Arcata Explains Their ‘Two-Stage Turn Queue Bike Boxes’
This is a press release from the City of Arcata:
As a designated silver level Bicycle Friendly City, the City of Arcata is committed to enhancing safety and connectivity for non-motorized transportation. As part of the 2021 Arcata Paving Project, the City of Arcata has installed new green two-stage turn queue bike box pavement markings at busy intersections on G Street.
Bicycle lanes located on the right side of the roadway pose a challenge for bicyclists making a left turn across multiple lanes of traffic. A two-stage turn queue box offers bicyclists another option to make a left turn at multi-lane intersections from a right sided bike lane.
How Bicyclists Use a Two-Stage Turn Box
1. Proceed straight through the intersection with the flow of traffic; remain on the right-hand side of the roadway.
2. Wait in the queue box in front of vehicle traffic on the cross street.
3. Proceed through the intersection with the cross street traffic; remaining on the right-hand side of the cross street.
Two-stage Turn Queue Box Benefits
• Improves bicyclist ability to safely and comfortably make left turns.
• Provides a formal queuing space for bicyclists making a two-stage turn that is visible by motorists.
• Reduces potential turning conflict points between bicyclists and motor vehicles.
• Separates turning bicyclists from through bicyclists.
Motorists should stay aware of bicyclists using the queuing area and waiting their turn to proceed along the cross street. Per the vehicle code, bicyclists can continue to choose to make a standard left turn by merging into the left most travel lane.
For more information on two-stage turning queue boxes visit The National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO) at nacto.org/publication/urban-bikeway-design-guide/
In addition to the bike boxes, marked crosswalks were installed at only three legs of the intersections on G Street between 12th and 17th Streets. A primary consideration with intersection safety is to reduce the chances for crashes or conflict points. When a two-way road intersects with a one-way road, the downstream or far side of the one-way road contains the highest number of vehicle-to-pedestrian conflict points. By encouraging pedestrians to cross on the upstream or near side of the intersection, the potential for vehicle-to-pedestrian conflicts is reduced by 33%.
Caltrans began implementing this concept locally last year at similar, one-way intersections on 4th and 5th Streets in Eureka.
For questions related to this project, please contact the City of Arcata’s Building & Engineering Department at (707) 825-2176. For more updates on City project plans and construction progress, please visit cityofarcata.org.
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So it doesn’t work in eureka and is liable to get a bicyclist killed crossing traffic like this. You want bikes to be treated the same as cars and Shar the road? It’s about time you start acting like it. Maybe if majority of people on bikes road them like they had brains and not like pissed off teens in pickup trucks things would be safer.
They don’t have these in Eureka. What are you ramblin’ on about
One more reason why I avoid driving through downtown Arcata, plus I can see some driver trying to make a right hand turn and have a cyclist pull up into the box and block them until they cross the intersection.
You are supposed to think of a bicycle the same as a Mack truck semi. You don’t move until they move out of your way.
The most annoying habit of many bicyclist is their habit of lecturing you about their “rights”, but have you ever seen them full-stop at a stop sign?
It is rare. When I bike, I stop at stop signs cuz it is way safer and easier for me to look both ways before proceeding than if I don’t stop. Plus, I ride for exercise and fun so stopping and restarting for stop signs is just a little more exercise.
Maybe there should be a stop sign where Hammond Trail crosses Hiller in McKinleyville.
I once saw an APD officer ticket a bicyclist and two skateboarders for failing to stop at a stop sign.
And being that it’s Arcata, you can only turn left.
It is slightly more fuel efficient for delivery truck drivers to only turn right in cities. Going around the block can be quicker than waiting for a left at some intersections.
Uh, good luck. You’re going to need it. Bureaucrats are actually paid to come up with shit like this. There’s only one rational answer for bike safety. Separate bike and motor vehicle traffic. For instructions on how that’s accomplished, contact any town council in the Borders area of Scotland.
Separate the streets – non motorized and pedestrian on one street, cars on the other.
Arcata traffic is going to be a proverbial shit show after all the schedule housing construction.
Huge population increase while rising sea level messes with Arcata’s existing sewage treatment marsh… I am not seeing that being addressed anywhere. Talk about an ACTUAL shitshow!
Waste water treatment plant upgrades for Arcata are out to bid currently. Some type of big project in the works.
Wow! Such visionary and bold leadership, makes you proud to live here.
CAUTION: MATH RANT
—“… cross on the upstream … reduced by 33%”
That above number seems suspicious to me.
<cough, cough, mumble, mumble> So, if there are normally 4 crosswalks, there could be an even division of 25% amount danger per crosswalk. Now, you take away one crosswalk, leaving only three. Now there is about a 33% amount of danger per crosswalk! Meaning that that missing side is reducing the danger by 33%! <cough, cough>
And then….AND THEN…… or actually, before, in the release, it states that that dangerous downstream side is the side that would be safest for Cyclists; using fancy new right turn blocking “boxes” waiting areas in the street, instead of just hopping off the bike and becoming walkers for a few moments, while standing out of traffic on the curb.
For me, crossing on the “downstream” side, on bike or on foot, has always been the side I haven’t been almost hit by a car on. The visibility looking up the street is better when you have a whole cross-streets’ worth of open-ness.