Cottonwood city and state
officials met with Walmart Manager Jason Ferris to talk about the Roll Model
bicycle program. From left, Cottonwood Police Department Sgt. Gareth Braxton,
Bicycle Advisory Committee Chair Nikki Arbeiter, Arizona Department of
Transportation’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Program Coordinator Mike Sanders,
Walmart’s bike builder Neil McNamara, Cottonwood Mayor Diane Joens, Cottonwood
Walmart Manager Jason Ferris, and longtime bicycle advocate Randy Victory
discussed Walmart’s participation in Arizona’s Roll Model program. Ferris
pledged 100 percent support of the program, going as far making the Cottonwood
store a model of bicycle education for other Walmarts.
City and State Officials Meet with Bike Enthusiasts
to Promote Community Bicycling
COTTONWOOD,
Ariz.—Cottonwood was recognized as a Bicycle Friendly Community at the Bronze
Level by the League of American Bicyclists in May. This means that Cottonwood
is a pretty nice place to ride a bike—especially compared to a decade ago. But
there’s always room for improvement, and that’s what Thursday, Aug. 9 was all
about. The city has always set its sights high, and being a Bike Friendly
Community is no different. Having made Bronze, Cottonwood is going for Silver!
The
Bicycle Friendly Community program focuses on five areas which make a community
a great place to ride a bike, often referred as the Five Es. These are Engineering, Education, Encouragement,
Enforcement, and Evaluation and Planning.
Engineering
addresses the accommodation of cyclists on public roads, and the existence of
both well-designed bike lanes and multi-use paths in the community.
Education
addresses the amount of education available for both cyclists and motorists,
including teaching cyclists of all ages how to ride safely as well as teaching
motorists how to share the road safely with cyclists.
Encouragement
concentrates on how the community promotes bicycling. Good promotional measures
are Bike Month and Bike to Work Week events as well as community bike maps,
route finding signage, community bike rides, commuter incentive programs, and
having a Safe Routes to School program.
The
enforcement category contains questions that measure the connections between
the cycling and law enforcement communities. Questions address whether the law
enforcement community has a liaison with the cycling community, if there are
bicycle divisions of the law enforcement or public safety communities, if the
community uses targeted enforcement to encourage cyclists and motorists to
share the road safely.
Evaluation
and Planning measures the amount of cycling taking place in the community, the
crash and fatality rates, and ways that the community works to reduce these
numbers.
Important events Aug. 9 included a meeting with Walmart Manager Jason
Ferris and Walmart’s bike builder Neil McNamara. In a meeting with Cottonwood
Mayor Diane Joens, Bicycle Advisory Committee Chair Nikki Arbeiter, longtime
bicycle advocate Randy Victory, Cottonwood Police Department spokesman and
bicycle liaison Gareth Braxton, and Arizona Department of Transportation’s
Bicycle and Pedestrian Program Coordinator Mike Sanders, Walmart renewed its
commitment to Arizona’s “Roll Model” program—an educational
program funded by the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety. The Verde Valley was
selected as the first test community. Manager Ferris pledged 100 percent
support of the program, going as far as making the store a
model of bicycle education for other Walmarts in northern Arizona, pointing the
way for all big box stores in the state—and maybe even the nation.
Hopefully Cottonwood’s Walmart will be recognized and rewarded for their effort
to stay ahead of the curve.
Afterwards,
Sanders, Victory and Sgt. Braxton took off from Walmart up Highway 260 and on
to State Route 89A through Cottonwood. The trio was there to evaluate one of
the stretches of roadway that is a challenge for riders.
“Based
on our analysis of bicycle-motor vehicle crashes on the State Highway System,
this segment between Walmart and Walgreens has been identified as a
high-priority crash location,” said Michael Sanders, Bicycle and Pedestrian
Program Coordinator for the Arizona Department of Transportation. “We found
that the leading crash types were motorists pulling out of driveways and
motorists turning right. Probable contributing causes included failure to
yield, bicyclists riding facing traffic, and too many driveways. Potential
countermeasures might include bike lanes, signage and pavement markings with
directional arrows, and access management.”
Later
the Bicycle Advisory Committee met, giving bicycling planners and advocates a
chance to evaluate the situation in Cottonwood and plan strategies for
improvement. Many suggestions were made—suggestions that will make Cottonwood
even more bike-friendly. The second half of the BAC meeting was a rare treat
for committee members. Sanders from Phoenix attended, spending time getting to
know Cottonwood. The day culminated in a meeting with the city’s Bicycle
Advisory Committee. Sanders listened to members’ concerns and suggestions,
offered input, spent time getting to know the members and explained ADOT’s
structure and policies. Ultimately, BAC members had a better understanding of
ADOT—knowledge that will prove invaluable when working with the agency that has
major roadways such as SR260 and SR89A that go through Cottonwood.
Important
to the BAC and community is the leading role the Cottonwood Police Department
is taking. In Bicycle Friendly Communities nationwide, even Gold and Platinum
ones like Tucson or Davis, Calif., law enforcement is always the sticking
point. Andy Clarke, Executive Director of the League of American Bicyclists
acknowledged, “This is always the weakest link.”
The Cottonwood Police Department has
recently re-instituted its bicycle patrol program. After a six-year hiatus, the
program has been brought back with four officers participating. The bicycle
patrols augment and supplement what the officers already do. The primary focus
is to work during some of the city’s signature events such as Rhythm and Ribs
and the Brian Mickelsen Memorial Run/Walk.
The officers will also conduct bicycle
patrols during their normal patrol duties. While doing so, they conduct
proactive education and enforcement activities focusing on a variety of areas.
Some of this includes much-needed bicycle enforcement. This coincides with the
city’s efforts to become more bicycle-friendly. Bicycle advocate and founder of
the Verde Valley Cyclists Coalition, Randy Victory, has repeatedly noted,
“Bicyclists are often their own worst enemies.” Sgt. Braxton said, “We
firmly believe we can set an example both for the cyclists and motorists that
encourages and fosters safe and responsible travel for all of those in our
community. The more motorists see bicyclists on the road, the more comfortable
they will be with them, and vice versa. The more cyclists become used to riding
on the roads, the better traffic flows.”
As part of the bicycle patrol duties,
bike patrol officers actively participate in community policing. Data suggests
they are often more approachable to the public. According to a study published
by the International Police Mountain Bicycle Association, officers on bicycles
have twice as much contact with the public than fellow officers in cars. Sgt.
Braxton said, “This is a tremendous benefit not only to our community, but to
our department as well.”
“We have an ideal community for
cycling,” Sgt. Braxton, added, “full of flat-grade, uphill with desert and
mountain terrain, all within a relatively short distance. What’s not to love
about cycling here?” Sgt. Braxton advocates that bicycle patrols have a
tremendous health and fitness benefit for the officers involved. “It fosters our
commitment to fitness,” he stated.
Residents
who ride bikes may wonder whether anything is being done to make Cottonwood a
more enjoyable, safer place to ride. Motorists wonder if cyclists will ever
learn to be responsible roadway users. The answer is, “Solutions are in the
works.”
“Citizens and public servants who believe in a healthier, more
vibrant, and closer-knit community are hard at work fine-tuning one of many
pieces of the puzzle that will make Cottonwood the best place to live in
Northern Arizona,” said Mayor Diane Joens.
Randy
Victory, Verde Valley Cyclists, and Gareth Braxton, Cottonwood Police
Department, contributed to this article.
