Jason sez: Welcome to new contributor Bill Corbett. Bill is the president of a small non-profit called Capital Region Sponsor-A-Scholar, Inc.. They help disadvantaged students in Albany, Troy and Schenectady graduate from high school and go on to college. When they get there, Sponsor-A-Scholar gives them $750.00 stipends for each successful semester they complete. Bill lives in Voorheesville with his wife Diane and son Ryan. His son Billy is a junior at Dartmouth college.
Approaching a complicated intersection
In an effort to help other bike riders (read: commuters) I will attempt to make some suggestions on how to approach and navigate a difficult intersection. In my travels to work on a regular basis, I have to navigate the intersection at 155 and 20 in Guilderland. This is a major intersection from all four directions. I approach from the south (Voorheesville) on 155, with the intention of going straight through to Washington Avenue Extension, where I work. It has both left- and right-hand lane arrows as well as four other lanes in either direction. In my first days of commuting to work, I avoided this intersection and went three extra miles each way to stay safe. Researching the safest route you will take is the first and possibly the most important step you can take in bike commuting.
As road work in the Capital Region progressed, Johnston Road was deemed to get a full makeover. This cut out my alternate route and forced me to confront the 155/20 intersection. It was a pleasant surprise to see that 155 actually had a large shoulder in many places but considerably more traffic, as well. They were also in the process of building a Stewarts halfway to my destination (read: ice cream cones on the way home, chocolate chip cookie dough). So I did my usual good research on the safest route for riding and decided that maybe this would work out after all.
My first approach to the 155/20 intersection went smoothly, as I got the light and no one in a car was making a right hand turn, as I was going straight ahead. This did not work out consistently, causing me to have to figure out where to head and when to take the lane in order to be seen and safe. The right-hand lane was doable until I reached the CVS on the right side of the intersection, but then I found I had to move to the left of the right hand turn lane in order to allow the car traffic to make the turn and not run me over (always a serious consideration on my part). So my plan is to approach with traffic, staying always to the right until traffic starts to back up at the light and I can move into the lane safely. As I proceed to the light with traffic, I move to the left of the right hand turn lane and wait for the light that allows traffic to go straight ahead, which I what I do.
On the return trip, as I said, the Route 155 section between 20 and Washington Avenue Extension where I work has an ample shoulder. I can safely use this all the way from work to Route 20 and then I have to confront yet another six lane choice. In this direction, two right-hand lanes have the right to make a right on the arrow. This is much more complicated and requires more eye contact along with other methods of communication such as hand signals and talking to drivers as they wait at the light to let them know what I am going to do. I choose to take the second right-hand turn lane and keep an eye on the traffic behind me to see if someone seems to want to turn right from the lane I am in. In the event this is the case, I again move over to the left-hand part of the second right-hand turn lane. When the light turns green for the straight ahead option, I proceed across the intersection. (Lots of times I stop for ice cream!)
Remember: always wear a helmet, as it is the single most important safety tool you have!
Next time, how to navigate a round-about.
