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By Tony Boom for the Mail Tribune October 10. 2014 3:55PM Bicycle group wants to change Hwy. 99 corridor plan A bike rider’s group would like to see changes made in a draft Highway 99 Corridor Plan for Ashland to Medford to create designated bike lanes all along the road and hasten improvements. Among suggestions in a memo from the Siskiyou Velo bicycle club to the Oregon Department of Transportation planning team are lowering of traffic speeds throughout the corridor, bike lanes rather than multi-use shoulders in two areas, a three vehicle lane arrangement from South Stage Road to Coleman Creek bridge, and similar treatment in Talent from Colver and Suncrest roads to Rapp Road. “We’d prefer those outcomes occur in the short term rather than 20 or more years in the future,” said Gary Shaff, club president. ODOT issued the draft in May after three years of planning and consultation with jurisdictions and the public. The effort looks at traffic needs through 2035. Jackson County, Medford, Phoenix and Talent are all revising or updating transportation plans, said ODOT project manager Ian Horlacher. He expects the jurisdictions to consider adoption of the plan as a reference document. Once that is done, the Oregon Traffic Commission could adopt it as ODOT’s plan for 99. While the club wrote that the plan is a great leap forward over earlier drafts, Highway 99 is a bicycle commuter route, and components of the plan that take cyclists out of their way or force unnecessary lane charges should be dropped. Under the plan, bicyclists would share seven-foot-wide shoulders with walkers, runners, dogs, skateboarders and others in rural areas between Ashland and Talent and between Talent and Phoenix. Siskiyou Velo would like designated bike lanes. “That was something we would consider,” said Horlacher. But agency standards applied to rural roads allow for the mixed uses, he added. More than 100 comments have been received on the draft plan, said Horlacher. Some of those sought more information on the proposed three-lane sections, while others said the plan is not moving in the right direction, he said. Speed-reduction proposals could be put into the plan for study, but state traffic engineers must do studies before the limits can be reduced, said Horlacher. On an interim basis, the highway should be restriped to a center lane and two traffic lanes from South Stage to Coleman Creek, rather than four lanes and a center lane, the club recommends. Both ideas include bike lanes and sidewalks. The three-lane plan would allow for bike lanes and sidewalks in the near future without having to purchase right-of-way and relocate utilities, Shaff said. “It’s entirely a matter of cost efficiency and cost effectiveness,” said Shaff. “A three-lane cross section will meet not only the needs of cyclists and pedestrians but also needs of cars and trucks.” ODOT traffic projections show the area could handle such an arrangement, Shaff said. The current five-lane section from Covler/Suncrest roads to Rapp Road would invite speeding and passing within Talent city limits as drivers transition from the proposed three traffic lane setups both north and south of the area, Shaff said. The club suggests three lanes except at the Valley View intersection. Parking could be created in the current outside traffic lanes. Siskiyou Velo asked the Talent Urban Renewal Agency board to support the proposal at its Sept. 29 meeting. The agency will consider the request when it meets Oct. 21. Shaff said he’s uncertain whether the group will approach other jurisdictions for support. The club’s six-page memo to ODOT and a link to the plan can be found at www.siskiyouvelo.org. Tony Boom is a freelance writer living in Ashland. He can be reached at [email protected] http://www.mailtribune.com/article/20141010/NEWS/141019933 © 2015 Copyright © 1995-2011 Crain Communications Inc. All Rights Reserved. Terms of Use Privacy Statement -->