February 11, 20169 yr 2015 Dispatch article about the city and Clintonville working to designate various neighborhood streets for bicyclists and pedestrians as safer alternatives to higher-traffic area streets, like High Street and Indianola Avenue. Below the article link is a map of the proposed routes and a YouTube video showing these streets: Clintonville residents seek ‘neighborhood greenways’ for safe biking, walking
February 16, 20169 yr CoGo starts daily bike rentals through new app By Rick Rouan, The Columbus Dispatch Monday February 15, 2016 CoGo Bikeshare riders who want to purchase a day pass can now do so with a smartphone app. Users can download "Transit App," which tracks how many bikes are available at CoGo kiosks, and they can purchase a code through it to unlock a bike from the dock. Previously, users had to use their credit card at the kiosk. http://www.dispatch.com/content/blogs/the-city/2016/02/cogo-app.html
March 21, 20169 yr 2015 was kind of a rough year maintenance-wise for bridges along some of bike trails in Columbus. First, a cable breaks on the historic 1922 suspension bridge on the Alum Creek Trail - previously posted here. Then, a truck hits a concrete barrier wall on 315 going over the Olentangy Trail - previously posted here. And it looks like 2016 might not be any better, because another bridge on the Alum Creek Trail was recently damaged by a falling tree. This bridge is over a section of wetland between Easton and Ohio Dominican University. Below is a view of the damage from the Columbus Metro Parks twitter feed: Columbus Metro Parks - @CbusMetroParks 1:05 PM - 14 Mar 2016 View of damage to the (boardwalk) closed section of Alum Creek Trail between Innis Park and Easton soccer fields.
April 7, 20169 yr CoGo Adding Five New Stations, Updates Pricing Model http://www.columbusunderground.com/cogo-bike-share-2016
May 5, 20169 yr Cross-posted in the Columbus City Downtown Campus Development thread: http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/topic,10219.msg801672.html#msg801672 Planning Underway for Downtown Bike Hub at Front and Long By Brent Warren, Columbus Underground May 5, 2016 - 8:00 am Planning is underway by the City of Columbus on a bike hub that would be located on the first floor of the new city parking garage being built at the northwest corner of Front and Long streets downtown. The facility would be open to the public and would offer cyclists a place to store their bikes, change, and take a shower, although exactly what other amenities would be available (and who would run it) is still up in the air. Those decisions will be made after the city reviews a feasibility study completed by local advocacy group Yay Bikes. MORE: http://www.columbusunderground.com/downtown-bike-hub-bw1
August 12, 20168 yr The growing pains continue for the less-than-one-year-old bikes lanes on Third & Fourth Streets downtown and Summit and Fourth Streets north of downtown: New Downtown bike lanes causing confusion, delays By Rick Rouan, The Columbus Dispatch Thursday, June 16, 2016 - 4:56 AM New lane markings designed to make Downtown’s busiest arteries safer for bicyclists and pedestrians have caused more rush-hour traffic snarls and left motorists frustrated and confused. City officials, bicycle advocates and even drivers agree that traffic problems with the new bike lanes on 3rd and 4th streets through Downtown will improve with time and familiarity. ( . . . ) The new bike lanes are part of the city’s long-term plan to slow traffic on 3rd and 4th streets. Rush-hour parking restrictions were ended on both streets in 2014, and the city added the bike lanes to a planned $7.7 million resurfacing project between I-670 and Fulton Street for this year. They are an extension of bike lanes installed on Summit and 4th streets between Hudson Street and I-670 last year. MORE: http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2016/06/16/new-downtown-bike-lanes-causing-confusion-delays.html
August 12, 20168 yr Something else that will likely take some getting used to (but generally a good idea) are the green painted queue boxes for bikes to make left turns from the designated bike lanes: https://www.columbus.gov/publicservice/bicycle-program/Turn-Box/
August 12, 20168 yr The City of Columbus is planning on road diet for Indianola (between E. North Broadway and Morse). Indianola will change from 4 lanes of traffic to 2 lanes with a center left turn lane. Bike lanes will be striped along the curbs. This has caused the typical amount of controversy in Clintonville. I personally welcome the bike lanes - I find it nerve-wracking to cycle on this stretch of Indianola. http://nbc4i.com/2016/08/09/parts-of-indianola-avenue-will-get-two-bike-lanes-in-new-city-plan/
