle drivers. For example, cyclists riding on sidewalks have a crash rate about 2-9 times higher than cyclists using the roads. Cyclists who ride on the wrong side of the road like pedestrians have a crash rate about 3-4 times higher than cyclists riding on the correct side. Overall, cyclists who “drive” their bike like a vehicle tend to have the lowest crash rates.
Interestingly, many of the issues discussed here relate back to the general vehicle law that all the states apply to cyclists: except for specific exceptions, “Every person operating a vehicle propelled by human power or riding a bicycle shall have all of the rights and all of the duties applicable to the driver of any other vehicle”. Note that this law has two aspects: cyclists have rights but they also have responsibilities. Too often, both the rights and responsibilities parts of the law are ignored, and this causes considerable friction between cyclists and motorists.
Starting with cyclist rights, the law clearly states that cyclists have the same right to use the roads as any other vehicle. Often, people cycle to work simply because they enjoy cycling or want to get in some daily physical exercise, not because of a grand environmental or political agenda. It is true that many people would never consider cycling to work, but this provides no legal justification to run cyclists off the road or endanger their lives through harassment or illegal actions. Many motorists are not even aware that cyclists have legal rights on the road.
One person complained about “rude” cyclists driving down the center of a lane. Generally, cyclists are required to remain to the right to facilitate faster traffic passing on the left (the same basic rule applies for all vehicles). However, the law allows and safety dictates that cyclists “take the lane” in various situations that others have explained in previous postings. One other common case where cyclists can legally take the lane is when a lane is too narrow for motor vehicles to safely pass within the lane. (14′ is often considered the minimum lane width for safe “within-lane” passing.)
The other side of the coin is that the law clearly states that cyclists have the duties of other vehicle drivers. This means obeying traffic laws. Unfortunately, large numbers of cyclists shirk this duty. Anyone who watches cyclists in Idaho Falls will quickly notice that many of them ride on the wrong side of the road, fail to yield at traffic signs and signals, and ride at night with no lights, all of which are illegal. They also frequently swerve about unpredictably. This unpredictable and often illegal behavior generates a lot of animosity among motorists. Cyclists will have a hard time being taken seriously as long as they don’t take their own responsibilities seriously. A large part of the problem is that the U.S. has no general “driver training” program for cyclists, so they often make up the rules as they go.
In my opinion, the friction between cyclists and motorists could be reduced quite a bit if everyone has a better understanding of the rights and responsibilities that the law entails. Motorists should understand that cyclists have a right to use their chosen form of transport even if the motorists themselves have no interest in cycling. Cyclists need to understand that with a few exceptions the traffic law that applies to motorists also applies to them. Riding in an unpredictable and illegal manner causes a lot of the animosity that motorists have towards cyclists.
I, by the way, sometimes cycle to work and sometimes drive a car, so I see the situation from both sides.
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0 0 I ride my bike against traffic all the time, regardless of what the law may say. I had a truck hit me from behind a few years ago, and he never stopped. I was thrown off my bike and luckily landed in some soft grass so I wasn’t hurt, but it sure scared the crap out of me and it totalled my bike. (which I paid just under a grand for at the time) Growing up I was always told to ride against traffic and then they changed the laws to make cyclists ride with traffic. Well, I did that and almost ended up dead. So I’ll keep riding against traffic so at least I can see what’s coming towards me and take necessary measures to avoid being hit again.
It’s not like your going to get ticketed from riding against traffic. I pass police officers all the time, almost every time I ride and they never say anything. So those of you that don’t want to get blindsided, (especially in this town) ride against traffic. You’re pretty safe riding anywhere in town unless you’re on 17th street or Yellowstone Ave. Everywhere else i’ve never had a problem. Plus you can take back streets to pretty much everywhere you need to go.
safe riding out there!
