April 17, 2016: Have you noticed the nice & smooth new asphalt poured on Mt. Vernon between Ashford-Dunwoody & Vernon Oaks? Guess what, just about all of that mile-long segment will have bike lanes, greatly contributing to the safety of persons on bicycles, pedestrians (additional buffer) and motorists (traffic calming) by following our city’s Complete Streets policy.

But unfortunately not all of it will have bike lanes due to the constraints on existing curb & gutter, sidewalks and utilities. The biggest segment that will NOT have bike lanes is from Dunwoody Village Parkway to the end of the right-hand merge / suicide lane. — And another portion along Mt. Vernon adjacent to DVP may not have them either. We’ve been told there will be Sharrows placed there. (Eventually, as the city rebuilds the Dunwoody Village and implements the master plan, there WILL be full bike lanes along this segment).

We believe we can get westbound bike lanes along the ENTIRE segment by narrowing some motor vehicle lane widths to as close to 10 feet as possible.

Learn about Lane Widths & why 10-feet is okay

Bottom Line:

“Lane widths of 10 feet are appropriate in urban areas and have a positive impact on a street’s safety without impacting traffic operations.”

For starters, wider lanes mean faster, and inherently more dangerous streets. The National Association of City Transportation Officials talks about this on their website. For more info, click HERE.

What We’ve Prepared

Your hard-working team at Bike Walk Dunwoody was at it early Sunday morning before traffic started and took actual measurements of the painted lanes. BTW, we noticed a LOT of folks out running. Even saw a family jogging westbound and then saw them a while later walking back with coffee & donuts. Nice. Please read on.

Here’s the segment by segment analysis we’re sending to the Dunwoody Public Works for review and comments. Once we hear back, we’ll update you. Or, we may ask you to help us to raise awareness and promote increased safety by restriping lane widths. 

Mt. Vernon – East to West Segment Analysis

From 1633 Mt. Vernon (500-ft (+/-) east of Chamblee-Dwy to project end at Vernon Oaks

[Editor’s Note: As you read each column left to right, it goes from Eastbound/South side, to Center lane, to Westbound/Northside.]

Segment 1: 1633 Mt. Vernon / Briggs Vision

Segment	Location	Bike Lane	Outside Lane	Inside Lane	Center Lane	Inside Lane	Outside Lane	Bike Lane	Comments
1	1633 Mt. Vernon / Briggs Vision	4	10	10.5	10.5			4	Eastbound bike lane ends here

Opportunity:

Looks good as is.

Segment 2: 1633 Mt. Vernon / Briggs Vision

Segment	Location	Bike Lane	Outside Lane	Inside Lane	Center Lane	Inside Lane	Outside Lane	Bike Lane	Comments
2	1651 Mt. Vernon / PNC Bank	0	13	10.5	12	11	11	4	Eastbound outside lane about 13’3″ wide

Opportunity:

Segment	Location	Bike Lane	Outside Lane	Inside Lane	Center Lane	Inside Lane	Outside Lane	Bike Lane	Comments
2	1651 Mt. Vernon / PNC Bank	4	10.5	10.5	10.5	11	11	4	Eastbound: Create 4-ft bike lane by mirroring segment 1. Outside lane was 13, changed to 10.5 Center was 12, changed to 10.5.

Segment 3: Dunwoody Village Pkwy – West side of intersection

Segment	Location	Bike Lane	Outside Lane	Inside Lane	Center Lane	Inside Lane	Outside Lane	Bike Lane	Comments
3	Dunwoody Village Pkwy – West side of intersection	0	11.5	10.5	11	12	10	4

Opportunity:

Segment	Location	Bike Lane	Outside Lane	Inside Lane	Center Lane	Inside Lane	Outside Lane	Bike Lane	Comments
3	Dunwoody Village Pkwy – West side of intersection	4	10	10.5	10.5	10	10	4	Eastbound: Create 4-ft bike lane by mirroring segment 2. Outside lane was 11.5, changed to 10. Center was 11, changed to 10.5. Westbound inside was 12, changed to 10

Segment 4: Dunwoody Village Pkwy – East side of intersection
(Suntrust Bank)

Segment	Location	Bike Lane	Outside Lane	Inside Lane	Center Lane	Inside Lane	Outside Lane	Bike Lane	Comments
4	Dunwoody Village Pkwy – East side of intersection (Suntrust Bank)	0	11	10.5	11.5	0	14	0

Opportunity:

Segment	Location	Bike Lane	Outside Lane	Inside Lane	Center Lane	Inside Lane	Outside Lane	Bike Lane	Comments
4	Dunwoody Village Pkwy – East side of intersection (Suntrust Bank)Eastbound is where the right-lane suicide / chicken / cut-you-off merge lane is.	0	11	10.5	11.5	N/A	10	4	Eastbound bike lane: Requires widening of roadway & moving curb & gutter by at least 2-ft. Can only get another 2-ft by narrowing lanes. Believe the right merge lane will have Sharrows here. Can you confirm? Q: What other MUTCD safety features can be added? a) Bicycles May Use Full Lane sign? b) Painted solid green / striped chevrons along entire right-merge area? Westbound: Change outside lane from 14-ft to 10. Creating 4-ft bike lane.