August 13, 20168 yr Five New CoGo Bike Share Stations Being Added to System CoGo Bike Share and the City of Columbus released a joint announcement today about their system expansion that includes five new stations at popular locations and destinations, bringing the grand total to 46 stations and 365 bikes for rent. The five new stations are located in the following spots: Lane Ave at the Olentangy Trail – near the Lane Avenue Bridge. Jaeger St & Whittier St – in front of the Giant Eagle grocery store. Thurman Ave & Bruck St – Near the new Barrett development. Fourth St & Rich St – Across the street from Dirty Frank’s, 16-Bit and other destinations. Third Ave & Yard St – In front of the Giant Eagle Market District. http://www.columbusunderground.com/five-new-cogo-bike-share-stations-being-added-to-system
August 18, 20168 yr The City of Columbus is planning on road diet for Indianola (between E. North Broadway and Morse). Indianola will change from 4 lanes of traffic to 2 lanes with a center left turn lane. Bike lanes will be striped along the curbs. This has caused the typical amount of controversy in Clintonville. I personally welcome the bike lanes - I find it nerve-wracking to cycle on this stretch of Indianola. http://nbc4i.com/2016/08/09/parts-of-indianola-avenue-will-get-two-bike-lanes-in-new-city-plan/ More about the Indianola Avenue road diet and bike lanes - with a diagram of the proposed changes: http://www.columbusunderground.com/indianola-in-clintonville-to-get-road-diet-bike-lanes-in-2017-bw1
September 1, 20168 yr City Phasing Out “Share the Road” Signs The City of Columbus is phasing out the use of yellow “Share the Road” signs in favor of white signs that say “Bikes May Use Full Lane.” The shift is meant to communicate more clearly the idea that, under city and state code, bikes are not required to hug the curb or stay to the far right side of a travel lane “when it is unreasonable or unsafe to do so.” Many experienced cyclists prefer to ride in the center of the lane, whether to avoid the danger of opening car doors in the parking lane, to increase their visibility, or to avoid the tight squeeze that happens when a car tries to pass a bicycle while staying in the same lane. Catherine Girves, Executive Director of advocacy organization Yay Bikes, said that the Share the Road signs meant different things to different people, with some drivers interpreting them as directions for cyclists – that they need to “share the road” with drivers and stay as far to the right as possible. MORE: http://www.columbusunderground.com/share-the-road-columbus-bw1
September 30, 20168 yr Here's where CoGo may go in suburban expansion Some suburbs surrounding Columbus want to get in on the city’s bike-sharing program. ... Below is a list of proposed CoGo stations, though the final locations could change by next year. Bexley North Cassady Avenue and Bellwood Avenue Jeffrey Park City Hall Capital University Grandview Heights Grandview Yard Grandview Library First Avenue and Northwest Boulevard Grandview Avenue and Goodale Boulevard Upper Arlington North Mallway Drive and Arlington Avenue Kingsdale Shopping Center Northam Park Upper Arlington High School Arlington Gateway Columbus Franklin Park (Near East Side) East Long Street and Taylor Avenue (Near East Side) Bryden Road and South Champion Avenue (Olde Towne East) East Livingston Avenue and South Fourth Street (German Village) Dodge Park (Franklinton) West Third Avenue and Northwest Boulevard (Fifth by Northwest) West Third Avenue and Grandview Avenue (Fifth by Northwest) East Fifth Avenue and Summit Street (Italian Village) West Lane Avenue and North High Street (University District) East Hudson Street and North High Street (University District) Milo Grogan Recreation Center (Milo Grogan) East 11th Avenue and Cleveland Avenue (Linden) Lennox Town Center (north Columbus) More below: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2016/09/30/heres-where-cogo-may-go-in-suburban-expansion.html "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
December 12, 20168 yr ^ Yeah, I know its almost three months since this article about the CoGo bikeshare station expansion. But I saved the map that went with the article. So here it is:
December 12, 20168 yr Came across this photo of the finished Olentangy Trail to Goodale Street connecting ramp - previously seen under construction here and here in this thread:
December 12, 20168 yr ^ That photo came from this recent article in Business First about winter bike riding - and contained this listing of dedicated bike trails in Columbus and the Central Ohio region: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2016/12/12/pursuits-guide-to-winter-bicycling-in-columbus.html
December 20, 20168 yr State grant funds awarded for a 276-foot-long bridge across the Olentangy River in Downtown. The new bridge will connect the Olentangy Trail with Nationwide Boulevard and the Arena District. The state awarded $485,000 for this project. The total project cost is $1.9 million. http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2016/12/20/1-state-grant-to-help-connect-trails-build-park-in-columbus.html This project was announced earlier this year. This is one of the renderings from that announcement, which was originally posted in the Arena District development thread: http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/topic,3335.msg809910.html#msg809910
