Anyone here have the ear of someone on the City Council? I've noticed that many of the multi-lane streets with bike lanes have stoplights with crazy-short yellows: if you enter the intersection as the light turns yellow, it's almost impossible to get to the far side before cross-traffic gets their green light! :( I admit that I'm usually only doing a leisurely 10 mph, but I'm a commuter, not a road racer. C'mon San Jose, give me an extra second or two?
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colin
June 28, 2011 - 11:04am
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Hi Margot. It sounds like a
Hi Margot. It sounds like a problem you could address with the San Jose BPAC - http://www.sanjoseca.gov/transportation/bikeped/bikeped_Advisory_Committ...
There's actually a vacancy on the BPAC right now, if anyone reading this is interested I encourage you to sign up and keep SVBC updated on local developments.
The BPAC is staffed by John Brazil, who is the pedestrian and bicycle coordinator for the city's department of transportation. I doubt that the council members would have much to do with traffic signal timing. The city is pursuing many bike-friendly updates via its Bicycle Master Plan, but I'm not up to date on the specifics of funding and implementation. Good luck - and let us know what you find out!
lindyspice
June 28, 2011 - 11:34am
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Thanks, Colin- I didn't even
Thanks, Colin- I didn't even know we had a bicycle/pedestrian advisory committee. I wish I had more time in my schedule to participate; I'm surprised that there isn't already an official liaison from SVBC! On a related note, I wonder if any of them are bicyclists, and of what variety... Anyway, I'll send them an email to ask my question about the traffic lights.
colin
June 28, 2011 - 11:58am
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Glad I could shed some light
Glad I could shed some light on the BPAC! As far as a liaison, we have only 4 staff members, and cover two counties, so there's no way we can hit up all the BPACs. We are working on a campaign to expand the number of BPACs (not all cities have one) and to boost their public participation and effectiveness.
We do have members on many of the BPACs, and I can tell you that at least five of the San Jose BPAC members are SVBC members as well. We try to get BPACs to keep us up to date through our Area Reports (http://bikesiliconvalley.org/area-reports) as well, and we keep a list of area BPACs at http://bikesiliconvalley.org/bpac-info-page so our readers can get involved.
Good luck with the email - and let us know how it goes. :)
bobs
July 4, 2011 - 2:11pm
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signal timing standards
For reference during your conversations with the streets maintenance folks: The relevant sections of the California Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/traffops/signtech/mutcdsupp/pdf/camutcd2010/Par...) are 4D.10 and 4D.105(CA). The standards require the signal (green plus yellow plus all-red phases) to provide sufficient time for a Reference Bicycle-Rider to cross. You can check, with your own watch's second hand, whether the intersection complies with the requirements.
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