Segment 5: 1719 Mt. Vernon (Back to Back Chiropractic, etc.)

Segment	Location	Bike Lane	Outside Lane	Inside Lane	Center Lane	Inside Lane	Outside Lane	Bike Lane	Comments
5	1719 Mt. Vernon (Back to Back Chiropractic, etc.)	0	11	11	11	0	11	0

Opportunity:

Segment	Location	Bike Lane	Outside Lane	Inside Lane	Center Lane	Inside Lane	Outside Lane	Bike Lane	Comments
5	1719 Mt. Vernon (Back to Back Chiropractic, etc.)	0	10	10	10	N/A	10	4	Westbound: Create 4-ft bike lane by changing all 4 11-ft lanes to 10-ft. Eastbound: Sharrows / Signs, Solid green paint marking shared use space, MUTCD signs

Segment 6: After right-lane merge

Segment	Location	Bike Lane	Outside Lane	Inside Lane	Center Lane	Inside Lane	Outside Lane	Bike Lane	Comments
6	After right-lane merge	3.8	10	0	0	0	15	0	No “bike lane” marked on westbound. Eastbound bike lane is 3’8″.

Opportunity:

Segment	Location	Bike Lane	Outside Lane	Inside Lane	Center Lane	Inside Lane	Outside Lane	Bike Lane	Comments
6	After right-lane merge	4	10.5	N/A	N/A	N/A	10.5	4	Create 4-ft wide bike lanes in both directions. Mark 10.5-ft wide motor vehicle lanes mirrored with the SAME width on each side of the center line creating room for 4-ft bike lanes.

Segment 7: Vernon Ridge Drive

Segment	Location	Bike Lane	Outside Lane	Inside Lane	Center Lane	Inside Lane	Outside Lane	Bike Lane	Comments
7	Vernon Ridge Drive	0	15				16	0	Will bike lanes be added here with 10-ft vehicle lanes? Westbound is 1-ft wider than eastbound.

Opportunity:

Segment	Location	Bike Lane	Outside Lane	Inside Lane	Center Lane	Inside Lane	Outside Lane	Bike Lane	Comments
7	Vernon Ridge Drive	5	10.5	N/A	N/A	N/A	10.5	5	Create 5-ft wide bike lanes in both directions. Mark 10.5-ft wide motor vehicle lanes mirrored with the SAME width on each side of the center line creating room for 5-ft bike lanes.

Segment 8: Mt. Vernon Way (just east of light @ 5 pickup in driveway home)

Segment	Location	Bike Lane	Outside Lane	Inside Lane	Center Lane	Inside Lane	Outside Lane	Bike Lane	Comments
8	Mt. Vernon Way (just east of light @ 5 pickup in driveway home)	0	15.5	0	0	0	16		Will bike lanes be added here with 10-ft vehicle lanes? Westbound seems to be wider than eastbound.

Opportunity:

Segment	Location	Bike Lane	Outside Lane	Inside Lane	Center Lane	Inside Lane	Outside Lane	Bike Lane	Comments
8	Mt. Vernon Way (just east of light @ 5 pickup in driveway home)	5	10.5	N/A	N/A	N/A	10.5	5	Create 5-ft wide bike lanes in both directions. Mark 10.5-ft wide motor vehicle lanes mirrored with the SAME width on each side of the center line creating room for 5-ft bike lanes.

Segment 9:  Vernon Oaks

Segment	Location	Bike Lane	Outside Lane	Inside Lane	Center Lane	Inside Lane	Outside Lane	Bike Lane	Comments
9	Vernon Oaks (just west at new southside sidewalk end)	0	14	0	0	0	15		Will bike lanes be added here with 10-ft vehicle lanes? Westbound is 1-ft wider than eastbound.

Opportunity:

Segment	Location	Bike Lane	Outside Lane	Inside Lane	Center Lane	Inside Lane	Outside Lane	Bike Lane	Comments
9	Vernon Oaks (just west at new southside sidewalk end)	4	10.5	N/A	N/A	N/A	10.5	4	Create 4-ft wide bike lanes in both directions. Stripe 10.5-ft wide motor vehicle lanes mirrored with the SAME width on each side of the center line creates 4-ft bike lanes