David Montgomery leaves us with a report on the Minnehaha County Commission's decision to drive more bicyclists off the road by rumble-stripping the Wall Lake Road . The shoulder there is already narrow; rumble strips will make the rideable shoulder perilously thin. The county does not plan to pony up the cash to expand the shoulder to a safer width for bicyclists and pedestrians.
Understand, motorists, than if the county is going to render the shoulder unrideable, we cyclists will expect you to share the driving lane with us. Keep your eyes open.
But we know we'll have to pedal to the shoulder every now and then, so in hopes that the engineers will offer cyclists some accommodation, so Minnehaha County, at least keep the grooves thin and shallow, and space them out.
Or better yet, since the rumble strips are there to deal with inattentive motorists, why not place the inconvenience in the motorists' lane? Instead of taking five inches away from bicyclists, why not cut those grooves on the left side of the white stripe? Give motorists a rumble before their tires hit the line, and before their mirrors are sticking out into the shoulder where they can slip bicyclists? Left-cut rumble strips would guarantee that I would stay on the shoulder instead of swinging an extra foot out into the driving lane.
Once again, Left-leaning policies are better for everyone.
"Left-leaning policies are better for everyone."
Nice one.
"Vandel said the DOT tries to be sensitive to the concerns of bicyclists. They have a dedicated liaison to bicyclist groups, he said."
This statement is troubling in that 4 out of 5 cycling group influencers in this part of the state have no idea who said dedicated liaison is.
Thanks, Deb! And Michael—if you find out who that liaison is, let me know!
Oh, is that liaison Nancy Surprenant, DOT Bicycle and Pedestrian Coordinator and Transportation Alternatives Program Coordinator?
Bonus linguistic note: Nancy's last name in French means surprising... as "Bicycles on the highway in South Dakota? How surprising!"
Nancy is indeed the person of whom Andy would be thinking. However, Andy Vandel might be surprised to learn what liaison means in French because clearly it is not happening here and is not what Nancy does.
Now that Andy has added liaison to her job description, give her a call, see if she's ready to start!
Oh yes, that effort began immediately yesterday and continues today. ;-)