Highway 12 is a bit of a barrier for those who travel along Sonoma’s bike path.
Cyclists and pedestrians seeking to go between the bike path and Maxwell Farms Regional Park can’t make a straight shot across the highway due to the limited sight line of westbound drivers.
Thus, bike path users have to venture south for a few hundred feet to a crosswalk at the entrance of the Maxwell Village shopping center.
But the city of Sonoma might install a new crosswalk at the north side of the shopping center’s entrance that would be friendly to two-wheeled and two-footed users. City officials are contemplating spending $15,000 in redevelopment money to install striping and to set the crosswalk signal’s timing to give pedestrians a few seconds’ jump on traffic.
That’s one of several bike-path improvements totaling $300,000 that city officials are contemplating.
Funding would come from a $20 million pot of redevelopment bond money, which has already paid for such things as upgrading the Plaza’s duck pond and $8 million worth of street repaving.
Sonoma resident Howard Egger-Bovet is among those who have been tracking the city’s efforts to improve the situation for cyclists.
“Now we finally have money to do something about it,” Egger-Bovet said.
“I do think it can be part of the Sonoma character – people on their bikes. It’s very European,” he said. “Getting across from A to B is actually faster by bike, than car. I swear, you get there faster. You really do.”
The following bike-path improvements were outlined in a report that city planner David Goodison submitted to city council:
• Fourth Street West: This path would start at the dead-end of Fourth Street West next to Sassarini Elementary School’s playing fields and go north and west across a vacant lot owned by Safeway supermarket, connecting to an existing trail that leads to the supermarket’s parking lot. Estimated cost: $102,300.
• Fryer Creek Drive bridge: This calls for installing a 50-foot-long bridge across Fryer Creek at Fryer Creek Drive just north of Pickett Street. The bridge would provide a second connection between the two bike paths on either side of the creek, creating new options for accessing the paths. (A bike path bridge already exists near Leveroni Road.) Estimated cost: $55,000.
• Highway 12 Crossing: As mentioned above, this option would install a crosswalk and adjust the traffic-signal timing to provide what’s technically known as a “leading pedestrian interval” – a few seconds during which pedestrians are allowed in the crosswalk before traffic is allowed through, making pedestrians more visible to drivers. Estimated cost: $15,000.
• Bike path crossing, Fifth Street West, elsewhere: Roadside signage would be updated to meet current standards. Consideration would be given to a manually activated flashing-light system in the crosswalk, because the current system that senses cyclists and pedestrians has been problematic, according to a city staff report. City officials also will consider installing a raised crosswalk to further improve its visibility. This might be done at five or six intersections.
• Third Street West/Second Street West connection: This path, just north of MacArthur Street, would run alongside the north part of Fryer Creek on land owned by the Sonoma County Water Agency. Estimated cost: $102,300.
• Sharrows: The city might paint “sharrows,” or arrow-shaped shared-lane pavement markings on streets such as Fifth Street West, Fifth Street East and West MacArthur Street. Sharrows are meant to show bicyclists where to position themselves on narrow streets to avoid being “doored” by parked cars.