April 5, 20178 yr Columbus to build $2M bike and pedestrian bridge connecting Arena District and Olentangy Trail The project, estimated to cost up to $2 million, would create a new pedestrian and bicycle bridge spanning across the Olentangy River to the western edge of West Nationwide Boulevard. More below: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2017/04/05/columbus-to-build-2m-bike-pedestrian-bridge.html "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
April 6, 20178 yr It is time again for MORPC’s semi-annual bicycle and pedestrian counts! As you may know, MORPC has been organizing manual bicycle and pedestrian counts twice a year at select locations since 2005 as part of an ongoing effort to better understand bicycling and walking trends in the region. This spring, MORPC will again be organizing counts. They are scheduled to take place on Wednesday, May 17th, and will occur from 7am to 9am and 11am to 1pm. A map of the locations to be counted can be found at:https://tinyurl.com/lj2bugc. If you are interested in helping out, please register online at https://tinyurl.com/lqslpg6 or reach out to me at [email protected]. Once registered you’ll receive a map for your specific location, as well as the forms and instructions to be used for the count. For more information on MORPC monitoring efforts, or to see data collected during previous counts, please visit https://tinyurl.com/lxv6tcc. Thank you for your interest in this project. Your help is very much appreciated!
June 23, 20177 yr Bike sharing company opening national customer service center in Columbus A U.S. bike-sharing platform has chosen Columbus for its first nationwide customer service center. Brooklyn, New York-based Motivate Co., the parent of CoGo Bike Share in Columbus and sister programs in several other U.S. cities, already has hired five employees for the office. It says its Columbus team will grow to at least 20 people year-round and could employ as many as 40 during peak bicycling season. More below: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2017/06/23/bike-sharing-company-opening-national-customer.html "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
June 23, 20177 yr The Latest on CoGo: Ridership Up, New Office Planned, New Stations To Be Announced Ridership on the CoGo bike share system in the first half of 2017 is up about 28 percent compared to last year, according to the City of Columbus. Brad Westall, Greenways Planner for the Recreation and Parks Department, said that the five stations that were added last year were all well-positioned to expand the network in areas where demand for the service was strong. More below: http://www.columbusunderground.com/the-latest-on-cogo-ridership-up-new-office-planned-new-stations-to-be-announced-bw1 "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
August 1, 20177 yr CoGo expansion: Upper Arlington continuing to reach for walkability Roughly 7 miles from downtown Columbus, a CoGo bike station planned for Tremont Road in Upper Arlington is undoubtedly an outlier in the growing bike sharing system. Most of the system’s 45 local stations are concentrated in downtown Columbus and in pedestrian-friendly territories like the Short North and Ohio State University’s campus. More below: https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2017/08/01/cogo-expansion-upper-arlington-continuing-to-reach.html "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
August 10, 20177 yr CoGo has yet to turn a profit, but the bike-share business says it’s turning the corner Columbus' growing bike sharing system is rolling toward profitability — it’s just not there yet. CoGo's 46 bike-rental stations are operated by Brooklyn-based Motivate Co., and any profits that it earns are to be split evenly with the city of Columbus. It hasn’t yet cleared a profit, but it’s getting closer, and the system is expanding. More below: https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2017/08/10/cogo-has-yet-to-turn-a-profit-but-the-bike-share.html "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
August 16, 20177 yr It is almost time for MORPC’s Fall 2017 volunteer bicycle and pedestrian counts! As you may know, MORPC has been organizing manual bicycle and pedestrian counts twice a year at select locations since 2005 as part of an ongoing effort to better understand bicycling and walking trends in the region. This September, MORPC will again be organizing counts. They are scheduled to take place on Wednesday, September 13th, and will occur from 7am to 9am and 11am to 1pm. A map of the locations to be counted can be found at: https://tinyurl.com/y9zyjlfs. If you are interested in helping out, please register online at https://tinyurl.com/y9abrhx5 or reach out to me at [email protected]. Once registered you’ll receive a map for your specific location, as well as the forms and instructions to be used for the count. For more information on MORPC monitoring efforts, or to see data collected during previous counts, please visit https://tinyurl.com/lxv6tcc. Thank you for your interest in this project. Your help is very much appreciated!
