A flashing light has been placed on a narrow part of Montgomery Drive in Santa Rosa to alert motorists to bicyclists.
“It’s a narrow section and there is a fair amount of traffic, there is not much shoulder and cars and motorists travel at a higher rate of speed than other parts of town, about 40 mph,” said Bill Ellis, Santa Rosa’s traffic engineer. “Those combined together make it a less-desirable place to ride.”
The bicycle beacon, as it is called, was set up on Montgomery near Channel Drive to send an alert to westbound traffic. It was turned on Monday, Ellis said.
The flashing light is activated by cyclists riding over a sensor buried in the pavement. The light turns on for a span of four minutes, which is presumably the time it takes the rider to make it 1.5 miles to Jackson Street.
“It will increase awareness for motorists and improve that location’s comfort level for bicyclists,” Ellis said.
Such alerts are used elsewhere in the United States for narrow tunnels, but there the bicyclist has to first stop and hit a button, much like at a crosswalk, instead of ride over a sensor.
The device cost $10,000 and now is only set up for westbound traffic. Ellis said a similar sensor and light for eastbound traffic may cost more because it would require widening the shoulder near Jackson Street for the sensor.
Christine Culver of the Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition said Montgomery Drive is the only practical way for bicyclists to get through that area of Santa Rosa. The alternatives are Highway 12, which has high-speed traffic, or Howarth Park and Spring Lake, which have pedestrians and children.
Carlos Perez of Bike Monkey magazine said the narrowness of that stretch of roadway discourages use by bicyclists.
“I have ridden it before, it’s a trouble spot,” Perez said. “Without a shoulder there, you have to contend with traffic.”
Perez said it is also another step in Santa Rosa’s efforts to accommodate bicycles.
“It’s easy to use the term loosely, bike-friendly, but if you relate that to infrastructure, it is becoming an easier place to ride your bicycle,” Perez said. “Long-term, that is the objective.”
Perez thinks such a warning light could be used elsewhere in Sonoma County, but only sparingly.
“Every road has its own set of challenges,” he said. “This one is unique, it has no shoulder, but there are not a lot of places where this will be put into use.”
You can reach Staff Writer Bob Norberg at 521-5206 or bob.norberg@pressdemocrat.com.
