Letter: Support For Southbound Counter-Flow Bike Lane Near Kendrick Park

The following letter was sent to Amherst Town Manager Paul Bockelman and to members of the Transportation Advisory Committee (TAC) and the Town Services and Outreach Committee (TSO) on December 2, 2021

I write regarding proposed changes to North Pleasant Street near Kendrick
Park, and in particular recommend flexibility in the design to
accommodate a southbound counter-flow bike lane on the west side of
the street, together with a one-way northbound motor vehicle lane and
back-in diagonal parking all along the east side, i.e. along the west
side of Kendrick Park itself.  This will not only allow for more
parking than parallel parking on both sides of the street, but it will
be safer and more convenient for everyone.

Almost surely, southbound cyclists coming from UMass will prefer to
avoid the Triangle/East Pleasant Street roundabout and continue to use North
Pleasant Street, so if North Pleasant Street were to be made one way northbound
along Kendrick Park’s west side, then a southbound, on-street — not
on-sidewalk! — bike lane will make that possible.  Otherwise, it’s
reasonable to expect many cyclists will simply ride in the street
against one-way traffic.  Indeed, there is also significant pedestrian
traffic there to and from UMass, and when a “separated path” there is
crowded with pedestrians — all it takes is two pedestrians abreast to
block the path and create a hazard to both cyclists and pedestrians
— in this case “two’s a crowd, and three is an accident waiting to
happen.”

In fact, if southbound access were denied to all-but-emergency motor
vehicles at the north end, then this southbound counterflow bike lane
could even be made wide enough (say, a 6’± bike lane, clearly-marked
with southbound arrows, plus a 2’± painted “median”) to accommodate
southbound emergency vehicles in the event of oncoming traffic, as
well as provide enough “swing-space” for back-in diagonal parkers
along the west side of Kendrick Park.

And even if the geometry there seems very tight, fortunately, there is
also just enough “physical room”on the west side of the street for a
solution that allows for a slightly wider plan, a plan which would be
a win-win for the Town — that is, the people — of Amherst, as well as
for the property owners on the west side, though it may require an
authority which only a public agency can exercise.

Below I provide some references in contraflow cycling.

This is the guidance from National Association of City Transportation Officials:

Here’s an example from a busy area of Philadelphia near the University of Pennsylvania and Children’s
Hospital (CHOP):

Wikipedia’s article on contraflow concludes: Contraflow cycling is often assumed to be associated with higher accidents risks, but where it has been properly evaluated, contraflow
cycling actually seems to reduce the accidents risk [citing:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23962661/ ]

This theme is explored further here (its author credits Wikipedia for
some of the text).

Here is an article on the experience with a contra-flow bike lane
in Washington, DC – some of the issues identified there may be helpful
in assessing the prospects for implementation in Amherst along
Kendrick Park. The included video illustrates both back-in angled
parking on the side opposite the lane, as well as (undesirable)
parallel parking adjacent to the lane,

A second article and video (narrated by noted
“effective cyclist” John Allen) illustrates some things to avoid.


Rob Kusner

Rob Kusner is a professor of Mathematics at UMass, president of Norwottuck Network, Inc., a Massachusetts non-profit working to complete the MassCentralRailTrail, and a former member of the Amherst Select Board.