January 24, 20187 yr CoGo expanding bikesharing network in city, suburbs CoGo Bikeshare is expanding in 2018 as the bikesharing network that started in the core of Columbus stretches further into the Central Ohio region. Columbus City Council approved a one-year contract extension on Monday with Motivate, the vendor that operates and maintains the bikeshare, as Columbus prepares to add 13 stations that will link the existing system to 13 new stations in Bexley, Grandview Heights and Upper Arlington. The bikeshare will grow from 46 stations and 350 bikes to 72 stations and about 600 bikes ... with the new stations coming online by June or July. MORE: http://www.dispatch.com/news/20180124/cogo-expanding-bikesharing-network-in-city-suburbs COGO EXPANSION MAP: https://issuu.com/thecolumbusdispatch/docs/regionalism_-_2018_regional_expansi
February 13, 20187 yr Bike Lanes Planned for Arcadia Avenue New bike lanes will be part of a planned redesign of East Arcadia Avenue in Old North Columbus. The reconfiguring of the street is planned to coincide with a resurfacing that will occur later this year. For cyclists heading east, a new bike lane will be striped along the south side of the street, from North High Street to Indianola Avenue. The north side of the street will get a bike lane for part of that stretch, combined with sharrows (on-pavement markings that indicate a lane shared by cars and bikes). More below: http://www.columbusunderground.com/bike-lanes-planned-for-arcadia-ave "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
February 15, 20187 yr Locations Revealed for 26 New CoGo Stations The next wave of new CoGo stations are scheduled to be installed this summer, expanding the bike share system’s network farther from the Downtown core and into Bexley, Grandview Heights and Upper Arlington for the first time. Thirteen of the 26 new stations will be located in Columbus, including new docks in Clintonville, Milo-Grogan, the University District and the Near East Side. Another station could be added on the south side, but that one hasn’t been confirmed yet. MORE: http://www.columbusunderground.com/locations-revealed-for-26-new-cogo-stations-bw1
February 15, 20187 yr I am surprised there's not one west of 315 in Franklinton. I mean, at least get ONE! "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
March 1, 20187 yr Off-Street Trail Planned for Franklinton, Souder Avenue Bridge The City of Columbus is moving forward with plans for an off-street trail that would run north from the Mount Carmel campus in Franklinton to the Scioto River. The trail would then continue across the river on a new separated bike and pedestrian section of the Sounder Avenue bridge. The new connection is part of a larger vision for the area — made up of several individual projects, each with different timelines — that the city is calling the Franklinton Loop Trail. More below: https://www.columbusunderground.com/souder-avenue-bridge-and-trail-bw1 "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
March 1, 20187 yr Upgrades to Olentangy Trail to Include New Connection to Bethel Road Two major upgrades are planned for the Olentangy Trail: one that will widen a large section of the trail and another that will connect it to Bethel Road for the first time. The trail will be widened from nine to 12 feet starting at Antrim Lake and continuing south to the spot where Bethel Road dead-ends into State Route 315. The idea is to relieve some of the congestion along the trail, which Columbus Recreation and Parks describes as the busiest in the state. More below: https://www.columbusunderground.com/olentangy-trail-bethel-road-bw1 "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
April 30, 20187 yr Dockless Bike Share Company Looking to Expand to Columbus Columbus may soon be getting a second bike share operator. LimeBike, a California-based company that currently operates in about 50 different cities and campuses worldwide, is planning to launch here this summer. Unlike CoGo, which features a network of stations where users are required to dock bikes after each use, LimeBike offers a completely dockless, or “free-floating” system. LimeBikes are GPS-enabled and trackable by a phone app. The bikes are also equipped with built-in locks so they can be left virtually anywhere, although the company says it works with local entities and neighborhoods to establish specific guidelines about placement. More below: https://www.columbusunderground.com/dockless-bike-share-company-looking-to-expand-to-columbus-bw1 "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
May 3, 20187 yr LimeBike Launching Pilot Program in Dublin on Saturday LimeBike, the dockless bike share company that has been exploring a summertime launch in Columbus, will be coming to Dublin even sooner. Starting on Saturday, 100 of the brightly colored bikes will be placed around the city and will be available for users to rent. The roll-out is scheduled to coincide with the city’s Bike Month Kickoff Event, which will take place from noon – 3 p.m. at the Dublin Community Recreation Center. More below: https://www.columbusunderground.com/limebike-launching-bike-share-pilot-program-in-dublin-on-saturday-bw1 "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
May 4, 20187 yr Hmm... Clintonville makes sense, but not sure I can really see this working in Dublin just yet. Even with all their recent improvements it's still a pretty hostile environment up there to anyone who isn't on the inside of a car OTOH, I wonder if Lime will consider adding electric scooters here like they have in SF and elsewhere?
