A Zoo
I have to bicycle vehicularly most of the time because there’s not much infrastructure yet. But I’d prefer not to. What I can’t understand why anyone would argue against protected bike lanes.
I wonder how the argument would go if applied to other things- like a zoo?
The problem I see is that pedestrians around here don’t respect off-road bikeways, and the paths are very frequently obstructed, rarely maintained (such as being cleared of ice and snow), and are usually lower quality than the road (asphalt is bumpy as hell). I also find that where it is an option, even when it’s clearly unusable and I’m forced to use the road, I get many more death threats from drivers than usual. In a perfect world, they’d be great and everyone would get along. It works in Europe, but I think we’re a long, long way off.
The great thing about protected bike lanes that I’ve been on, such as in Washington, DC, is that they include paint, signage and signals to carry riders through intersections. This differs from sidewalks/sidepaths, which treat intersections as if riders were riding at walking speed, or regular bike lanes, which (in the USA at least) end at intersections, throwing riders into regular traffic.
As for the idea that people should just ride in the road and put up with the yelling and honking from drivers; that idea has very little support. We in the USA are slowly adding protected bike lanes and riders keep voting with their wheels to use those lanes instead of nearby streets. And the (still much too high) fatality rate keeps decreasing.
“Vehicular cycling” may be the greatest thing ever, but you wouldn’t know it from the way most of my friends complain about being treated badly on the road. Or from the enthusiasm that most of my friends have for protected bike lanes. Protected bike lanes are the only bikeways I’ve been on where I’ve seen riders spontaneously gushing about how amazing they are.
Just to make sure, about what we are talking. I think we talk about this kind of cycle paths:
http://goo.gl/eexVoh
http://goo.gl/61zoTe
The intersections are really a problem of seperated bike paths. The standard accident pattern is this:
– intersection with seperate cycle path
– cyclist likes to go straight and has the right of way
– a truck makes a right turn and doesn’t see the cyclist (blind sport)
Usually the cyclist is dead.
This is really a typical accident here in germany, where we have this protected bike paths on some roads. I know already of one accident this year in my town (500,000 inhabitants). Sadly, I’m sure there will be more accidents with the exactly same course of events.
I think this is the worst thing with seperated cycle paths, but there are other disadvantages:
– What if you like to do a left turn? Go back to the car lane?
A left turn is now much more problematic, you have to cross two lanes.
– Motorists who pull in are thoughtful to other motorists, so they block your lane (instead that for the cars) and you have to go back into the car traffic.
– If your cycle lane is on the right-hand side of the curb, you can add pedestrians and garbage container to the list of possible barriers.
– The condition of the cycle lane can be incredible bad. This means:
* too narrow
* bad surface
* absurd curve radii
* too close to parking cars (door zone) – yeah keep distance to parking cars, but if you do this, you are not within the bike lane
– Motorists have no reason to keep distance while overtaking, because you are in your own lane.
– Guess what happens, when there is a bike lane? Wide enough and with a good surface. Motorists or their lobby starts to complain about too wide and unnecessary cycle lanes. Yes, the cycle lanes are the reason why they are caught up in a traffic jam.
I think these cycle lanes try to solve a symptom, not the problem. Cyclists like extra lanes, because they don’t feel safe on the road. This problem is caused by some irresponsible drivers and the levity of some others. I think we need a better driver education and maybe not everybody is responsible enough to drive car.
PS: Bekka, thanks for the nice illustrations.
Well said, and from somebody who clearly knows from experience.
Please add a text bubble to the gentleman in the vest that says “Haven’t you read any of my Internet comments?”
Protected bike lanes are great, but I worry that here in Boston they would be designed by the traffic engineers famous for ‘signals timed for frequent stops’ (and little else). And the quality of workmanship expected of Boston contractors… let’s just hope the design doesn’t include any slabs of concrete overhead. Surely also, DPW would be tempted to store surplus snow there, and so on.