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Home » Diet » ‘Road diet’ seen as solution to safety, traffic on Forum Boulevard – Columbia Missourian

COLUMBIA It's referred to by traffic engineers as a "road diet," and it's being considered as a new way to address traffic congestion in Columbia.

The concept of a "road diet," which involves changes such as taking four-lane roads to two lanes and adding bicycle lanes, is being considered for a quarter-mile stretch of Forum Boulevard from Woodrail Avenue to Green Meadows Road.

Road diets often refers to changing a four-lane road into a two-lane road with a shared middle lane and bicycle lanes on both sides. The term generally refers to any narrowing of a street intended to help with bicycle and pedestrian safety or reduce traffic congestion.

Columbia has not yet approved a suggestion to narrow a stretch of Forum Boulevard between Woodrail Avenue and Green Meadows Road. If approved, it will be narrowed from four lanes to two to accommodate for bike lanes.

Fourth Ward Councilman Ian Thomas said residents near Forum are concerned about the lack of bicycle lanes south of Woodrail Avenue near the Country Club of Missouri where the street becomes four lanes.

Bicyclists sharing the right lane block the space necessary for motorists to pass, which slows traffic when the street is busy and poses safety issues for bicyclists, Thomas said.

Thomas supports a road diet approach as answer for Forum Boulevard and other streets with bicycle safety issues or congestion. He called the concept a departure from a "traffic ideology" with a bias for creating wider roads.

The road diet concept, he said, affords a low-cost solution for Forum Boulevard. Traffic volume on that stretch is nowhere near the levels required for four lanes, Thomas said. A single lane is plenty.

Lawrence Simonson, assistant director of the PedNet coalition and secretary for the city Bicycle and Pedestrian Commission, learned about road diets while researching safety measures for bicyclists on busy roads..

Simonson brought to city staff the idea of changing the nearly quarter-mile stretch of Forum Boulevard from four to two lanes.

The thought behind reducing traffic congestion by narrowing roads is that a narrow road will force motorists to drive at a more consistent speed, Simonson said.

A one-lane roundabout is being considered at Forum and Green Meadows Road, and Simonson said going from four lanes to two would make for an easier flow traffic into the roundabout.

Thomas said that road diet is an idea at the moment. He said there is public support for the idea but city traffic engineers are waiting for more feedback and planning before making a decision about the stretch of Forum Boulevard.

Simonson said the bicycle and pedestrian commission plans put the idea up at an interested parties meeting concerning the Forum and Green Meadows roundabout that is being planned.

Under the road diet concept, going from two lanes to one would provide a safe distance between vehicles and bicycles. Cyclists would have the far-right side of the two-lane road.

The Federal Highway Administration began using the term road diet in 2010 while evaluating studies on road diets. The term was created by a traffic engineer who observed the trend of narrowing streets which had occurred since the 1970s.

Simonson said that since he added road diets as a suggestion, its gained favor by city staff.

Ted Curtis, a bicycle and pedestrian coordinator with the Public Works Department, said the four lanes on the stretch of Forum being considered for a road diet are "a luxury for drivers and a danger for bikers. A road diet is a good option to even things out.

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'Road diet' seen as solution to safety, traffic on Forum Boulevard - Columbia Missourian

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Home » Diet » ‘Road diet’ seen as solution to safety, traffic on Forum Boulevard – Columbia Missourian