June 7, 20187 yr Download an app, rent a bike: Lime's bright green dockless wheels roll out in Columbus A bike-sharing system that doesn't require riders to park at specific docks rolled out in Columbus this week, after debuting in northern suburbs last month. Lime has placed 450 of its eponymous green bikes in the city, divided equally among Clintonville, Linden and the Near South Side by Nationwide Children's Hospital. There are 250 in Dublin and 50 in Worthington. More below: https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2018/06/07/download-an-app-rent-a-bike-limes-bright-green.html "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
June 13, 20187 yr ^ So I haven't ridden one yet (or seen anyone else riding one for that matter...), but LimeBikes are seemingly everywhere in Columbus now. It looks like they drove up and down some of the main streets and just dumped out bikes about a half dozen at a time every other block. I'm intrigued by the car2go-style free floating system, so it will be interesting to see how they start to move around and distribute themselves throughout the city as people use them. Hoping to give it a try this weekend, though I kinda wish we had gotten the scooters instead
July 9, 20186 yr CoGo Bike Share to Continue Expansion, Add Stations at Easton CoGo Bike Share has announced new bike stations will be coming to Easton as ongoing plans for expansion into Bexley, Grandview Heights, and Upper Arlington are underway. Four CoGo bike stations, including 60 docks and 32 bikes, will be placed at one of Columbus’ most popular shopping and entertainment destinations. Previous plans for expansion already included 26 additional stations and 232 bikes. More below: https://www.columbusunderground.com/cogo-bike-share-to-continue-expansion-add-stations-at-easton-tm1 https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2018/07/09/cogo-bike-share-coming-to-easton.html "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
July 19, 20186 yr Wheels aplenty, but can the region support 2 bike services? You see them in downtown Columbus. You see them in the suburbs. GoGo bikes docked in neat rows. Lime bikes lined up by the curb or scattered outside a restaurant or library. More below: https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2018/07/19/wheels-aplenty-but-can-the-region-support-2-bike.html "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
July 23, 20186 yr https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2018/07/19/a-reporter-s-ride-cogo-with-a-splash-of-lime.html Above is a paywalled article and video from a Columbus Business First reporter who took both of the city's bike-sharing services (CoGo and Lime) for a spin around the Arena District - which Business First has their office. Hopefully the video is available for non-subscribers. If it isn't, the reporter's overview of both services is thus: -- She preferred the ride quality of the CoGo bike over the Lime bike. But she preferred the dockless convenience of the Lime system over the docked CoGo system (apparently getting the CoGo bike out of and into the docking station proved difficult for her).
August 27, 20186 yr Proposal Would Close the Gap in the Olentangy Trail Regular users of the Olentangy Trail know that there is only one section of the shared-use path that detours away from the Olentangy River and onto city streets. That happens on either side of the North Broadway bridge in Clintonville, roughly halfway between the trail’s two endpoints, Worthington and Downtown. A new proposal would close that gap by taking the trail over two new bridges and onto the west side of the river for about half a mile. Northbound users would cross the first new bridge at Como Park, which would deposit them onto a new section of trail running past Kohl’s and along the eastern edge of the new OhioHealth office complex. They would then cross North Broadway at grade and continue along the river to the second new bridge, which would connect them back up with the existing Olentangy Trail at Northmoor Park. More below: https://www.columbusunderground.com/olentangy-trail-bridges-bw1 "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
September 9, 20186 yr Work to Start on Bike-Friendly Improvements in Clintonville Work is scheduled to start soon on a long-planned set of improvements designed to encourage biking in Clintonville. New markings will be painted on certain streets and new signs will be installed, with the goal of establishing a bike-friendly network that will connect a variety of destinations in the neighborhood. “This project is intended to offer low-stress biking options throughout Clintonville so that people of all ages and abilities feel comfortable riding,” said Jennifer Gallagher, Director of the city’s Department of Public Service, in a press release. Now called the Clintonville Neighborhood Bikeways project, the plan was first floated by resident Will Koehler, who set up a group called Clintonville Neighborhood Greenways to advocate for and promote the idea back in 2015. More below: https://www.columbusunderground.com/work-to-start-on-bike-friendly-improvements-in-clintonville-bw1 "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
September 10, 20186 yr Glad to see the Olentangy Trail and Clintonville Neighborhood Bikeways projects moving forward.
