Salt Lake County to host "Share the Canyon" event Saturday, 10/8



View of Salt Lake City from Emigration Canyon
(source: emigrationcanyon.com)

Salt Lake County and Colin Smith are hosting this year's "Share The Canyon" event this Saturday in Emigration Canyon, including very cheap breakfast at Ruth's Diner for those who ride their bikes. See past the jump for more info. Below is a description of the event from host organization, Salt Lake County:

"Join us in a community event to assess issues between motorists and bicycles and what Utah traffic law says regarding the unique conditions of this road. We’ll also consider pedestrians, joggers, equestrians, roller skiers and all users of the road.  Ruth’s Diner will be ordering a special to-go breakfast burrito with coff ee and juice. There will be games and prizes, so bring the kids! All users of Emigration Canyon Road are encouraged to attend."

The event will be this Saturday, October 8th, from 9:00am to 12:00pm. The primary location will be Camp Kostopulos, at 4180 E. Emigration Canyon Road.  To volunteer at the event, contact the Salt Lake County Mayor's Office at 801-468-2500. 

For more information, visit: www.bicycle.slco.org
 
Colin Smith of the Salt Lake County Mayor's Office provides some background on the event, as well. 

"The Emigration Canyon Community Council has been increasingly dealing with issues between cyclists and motorists along Emigration Canyon Road.  The Salt Lake County Bicycle Advisory Committee (SLCBAC) along with UDOT’s Road Respect campaign and the Unified Police Department will host a community event aimed at decreasing dangerous conflicts through education and community dialogue.

The agenda is to educate the community about the Road Respect campaign, (rules and respect on Utah’s roadways) and then add some focused discussion on one specific road which is experiencing frequent conflicts between motorists and cyclists.

For example, we’ll be using the Road Respect booklets that were developed to give a great explanation of applicable Utah traffic laws, and then going a step further and asking how these laws govern the use of the roadway when applied to Emigration’s unique conditions.

The conditions in the shoulders and travel lane are constantly changing in Emigration; runoff water, erosion, gravel and the fact that there is no consistent bike lane as many motorists assume.  The shoulder width in Emigration varies wildly, anywhere from 10’ to 0’.

In areas where the shoulder is tiny or nonexistent the cyclist will be in the regular travel lane, and of course they must stay as far to the right hand edge of the regular travel lane as “practicable”; but when they encounter certain conditions they legally may ride in the center of the lane, or “take the lane”.  One of these required conditions to take the full lane is if “a lane is too narrow for a bicycle and a vehicle to travel safely side by side within the lane”.   So there are many areas where the cyclists will be in some part of the travel lane, and also in the middle of the lane.  This tends to make drivers angry, and does not look like “sharing the road” but it’s legal.

There’s a good chance that motor vehicles following bicycles will not be able to “operate within a reasonable and safe distance from the bicycle” or have enough room to share the road and put 3’ distance between motor vehicle and bicycle without crossing the double yellow line.

There are 25 “Share the Road” signs in the Canyon, yet some have pointed out that legally the roadway (not including shoulder) doesn’t allow a motor vehicle and a bicycle to operate safely side by side at any point due to the narrowness of the lane.

The challenge is to boil down all of this Utah traffic code (greatly helped by the Road Respect giveaway booklets) and educate all users with some basic concepts of safety and courtesy or respect.

To Cyclists: Ride Single File in this Canyon.  It’s the courteous and safe way to ride on this narrow and winding road.  Always use the shoulder and stay as far to the right when it’s safe to do so.

To Motorists:  Be prepared to encounter cyclists that are legally in the travel lane.  If there’s a double yellow line and it’s not safe to pass, you will need to slow down and wait until the bicycle has the ability to move farther to the right, or you have the opportunity to safely pass.

To All Users:  Keep tempers in check. Slow Down. Don’t try to prove a point to others, be courteous and respectful.

Ruth's Diner in Emigration Canyon

Event elements:

-Survey and comment cards available to let the public voice their concerns and experience

-Map of bicycle signs and locations along Emigration Canyon Road

-Road Respect materials and messaging.

-Interactive Diagram example of Emigration Canyon Roadway to assist visualization of the changing conditions, and which laws apply, and where.

-Discussion of bicycle signage

-Conflicts between pedestrians and bicycles (there are no sidewalks along this road).

Oh yeah, Ruth’s Diner will be serving to-go breakfast burritos and coffee or orange juice for about $5.00!  So join us."

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