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2 EXISTING CONDITIONS San Leandro Crosstown Corridors Study 2-20 Bicyclist Comfort Bicyclist comfort is a primary driver of how many people are likely to be biking on the corridor. Extensive research shows that making bicycling more comfortable, with less stress from vehicle traffic, can significantly increase bicycle mode share and contribute to many City goals, including those related to public health and climate change. In bicycle planning, this is measured using level of traffic stress (LTS), a four-point system indicating how comfortable a given block is.4 A score of 1 indicates that the street is comfortable for the widest section of the population – people with little experience biking and even children. A score of 4 indicates a hostile environment for biking that only the most skilled or tolerant riders (or people who may not have another option) would ride on. A score of 2 is still consider lower stress but can only be tolerated in short segments and may require more skilled riding. A score of 3 is high stress and generally appropriate for more skilled and confident riders, who represent a much smaller portion of the San Leandro community. Bancroft Avenue is LTS 3, indicating that relatively few people in the general population are comfortable riding on it. Typical riders on the corridor are likely more skilled or people who may not have another option for transportation. These riders may be the segment of the population that is that are more familiar with biking and will therefore accept a higher level of traffic stress.5 With the separated bike lanes proposed in the San Leandro Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan, Bancroft Avenue will ideally achieve LTS 1. This level of traffic stress would allow children trained in traffic safety to bicycle to school by themselves as well as people that are “interested but concerned” about bicycling. 4 Methodology from Mekuria, Furth, and Nixon, 2012: https://transweb.sjsu.edu/research/Low-Stress-Bicycling-and-Network- Connectivity Summary of Bicycling Issues and Opportunities Community feedback has been focused on describing the high-stress bicycling condition, the need for bicycle access to schools, and the difficulty of navigating a corridor with discontinuous bike lanes. Key observations, supported through community engagement, include the following: 5 Drawn from Roger Geller’s Four Types of Cyclists: https://www.portlandoregon.gov/transportation/44597?a=237507 Level of Traffic Stress (LTS) is a comfort metric that describes how comfortable a roadway is based on the roadway and bikeway characteristics shown above. DRA F T