On April 18, 61 year-old Marjorie Waskosky, Coast City’s Children’s Librarian and her husband of 30 years, Stephan, were riding their bicycles southbound in a marked bicycle lane on Central Avenue at the north end of the central business district when they were struck from behind by a Cadillac SUV. Mrs. Waskosky was thrown over 30 ft. from the impact and died at the scene. Her husband was transported to Coast Central Hospital in critical condition. The driver of the SUV was identified as Amber Mills, 17, who later admitted to glancing at the infotainment screen on the Cadillac’s dashboard to read a text message from a friend. Her vehicle drifted to the right and struck the Waskoskys at about 45 mph.
Marjorie Waskosky became the 5th cyclist fatality on Central Ave. in the last 16 months. Two pedestrians were also recently struck and killed along the same stretch of road. Additionally, over 20 non-fatal bicycle/pedestrian/vehicle accidents were reported during the same time period on Central Ave. Mrs. Waskosky’s position and popularity with the children of Coast City created significant outcry over the accident and the bicycle/pedestrian/vehicle safety issue along Central Ave. City leaders decided something needed to be done.
Coast City
Coast City is a moderately-sized city of approximately 300,000 population on the central coast of a Western state. Historically, the city was founded as a fishing port in the early 1800s. Until the latter part of the 20th century, the primary industries in Coast City were fishing and canning. By the late 1980s, the fishing industry had mostly vanished and the vast canning plants on the north side of the city were closed and abandoned. During the tech boom of the 1990s, a large tech manufacturer acquired many of the old canning factories and rebuilt the area as a sprawling technology manufacturing center. This quickly attracted other technology and web-based companies and several technology campuses replaced the remaining canning facilities. The introduction of these new industries to Coast City rapidly revitalized the local economy and resulted in rapid growth, which continues to this day. Industrial transformation also dramatically altered the population from an older, mostly retired demographic to one dominated by younger technology professionals and their families. While past generations of Coast City residents favored automobile travel and prioritized industrial growth, today’s younger inhabitants are prone to balance commercial interests with concern for environmental health and fondness for alternative modes of transportation that promote sustainability.
Geographically, Coast City sits on a bluff above the Pacific Ocean with a mostly rocky shoreline. The only recreational beach is found on the southern edge of the city. To the east of the city, coastal hills rapidly rise to the coastal mountain range. The boundaries of the ocean to the west and mountains to the east limit Coast City to a narrow range of mostly flat bluff-top land. This means that the growth of the area is restricted to either the north or south of the city center. Land north of the existing tech industries is mostly salt marsh and a large slough designated as federally-protected open space. This means the population growth of Coast City is taking place almost exclusively to the south of the central business district, which has created significant commuting congestion since most employment is found to the north.
The main north-south thoroughfare in Coast City is Central Ave., which runs along the top of the bluff in-land less than ¼ mile from the coast. This means that the, mostly commercial, development is found along Central Ave. or to the east of the thoroughfare. Central Ave. is part of the state highway system, which runs the length of the state. For more than 15 miles north of Coast City limits, the road is a six-lane, limited access highway. Just north of the technology centers, the road becomes unrestricted access, with the lanes narrowing to four, continuing through Coast City and for several additional miles to the south. The speed limit on Central Ave. is 55 mph north of the commercial center, then drops to 45 mph and finally to 30 mph in the business district before returning to 55 mph at the southern border of the city. Within the city limits, Central Ave. is mostly bordered by small retail shops, restaurants and cafes. A developer has purchased a significant parcel of land on the south end of the business district and is in the process of developing a large shopping mall, entertainment complex and 200 luxury condominiums, all slated to open within the year.
Currently, the stretch of Central Ave. that runs through the commercial district is four lanes with a 20 ft. landscaped central median dividing the north and southbound lanes. Angle-in parking lines both sides of the street and functions as the primary parking for local businesses. All parking is metered by the city. North of the city limit, there is a well-marked, 12 ft. wide bike lane on both sides of the road. This is part of the state north/south bikeway. This bike lane extends about .5 miles into Coast City but narrows abruptly to 4 ft. at the City boundary. The marked bike lane ends at the start of the commercial district, but signs indicate the road is part of the bikeways and to share the road with cyclists. This pattern continues through the commercial district with the marked bike lane resuming .5 miles past the central district, near where the new complex is being developed.
