WSDOT on new 195 Rumble Strips

August 11, 2010 at 6:59 am (advocacy, Commuting, safety)

I posted awhile back about these rumble strips. I still haven’t ridden the shoulder between the top of the hill and Colton to see how the strips affect cycling.

Lee Bauer contacted the State Department of Transp;oration and got this response. I’ still not aware of drive-off accidents but they may not make the news. And I’m skeptical about there being 6 feet of shoulder still available for riding.

Thanks for pursuing this, Lee.

Here’s what Lee originally asked:

===== My Question/Comment/Complaint =====

Recently repaving was done from Colton, WA to state line around 8 miles
or so total…There are lots of angry people because shoulder rumble
strips were installed. There is talk the contractor did this for basically
a “tip”on the project? Cycling is very popular on this highway; not any
more. These strips only accumulate debris. Keeping people off bikes only
adds to health care woes,,,,If these strips were not an official part of
the project, it should be known to the public…Thank You  Lee Bauer

And here’s the WSDOT response.

Dear Mr. Bauer,

Thank you for your August 7, 2010, email regarding the shoulder rumble
strips recently installed on US 195.  As the Washington State Department
of Transportation (WSDOT) Regional Administrator responsible for this
area, I have been asked to respond.

The shoulder rumble strips were part of the original contract plans and
were bid as part of the contract. The need for shoulder rumble strips
between Idaho State Line and Colton was established during the project
design and were approved by WSDOT for the project on January 8, 2010.

I appreciate your concerns that the rumble strips affect bicycle usage.
Shoulder rumble strips were installed to address run off the road
collisions on this section of highway. Because bicyclists and motorists
share the highway there are tradeoffs that need to be considered.  An
evaluation of the safety benefits for shoulder rumble strips was
completed and the benefit to cost ratio for installing rumble strips was
approximately 7:1. Any safety improvement with a ratio above 1 to 1 is
considered a worthwhile investment.  Other considerations included the
width of the paved shoulder for bicycle use.  On most of this section of
US 195 the shoulders are eight feet wide.  With the addition of shoulder
rumble strips six feet of usable shoulder remains. By WSDOT standards
the minimum width of usable shoulder for bicycles is four feet.

I understand that bicyclists prefer riding near the fog stripe as this
area is often cleaner however, the safety benefits were significant
enough to warrant the installation of shoulder rumble strips.

If you have specific concerns with the impacts to bicycles from rumble
strips please contact Harold White, Maintenance and Traffic Engineer at
whitehl@wsdot.wa.gov or by phone at (509) 324-6550.  If you have any
other questions please let me know, my phone number is (509) 324-6010.

Sincerely,

Keith A. Metcalf, P.E.
Regional Administrator

—–Original Message—–
From: ljbauer@inlandnet.com [mailto:ljbauer@inlandnet.com]
Sent: Saturday, August 07, 2010 9:13 PM
To: HQ Customer Service
Subject: WSDOT Feedback form