Tuesday, July 17, 2012

One out of four bridges with bike lanes

I am posting an observation made by many cyclists in Temecula about crossing the I-15 to reach Old Town, or any of the business on the west side of the freeway. Winchester Road, Overland and Rancho California Road all lack safe crossings (i.e. bike lanes). In fact, the city's master plan for bike trails says specifically to avoid Rancho California Road, the gateway to Temecula, because of the difficulties crossing. Currently, the one bridge with a bike lane is Santiago, at the far south end of Old Town. So if you live in the north end of town, ride three or miles south, cross on Santiago, ride three or four miles north. Easy? No. Other cities have attacked this problem on much busier crossings. The city is about to spend millions bulding a new freeway interchange north of Winchester Road. Will there be a bike crossing?If we are going to spend a little money and add bike lanes, I vote for Rancho California Road. It goes directly to Old Town, directly out to Wine Country. We should be focusing our efforts there. Of course that will mean restoring the bike lane that was paved over in favor of a third traffic lane on Rancho Cal between Ynez and Moraga. If we are serious about bicycle issues, this is a good place to start.
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6 comments:

  1. AnonymousJuly 17, 2012 at 6:55 PM

    rancho cal would be ok but santiago is much safer and any extra riding is a bonus

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    1. Bicycle TemeculaJuly 19, 2012 at 11:34 AM

      I like Rancho Cal, personally, but with my kids I choose Santiago. Extra riding is always fun, unless you need to get to work, for example.

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    2. Bicycle TemeculaJuly 19, 2012 at 11:41 AM

      Extra riding -- one more comment. I was on a ride one time, got lost and ran into a guy out on his road bike. He said he would get me back to where I wanted to go because he was just training, doing "garbage miles." I told him there's no such thing, those extra miles were making him a stronger rider, so they were golden.

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  2. Jacqueline AcostaJuly 19, 2012 at 12:21 AM

    I would love to ride my kids to Old Town, but it is unsafe. Riding all the way to Santiago for my kids would be too hard on them. I would prefer Rancho Ca instead and that crossing isn't as bad as Winchester.

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    1. Bicycle TemeculaJuly 19, 2012 at 11:36 AM

      I agree, but there are things that can be done to get across Rancho Cal. It's just a matter of engineering bike lanes across, and letting motorists know it's not ok to violate the bike lanes. I see kids crossing Rancho Cal all the time on their own, they just use the sidewalks and wait for traffic to clear at the on and off ramps. Not strictly legal, but survivable.

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  3. ZakJuly 19, 2012 at 12:56 PM

    Personally I feel like we need any and all options. We have Santaigo to the South and the eventual Santa Gertrudis Creek extension under the freeway to the North, but we lack any access in the heart of Temecula. Rancho California could be an interim solution until we build several bike/walk bridges over the 15. With the Old Town Specific Plan and the eventual Jefferson Ave Specific Plan, both of which are very pro transit, walking and biking, it would be a shame to not add access to give residents and visitors a transportation choice.

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