September 10, 20186 yr CU published an interesting piece about bike commuting written by the City of Columbus' Development Director: https://www.columbusunderground.com/lessons-in-bike-commuting-from-a-non-cyclist-ss1
September 17, 20186 yr Will Columbus Ever Build More Protected Bike Lanes? Scooter Users May Have a Say Although there are no current plans to build more protected bike lanes in Columbus, planners and transit advocates point to a recent development that may help to build the case for them: the sudden appearance of hundreds of rentable electric scooters on the streets of Columbus. Both of the companies operating here, Lime and Bird, discourage users from riding on sidewalks. The city also recently proposed legislation to enforce the no-sidewalk rule. In practice, though, if riders don’t feel comfortable on the street — and in Columbus, so far it looks like many of them don’t — the sidewalk is still where they end up. That sets up the potential for conflict between pedestrians and scooters, which, at speeds of up to 20 mph, travel much faster than anything else on the sidewalk. “We have to figure out ways to accommodate these types of uses, that are faster than walking but slower than cars,” said Jason Sudy, an urban planner at OHM Advisors and a member of the Italian Village Commission. “This is a great example of the different types of modes that will be popping up. None of us would have anticipated the speed and popularity of mini electric scooters, and it really underscores the importance of having these kind of medium-speed lanes, where you can have a safe experience (but also) not impede the overall traffic flow.” More below: https://www.columbusunderground.com/will-columbus-ever-build-more-protected-bike-lanes-scooter-users-may-have-a-say-bw1 https://www.columbusunderground.com/protected-bike-lane-on-summit-seeing-high-ridership-but-city-not-planning-to-build-more-bw1 https://www.columbusunderground.com/plans-for-better-bike-lanes-bw1 "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
September 20, 20186 yr Will Columbus Ever Build More Protected Bike Lanes? Scooter Users May Have a Say Although there are no current plans to build more protected bike lanes in Columbus, planners and transit advocates point to a recent development that may help to build the case for them: the sudden appearance of hundreds of rentable electric scooters on the streets of Columbus. Both of the companies operating here, Lime and Bird, discourage users from riding on sidewalks. The city also recently proposed legislation to enforce the no-sidewalk rule. In practice, though, if riders don’t feel comfortable on the street — and in Columbus, so far it looks like many of them don’t — the sidewalk is still where they end up. That sets up the potential for conflict between pedestrians and scooters, which, at speeds of up to 20 mph, travel much faster than anything else on the sidewalk. “We have to figure out ways to accommodate these types of uses, that are faster than walking but slower than cars,” said Jason Sudy, an urban planner at OHM Advisors and a member of the Italian Village Commission. “This is a great example of the different types of modes that will be popping up. None of us would have anticipated the speed and popularity of mini electric scooters, and it really underscores the importance of having these kind of medium-speed lanes, where you can have a safe experience (but also) not impede the overall traffic flow.” More below: https://www.columbusunderground.com/will-columbus-ever-build-more-protected-bike-lanes-scooter-users-may-have-a-say-bw1 https://www.columbusunderground.com/protected-bike-lane-on-summit-seeing-high-ridership-but-city-not-planning-to-build-more-bw1 https://www.columbusunderground.com/plans-for-better-bike-lanes-bw1 Kind of interesting that these rentable electric scooters, derided as frivolous toys, might led to more protected bike lanes because of the scooters popularity and new city rules prohibiting their use on sidewalks. The scooters popularity is creating a need for medium-speed lanes - faster than walking but slower than driving, as was said in the above article. These medium-speed lanes are basically dedicated bike lanes, or dedicated bike/scooter lanes if they're used jointly.
