Bike lanes are not for parking
Published 7:12 pm Thursday, October 28, 2010
Linda VanEman of Everett writes: There are times when a driver needs to pull their car over and stop, for anything from a flat tire to answering a cell phone call to stopping at a garage sale for a few minutes. When a street has bike lanes and sidewalks on both sides of the road, such as Holly Drive in south Everett, where is it legal to park your car? Partway in the street and in the bike lane? Partway on the sidewalk and bike lane? Or does the driver need to keep driving and forget about the funny thumping noise under the car until they get home?
Sgt. Robert Goetz, spokesman for the Everett Police Department responds: A bicycle lane is considered part of the roadway. So a driver may stop if experiencing an emergency like a flat tire. If she needs to change a flat tire the advice is to get as clear of the roadway as possible. Since we’re talking about an urban area, pulling into the nearest parking lot would probably be the safest. Since stopping and blocking a bike lane to answer a cell phone is not be considered an emergency that would be prohibited as would stopping at a yard sale.
Parking on a sidewalk, partially or otherwise is prohibited. I hope that answers your questions. I’ve attached a link to our parking enforcement Web page. It includes a summary of the parking rules in Everett.
http://www.ci.everett.wa.us/default.aspx?ID=678
Diana Haynes of Marysville writes: I would like to ask a question about the speed limit for 172nd Street NE (Highway 531) in Snohomish County. At the intersection of 51st Avenue the signs say 50 mph to the west and a different lower speed to the east of the intersection. The 50 mph is the highest of any marking on the road from Highway 9 to I-5 and is for a very short period before entering Smokey Point. Is there any reason that this stretch could not match the signs posted before and after this small stretch? There is not much room to try to get to 50 mph and then one needs to slow down. It seems the signs should match the conditions.
Bronlea Mishler, spokeswoman for the state Department of Transportation, responds: Highway 531 stretches for nearly 10 miles, from Highway 9 in the east to Lake Goodwin in the west. On the stretch the reader mentions, where there is less commercial and retail development, the posted speed limit is 50 mph from just west of 43rd Avenue NE to 67th Avenue NE. This encompasses about two miles.
As the reader notes, once drivers enter the more developed retail areas near Smokey Point Boulevard, the speed limit drops to 35 mph. The slower speed limit gives drivers more time to react to drivers who might be turning into our out of businesses on to Highway 531. Between 43rd and 67th Avenues, there’s less commercial and retail development, and fewer vehicles are turning on to or off of the highway.
Our traffic engineers did a speed study last year to determine if the speed limit for the road was still appropriate. The study considered the speed at which the majority of traffic travels, also known as the 85th percentile speed, which is the speed at which 85 out of 100 drivers travel at or below. It also took into account the character of the highway and the overall roadway design. Based on their study, they found that a 50 mph speed limit is appropriate for that two-mile stretch of Highway 531.
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