Newport council to consider bicycle lane striping
NEWPORT BEACH — The City Council will consider whether to approve a new striping and sign template for bicycle lanes that would be applied at “free” right-turn locations, according to a staff report included in Tuesday’s meeting agenda.
If the council approves the templates, the first location where they would be implemented would be along East Coast Highway from MacArthur Boulevard to Irvine Terrace, the staff report states.
In May, members of the city’s Bicycle Safety Committee targeted the Coast Highway-MacArthur free right turn as particularly dangerous to cyclists because motorists heading westbound onto Coast Highway often move quickly to the far-left lane and cut over the cyclists’ ride-through lane.
Free right turns are turns where vehicles may turn from one street to another without stopping, except to yield to pedestrians, bicycles or vehicles.
The templates were the result of work by the Bicycle Safety Committee and an evaluation of bicycle fatalities in the city, according to the staff report.
“The Bicycle Safety Committee identified intersections and roadways throughout the city and requested staff to analyze these intersections as to the location of vehicles, location of cyclists, visibility of drivers and cyclists and the merge area created by ‘free’ right turns,” the staff report states.
The new bike lane striping and signs can be applied to new layouts or modified to fit into existing layouts, the report states.
“As there is not currently an adopted bicycle lane treatment for ‘free’ right turns, the Public Works Director (Stephen Badum) believes in his professional opinion these templates are reasonable to address the presented concerns,” the report states.
The item is part of the Council’s consent calendar. The council meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. in Council Chambers at City Hall, 3300 Newport Blvd.
The public is welcome and may make comments.
Twitter: @coronadelmartdy