‘End’ Sign on Bicycle Trail Doesn’t Really Mean Whoa

Dear Street Smart:

On my frequent bike trips in the Southland, occasionally I am confronted by a green-and-white bike route sign with a smaller sign under it that reads “END.”

What irresponsible sign-posting. A traveler encountering this situation is asked what exactly? Is the answer, “Get off your bike and stop!” or “Turn around and go back where you came from!” or what?

Can you please find an answer without ambiguity and absurdity.

J.P. Stampa, Costa Mesa

No need to hit the brakes when you encounter one of these signs. It’s only meant to inform you that a bicycle lane--or a designated bicycle route without a lane--has come to an end, local and state sources say. Continuing on just means that you may lack the elbow room that a bicycle lane provides or find yourself on a busier street than a bike route might follow.

“You’re really kind of on your own, but you don’t have to stop and get off your bike” at the “END” sign, according to Caltrans spokesman Jim Drago.

Drago said that the signs are mostly installed by cities and counties and that liability concerns are also a reason they are put up. The signs might help fend off lawsuits by bicyclists who have an accident and then claim they were caught unaware that the route had ended, Drago said.

Michael R. Mott, chairman of the Orange County Bicycle Coalition, agreed with Drago’s assessment of the signs. But to an avid bicycle commuter who pedals 10 miles to work, the “END” signs also represent gaps in the regional network of on-street bikeways that his organization would like to create for those who ride from home to business.

Ideally, the coalition would like to see spacious and well-maintained bikeways along major streets, so that commuters aren’t forced to use inconvenient off-road trails or pedal along fearful of cars as they head to work, Mott said.

The group of about 100 members is nearly a year old and the first local organization to lobby for improved bicycle commuting facilities, Mott and others say.

“Mike Mott’s group has been just great,” said Sherri Miller, the county’s bicycle trail planner. The coalition has helped the county realize that for bicycle commuters, on-road bikeways are more useful and efficient than an off-road system, Miller said. As a result, development of an on-road bicycle network is receiving more of an emphasis, though not at the neglect of off-road recreational trails, Miller said.

The coalition formed last August to fight plans to add a third traffic lane in each direction along Pacific Coast Highway in Huntington Beach by eliminating the on-street bikeway and parking along the road.

Bike traffic would have been shunted onto the beach trail, which is not lit after dark, is sometimes covered with sand and is basically inconvenient for pedal-commuters, Mott said. So far, the cyclists have won a reprieve, and plans are being pursued to save the bike lane while still adding the additional lane for cars.

Bikeways went head-to-head with plans to improve life for motorists along PCH. The same conflict could occur in other places, too. But there may be ways to give bicyclists room to ride on the roads without impacting improvements planned for cars, according to Tom Stal, an assistant transportation analyst with the Orange County Transportation Authority.

“They would like to have the bike lanes on the major arterials,” Stal said of the coalition. “We still need to do some more talking and see if it would be more plausible to put them on parallel arterials that aren’t so heavily used by cars.”

Mott said his group isn’t opposed to using alternative streets, as long as they can have continuous and convenient routes to follow--something not planned on a regional basis before. In the past, on-road bikeways have been left mostly with the cities to create, with little coordination between them, Mott said. Things might change now that funds are available for regional, non-motorized commuting projects from the newly passed federal highway bill. Improvement dollars might get cities working together, and the coalition is there to help lead the way, Mott said.

The coalition also sees improving recreational bicycling as half its purpose. Recently, members have been using their knowledge of the roads to help create a safer, better signed detour where construction has interrupted the Santa Ana River Trail in Costa Mesa.

“Nobody knows the streets better than bicyclists,” Mott said. “We know every pothole, chuckhole and storm grate. We see it up close and personal.”

For information about the Orange County Bicycle Coalition, call (714) 892-9788 or write to the coalition at P.O. Box 19793-311, Irvine, Calif. 92713.

Dear Street Smart:

The Smith Elementary School parking lot on 17th Street in Huntington Beach has what I consider a dangerous exit. When leaving the lot, you can’t see kids on the sidewalk coming from the right because bushes and a fence block your view. If the corner was cleared for better visibility, even partially, it would help. As it is now, I must slowly creep out onto the sidewalk to make sure it’s safe, then while blocking the sidewalk, I must try to get into traffic. Kids are on bicycles, skateboards and walking as I am blocking the sidewalk.

Jon La Rose, Sunset Beach

Good news--the Huntington Beach City School District will look into the problem and see what can be done. Your complaint was the first Assistant Superintendent of Business Services Jerry Buchanan had heard of any trouble. “We don’t have a problem with fixing that,” Buchanan said. “Those entrances and exits have to be safe,” he said.

Dear Street Smart:

On the bridge that carries MacArthur Boulevard over the San Diego Freeway in Irvine, the right-hand northbound lane feeds directly into the freeway entrance. The trouble is, not enough advance warning is given. Every morning, I see people who want to continue northward on MacArthur making abrupt, dangerous merges or clogging the lane as they sit there with their blinkers on, waiting for the red light to change. I think an additional “Right Lane Must Exit” sign and perhaps some more distinctive lane striping would help the situation.

Robert W. Allen, Costa Mesa

Caltrans took a look at that area and said there are already three consecutive signs telling drivers to merge. One says “Through Traffic Must Merge Left,” then there is a painted arrow pointing to the left, and last, there is a “Right Lane Must Exit” sign, according to Caltrans spokeswoman Irene Perez. Perez said there is also a solid stripe on the pavement, to help clue drivers into the need to move over.

The Department of Motor Vehicles reports getting about 10 reports of expired license plate registration tags since we ran the address of where to report scofflaws two weeks ago. Unfortunately, the wrong address was given. Those spotting expired tags--or out-of-state plates that have been around too long--should write to the DMV’s Revenue Services section at 2415 1st Ave., Mail Station D148, Sacramento, Calif. 95818.