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0 0 I can certainly understand how a crash can be traumatic, but objectively a single crash does not outweigh the thousands of cyclist crashes that have been researched in studies going back to the 1970s. These studies clearly show that wrong-way cycling is one of the top causes of collisions between cyclists and motor vehicles. Most urban collisions occur at intersections, and wrong-way cyclists enter the intersections from unexpected directions where motorists aren’t looking. Sure, many wrong-way cyclists manage to avoid a collision, and cyclists riding on the right do sometimes get hit. On average, however, wrong-way cyclists are about 3-4 times more likely to have a collision. This is how statistics work. It is kind of like smoking; about 2/3 of smokers get away with it and end up dying from something else before the smoking kills them. On the other hand, there are nonsmokers who die from lung cancer caused by other factors (radon, etc). These nonsmoker deaths do not prove that smoking is safer than not smoking.
The law has never stated that it is legal for cyclists to ride on the left. Wrong-way cycling has often been incorrectly taught by “authority figures” in schools and elsewhere, mainly because these people were not really any kind of authority on cycling and were often ignorant of the law. Wrong-way cyclists can be cited by the police, but this rarely happens because the police are generally indifferent to cyclists unless they are involved in a collision. If a wrong-way cyclist does get involved in a collision (with a vehicle, pedestrian, or legally operating cyclist), the police are much more likely to go after the cyclist for traffic violations and in extreme cases possibly even criminal prosecution. Other parties in the collision can also use the wrong-way cycling to go after monetary damages in a civil suit.
One also has to remember that the side of the road a cyclist uses is not the only factor that affects the risk of a collision. Cyclists riding on the right can take various actions to either increase or decrease their risk. The State of Idaho actually has a bicycle driver’s manual called “Idaho Bicycling Street Smarts” that can be ordered for free on the web and provides descriptions of safe cycling practices. One of the first things it says is to not ride on the left.
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0 0 True, that is like those people who won’t wear seat belts because of the extremely few incidents where someone gets caught in a fire or underwater.
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0 0 Rick, please enlighten us and show us where you obtained your so called statistics. (Since you seem to be the authority on biking.)
And until you get hit by a car riding your bike, you have no idea how it feels. All the statistics in the world aren’t going to help you.
And I beg to differ with your assumption that it was never the law to ride on the left. When I was growing up in the early 60’s Police officers would come to our school each year and tell us to ride on the left. Our safety manuals even told us to ride on the left against traffic. It was eventually changed to the right side, although I’m not sure what year that was.
Thanks but no thanks….I’ll continue to ride the way I want, facing traffic. It’s easier to avoid a vehicle you can see coming right at you, then to get blindsided and go flying into a ditch or worse.
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0 0 I agree with jose…I’ll take my chances as well. I usually ride against traffic too. I’ve had quite a few vehicles whizz by me and when you can actually feel the breeze created from the vehicle you know their pretty close to you. If I had hit a rock or happened to pedal to the left just an inch or two at those particular times, I would have surely been run over. The way people drive around here, I’d rather take my chances against traffic, knowing that I can quickly adjust my riding or even jump off my bike if I see someone bearing down on me and not moving.
I’ve also been hit riding my bike. I was crossing at a light and this lady ran the red light to make a right hand turn. She didn’t even bother looking. She ran right into me and if I wouldn’t have seen her coming and jumped off my bike she would have really hurt me. All she did was roll down her window and ask me if I was alright. I wasn’t hurt, so I said yes. Then as I was picking up my bike she took off. My bike was mangled. Both wheels and the frame were bent and it was completely unfixable. Luckily it was only a 80 dollar bike from Walmart, but still. This happened down south but I always make sure I can see whats coming at me whenever & whereever I ride my bike. I’ll gladly pay a ticket as opposed to getting run over.
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0 0 Joe-PTA does allow you to take a bike with you. They have a bike rack on the front of their buses.
Jeff-What do you think the law should be with regard to bicycles on the sidewalk?
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0 0 I think that it is important for us all to keep in mind that the highest community goal citizens living in a community could have is developing and maintaining a great quality of life for everyone who lives in or visits that community.