September 20, 20186 yr Update on the bikeway improvements in Clintonville - https://www.columbusunderground.com/work-to-start-on-bike-friendly-improvements-in-clintonville-bw1 - and previously posted at https://www.urbanohio.com/forum/index.php/topic,17537.msg936305.html#msg936305 from today's Dispatch. Work is underway on the Clintonville bikeways plan. But according to the linked article below "not everyone is happy with the new Clintonville bike routes" - because of course, it is still Clintonville. Also a b/w version of the color bikeways map posted previously in this thread: http://www.dispatch.com/news/20180915/not-everyone-happy-with-new-clintonville-bike-routes
September 21, 20186 yr New CoGo Bike Share Stations Installed New CoGo bike share stations are being installed throughout Columbus, as well as in Upper Arlington, Grandview Heights and Bexley. Many of the two dozen-plus new stations are already stocked with bikes, and the attached kiosks – which feature touch-screens that enable users to buy one or three-day pass – are online and ready to be used, according to an updated map on CoGo’s website. The new additions bring the total number of stations to 72. A federal grant secured by the Mid Ohio Regional Planning Commission will cover about 80 percent of the cost of the expansion, with each of the four jurisdictions paying the rest. More below: https://www.columbusunderground.com/new-cogo-stations-installed-bw1 "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
September 21, 20186 yr Biker bonus: Proposed Olentangy Trail connector would cross river, edge OhioHealth HQ A proposed final segment taking the Olentangy Trail off city streets would cross the river twice and edge the OhioHealth Corp. administrative campus. To be sure, the multi-use path still would cross busy West North Broadway, but at a new intersection with improved visibility. Columbus Recreation and Parks has applied for a $2.8 million federal grant through the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission toward the $5.3 million project. It's among five trail projects seeking $10.6 million in grants from about $10 million available; the decision comes in March. More below: https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2018/09/21/biker-bonus-proposed-olentangy-trail-connector.html "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
October 5, 20186 yr A Semi-Truck Driver Confused The Olentangy Bike Path With A Freeway On Ramp And Chaos Ensued Yesterday morning a semi-truck driver mistook an entry point to the Olentangy Bike Trail for an entrance ramp to SR 315. The driver kept going down that trail until his semi-truck got wedged into one of the freeway bridges that go over the trail. Here are the details and some visuals of the bizarreness: https://www.columbusnavigator.com/semi-truck-crash-olentangy-bike-path/ Here's an aerial of the Olentangy Trail entry along Spring Street (aka US-33). I left a marker where the trail entry point is at. The driver kept going north on the trail until his truck got wedged into a 670 ramp that passed over the trail: Obviously the semi-truck driver made a huge error. But I do have to give him some credit - that bike trail entry does sorta resemble an on-ramp to the 315 freeway in the background! And it was wide enough to accommodate the semi. You can even take a google streetview trip down the Olentangy Trail at https://www.google.com/maps/@39.9660401,-83.0197422,3a,60y,315.89h,90t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sp-kn_l36mZ6_o9Uu_a5Oow!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en
October 5, 20186 yr Where the semi got stuck WAS the on ramp until about 1993. GPSes are so stupid that they resurrect old alignments ALL THE TIME. Autonomous cars will kill people because of stuff like this ALL THE TIME.
October 9, 20186 yr On 10/5/2018 at 2:17 PM, Columbo said: A Semi-Truck Driver Confused The Olentangy Bike Path With A Freeway On Ramp And Chaos Ensued Here's an aerial of the Olentangy Trail entry along Spring Street (aka US-33). I left a marker where the trail entry point is at. The driver kept going north on the trail until his truck got wedged into a 670 ramp that passed over the trail: The Dispatch had a little more about this incident: https://www.dispatch.com/news/20181008/semi-driver-cited-for-trip-on-olentangy-trail "Stephen Tracey, 68, of Dunnellon, Florida, faces one count of reckless operation and another count of failing to obey a traffic control device. Tracey exited the northbound lanes of Route 315 at Spring Street Thursday morning, only to realize he had made a mistake and needed to get back on Route 315, police said. He mistook an entrance to the Olentangy Trail for an entrance ramp to Route 315, police said. The trail entrance is right across the street from the Route 315 exit ramp onto Spring Street." That aerial shows the 315 exit ramp that took him to Spring Street. Then he crossed Spring Street onto what he thought was an on-ramp back to 315. But it wasn't an on-ramp, it was a bike trail! Like we said earlier, that bike trail entry does resemble an on-ramp. Bad luck for that trucker. At least there was no damage to the overpass bridge or the trail - which has now reopened.
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