University of Virginia Library

Chaos, Confusion, And Little Yellow Lines

By ANDY BALLENTINE

Looking both ways, the
bicyclist gingerly ventures
forth onto the street, Classes
are changing amid a flurry of
activity. Cars dart in and out of
side roads. Pedestrians pick the
most inconvenient places to
cross the street. To get to your
next class means going through
no-man's land.

Last year, such mass chaos
characterized transportation on
the Grounds. Trying to
generate some order in the
chaos, the Department of
Traffic and Parking introduced
bike paths. Two lanes of
yellow stripes were provided
along Newcomb Road,
allowing cyclists to ride out of
traffic's reach. At the same
time, a continuous sidewalk
was also created for
pedestrians.

Students returning to
Charlottesville this fall found
that the project had been
expanded. More yellow lines
had been painted, this time
along the side of McCormick
Road, to keep bicycles out of
that thoroughfare.

Bike paths are regarded as
the ultimate solution to
accommodate the rising numbers of
bicyclists. And properly
maintained and protected
paths may be just that.
However, the yellow lines
along McCormick Road offer
little help.

Bill Huyett, a fifth-year
engineering student, will head a
committee to review the
situation. He says that no
investigation has been done to
determine where future bike
lanes should be placed.
However, Huyett has some
ideas about making
improvements on existing
paths.

A project to make the lanes
more ridable has already
begun Last week, the path
along McCormick Road in
front of Newcomb Hall
received a dose of asphalt. The
bone-shaking gutter along the
road is now filled, and the
lanes are wider.

Huyett also points up the
need for a buffer of some type
between bike paths and
onrushing traffic. "Other
schools have used a wooden
barrier, such as a four by
four," he says. "It wouldn't
have to be very high, just
something that cars wouldn't
drive over." However, Huyett
mentions that the barriers
already constructed along the
Newcomb Road path are an
eyesore to many people.

Other schools provide room
for a bike lane in between
roadside parking spaces and the
sidewalk. Once again, a buffer
would have to be constructed
to prohibit cars from blocking
the bike path.

What may be the best idea is
also the most extravagant.
"The best idea is to put up a
very small brick wall," Huyett
says. "Because many of the
buildings along McCormick
Road are made out of brick,
the wall would look nice. But
it probably won't come about
because of financial reasons."

Huyett definitely favors
extending the bike paths
farther toward the Alderman
Road dorms than they are at
present. When the lane ends at
Bonnycastle Drive, crossing
the street to get to the old
dorms is extremely dangerous.
This hazard actually
encourages bicyclists to ignore
the lane and ride along the
right side of the road.

Probably the largest
problem plaguing bike paths
on the Grounds is the number
of pedestrians using them.
People often completely ignore
the sidewalk and walk in the
lanes, making it dangerous for
both bicyclists and themselves.

Huyett admits that this is a
real problem that may not have
an easy answer. "Awareness is
one solution," he says. "The
feeling is that if we tell
pedestrians which are sidewalks
and which are bike paths, the
situation would be improved."

Physical and verbal abuse
from pedestrians clogging the
paths cause bike riders to be
skeptical of this solution. It is
usually easier to ride in the
road–which means the bike
paths have not yet achieved
their purpose. But if
pedestrians stick to the
sidewalks, bicyclists can stay in
the lanes, eliminating much
conflict.

What about the Lawn?
Bicycles ruin the grass and add
to the congestion of already
crowded sidewalks. Wires have
been temporarily erected to
keep bike traffic off the Lawn.
A solution to this problem will
be hard to find, as it is quite

inconvenient to avoid the
Lawn.

Bike racks are next to
Cabell Hall, adjacent to the
Amphitheater. However, they
can only be reached by riding
through the JAG School
parking lot, a round-about
route. A more convenient
location must obviously be
found, simply because the
racks are not being used.

Huyett emphasizes that the
Lawn problem will be
researched before decisions are
made. But he feels a better
location for bike racks would
be on top of Garret Hall
computer center, where several
are found now. Asphalt ramps
were built at this spot last year
to permit riding over the curb.

"The concern of everyone is
to preserve the Lawn," Huyett
explains. "But if there's any
practical way to get bikes next
to Cabell Hall, I'd like to see
it."

Provisions for bicyclists on
the Grounds may have their
deficiencies, but provisions in
Charlottesville proper are
nonexistent. John Rohde, a
University student in landscape
architecture is working in this
area for the city. He admires
the efforts of the University
and would like to use some of
its ideas.

"We have the money, it's
just a question of getting
routes together," Rohde says.
To make them safe, he favors
using side roads and marking
bike lanes as the University has
done.

Bike paths in the city would
be maintained as roads are
maintained, according to
Rohde. Hopefully this means
no gutters, gratings, or other
bicycle tire-eating obstacles.
However, a path has been
provided along Jefferson Park
Avenue alongside Cabell Hall
which is too rough to use.

The city is still in an
experimental stage as far as
bike paths go. "The first
priority is a couple of
neighborhood trails
encompassing schools and
parks," Rohde states. "We'd
like to try them out in an area
without heavy traffic," he
adds.

Ideally, the city would like
to do some experimenting
without sinking a lot of money
into the project. But another
source of money may be
available. "If we have some
sort of master plan, we can get
some federal money," Rohde
explains. If the government
perceives an organized effort,
they will grant some of their
funds.

Bike racks in the city are
also non-existent, though they
will probably be put in areas
other than parks and schools
shortly. Rohde says, "A lot of
adults are using bikes to get to
work and there's no place to
park them. I'm sure we are
going to put in bike racks."

This is a record of what has
been done and what will
possibly be done in the future.