A great quality of life means many different things to many different people. However, generally it entails such aspects as; good jobs, neighbors and education; an open, honest, and equitable government; affordable housing; tolerance for each other’s needs and desires; good wages vs. cost of living; a well maintained & safe environment; beautiful surroundings; enjoyable and diverse places to congregate and recreate; and great transportation and accessibility to the places we need to and want to go to…
A town that encourages and enables its citizens to travel, explore, and enjoy the town itself is a sign of a robust, confident town. One that encourages and allows its citizens to do so in a safe and healthy manner is a sign of a great town. It is such a town that will attract new/quality businesses and people, and it is such a town that will keep the great citizens and businesses that already reside there.
I have a hard time fathoming how Idaho Falls and Bonneville Co. officials and community leaders fail to understand the importance of a healthy, physically active/interactive citizenry. So many of our physical ills as a society have to do with our collective lack of being physically active. And so many of our societal ills are do to our collective isolation from one another, as we cloister ourselves in our automobiles, and park ourselves in front of our TV’s and computers, and we hide ourselves behind our 6 foot privacy fences in our backyards.
Also, I have a hard time fathoming that our government officials and community leaders don’t understand and accept that to develop such a such a quality community only requires creativity, honest and open thought/communication, a collective sense of community, and some investment. These are all characteristics that our government officials and community leaders continually brag about us already possessing. I think that all we have to do is to truly believe what we’ve been saying all these years and harness that sense of community…and make some investments into our community’s future!
The earlier that everyone gets on board and the more that the entire community gets excited and involved in working together to build such a community, the less expensive and the easier it will be to develop the type of community that we can all love and prosper in. And I believe that building a community that is accessible to all, without having to isolate ourselves in vehicles to “island hop” around town, is an important aspect of building such a community!
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0 0 Here we go into our pedestrian season again.
Here is some help with promoting bicycle friendliness in our community, from creating a master plan to promoting bicycling.
http://www.bicyclefriendlycommunity.org/tech.htm#general
Wouldn’t it be nice when you pull off the freeway into Idaho Falls, if in addition to the signs saying we have a Vietnam Veteran’s memorial and a museum and a zoo, if we also had a sign promoting we are a bicycle-friendly community?
As high as gas prices are now and seem to be heading, I am tuning up my bike and plan to ride it a lot more this year. What about you?
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0 0 I’m with Joe. I’m going to try to ride my bike to work 50% of the time. Partially for fitness, but mostly for fuel savings.
My dad finally let go of his old Schwinn 10-speed, which I’ve been eyeing since I was a kid. Now it’s all mine. I need to get a new set of tires and tune it up, and that will be my main ride.
It will sure be an improvement over my mountain bike, with its knobby tires eating up all my energy and slowing me down. I can bike to work faster on my single-speed BMX bike, thanks to smooth, 100-psi tires. It’s just not all that comfortable, so I’m really stoked about this “new” vintage bike I just acquired.
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0 0 I know many of you have left comments regarding pedestrians, bike lanes, etc. etc. Check out this video which shows the stupidist bike lanes from around the world. http://slatev.com/player.html?id=1504447505
So you see….we really don’t have it that bad after all!
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For another example of how Idaho Falls seems to care nothing about pedestrians, look at this “BMPO Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan” prepared by the Bonneville Metropolitan Planning Organization in November 2001 (Thanks to the Community Pathways site for linking to this.)
This plan has all sorts of great recommendations, but is ultimately a joke because it appears none of their recommendations have been carried out. Even the BMPO seem to have abandoned their own recommendations, because the plan states “evaluate and update this plan no less than every five years”, which would would have been due by at least last year. Uh-huh.
I think Idaho Falls needs to get a commitment from 50 local civic and business leaders that they will commit to bicycling or walking to work EVERY day for the next six months. Perhaps this new community pathways group could spearhead this effort (it certainly would be a huge promotion).
I and all local citizens would applaud every one of the folks who commit to doing this, and you know they would realize very quickly the changes needed for a pedestrian-friendly Idaho Falls.