Given the persistent mild weather in the area, cycling is very popular in Coast City. Given the younger demographic of most of the tech-company workforce, commuting along Central Ave. from the residential areas to the south to workplaces in the north is extremely popular and a way to avoid rush hour vehicle congestion. Central Ave. is also used extensively by recreational cyclists, both during the week and especially on weekends. With outdoor seating available at many of the cafes along Central Ave., cyclists comprise a significant percentage of the daily customers for the local cafes. Several local and regional cycling clubs routinely bring hundreds of cyclists to the cafes on weekends. In the evening, the population and customer base becomes more pedestrian centered. Parking, due to the limited number of spaces along Central Ave., is always in short supply. There are four traffic signals along the two mile stretch of the central commercial district, each with marked pedestrian crossings. Both pedestrian fatalities in the city occurred at the Harald St. crossing, which is located on a slight bend in the road.
Coast City also boasts a Rails-to-Trails conversion path which parallels Central Ave. but is located about one mile in-land from the road. This trail was developed from an old rail spur, which served the canning plants to the north. The trail runs from the tech centers to the north through the central business district and continues for over 30 miles to the south. The trail is mostly flat and is covered in fine-crush gravel. Within the city limits, there are 12 at-grade crossings of local streets. Only one intersection has a traffic signal. All others are signed with crosswalks.
Conflict
While cycling has been a popular activity in Coast City for decades, the rapid population growth from tech industries has added increasing volume of vehicle traffic to the local transportation mix. There are simply too many vehicles and bicycles attempting to share space on a very congested Central Ave. Commuting hours are particularly congested as workers stream either south-to-north in the mornings or north-to-south in the evenings, clogging one side of Central Ave. The congestion is exacerbated by cars attempting to reverse out into the traffic stream from the angle-in parking, and the lack of any marked bike lanes in the central commercial district. Three cycling fatalities have occurred as a cyclist swerved to avoid a backing vehicle and was struck by traffic. For larger vehicles there is often less than two feet of clearance between the end of the parked vehicle and the main traffic stream. If cyclists are present, vehicles are often unable to pass due to the narrow lanes. This tends to increase frustration and often results in on-road confrontations.
Not long after the accident, the Coast City police chief was interviewed on a local television station. His comments proved to be rather controversial: “ I think it’s clear that bicycles and cars do not mix on Central Ave. We should look into banning bicycles from that part of the road. After all there is a perfectly good bike trail less than a mile away that follows the same direction as the road. Bicycles should be on the bike path where they belong, not impeding vehicle traffic.” Needless to say, the police chief’s remarks generated considerable reaction. One of the first to respond, in a separate television interview, was the president of one of the local bike clubs: “The police chief’s remarks demonstrate just how out of touch the police department of this city is when it comes to bicycles. Not only are bicycles legally permitted on Central Ave., it is also a part of the state-wide bicycle route network. Forcing large numbers of cyclists onto a narrow, multi-use path, is going to result in a significant increase in accidents. Mixing bicycles, strollers, skateboards, dog walkers, pedestrians and other users is a sure fire way to guarantee conflict and accidents. We also need to keep in mind that the surface of the trail was never designed to accommodate large numbers of road cyclists. The police chief fails to understand that bicycles are a legitimate part of the vehicle mix in Coast City and treating them like a children’s toy is unacceptable.” The Coast City mayor responded to the police chief’s remarks in his weekly press conference: “Chief Bulman’s remarks do not reflect the official policies of Coast City. Obviously, we need to carefully review the cycling and pedestrian accidents on Central Ave. and develop an appropriate strategy to deal with the issue. Banning bicycles on Central Ave. should not be a part of that analysis.”
At the City Council meeting following the highly-publicized Waskosky accident, Councilman Robert Nguyen spoke to the need for dealing with the bicycle/pedestrian/vehicle safety issue on Central Ave. After a brief discussion, Council unanimously agreed to request the City Planning Department look into possible solutions to the issue and report back to Council within 60 days. Planning Director, Margaret Pinedo, commented that Coast City currently did not include bicycle/pedestrian elements in the city’s general plan and that adding such an element would significantly enhance Coast City’s ability to secure state and federal funds to improve the situation on Central Ave. and throughout the city. The city manager was quick to agree, noting that any solution would likely have to begin with a basic revision in the general plan to include cycling and pedestrian elements. He also noted that the city would need to employ a Cycling Coordinator if it wished to be considered for state program funds.
Sample Solution