Beyond Bike Lanes

[BridgeTheGap]

Despite a recent boom in the number of U.S. bicyclists, fewer than 1 percent of us regularly bike to work. According to the January 2010 Governing magazine, a number of city planners see that statistic as evidence “that some more radical bicycling strategies are in order.”

“It’s time to think beyond bike lanes, say, and start using bike-only traffic signals, traffic-protected ‘cycle-tracks,’ and other street designs that are common in European cities such as Amsterdam and Copenhagen, where up to 40 percent of all trips are made on two wheels.”

Obstacles to achieving this sort of Scandinavian efficiency include red tape, legal concerns, and wariness about departing from the bible of urban street design, the Federal Highway Administration’s Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, which has been slow to adopt bike-friendly designs.

The good news is that forward thinkers at the National Association of City Transportation Officials, representing more than a dozen major cities, have banded together to launch Cities for Cycling, an information clearinghouse that allows municipalities to experiment with nonstandard designs and share best practices. Portland, Oregon, is already forging ahead with bike boxes, marked areas at intersections that allow bikes to wait at red lights in front of cars.

http://www.utne.com/Environment/Beyond-Bike-Lanes.aspx?utm_content=04.26.10+Environment&utm_campaign=Emerging+Ideas-Every+Day&utm_source=iPost&utm_medium=email

[BrklynLiberal]

1. UTNE. Great magazine. I used to have a subscription.....

Thanks for this link.

[county worker]

2. I'm happy to accommodate bikes on the street just as long as the cyclists obey traffic laws also.

[zipplewrath]

5. Also?

Something in there implies the cars are "following the law". Especially if you are on a bike, this is hardly true. And part of what the article is suggesting is special blocked off lanes that cars can't use. I've been to Amsterdam. The special bike lanes are quite interesting. They have curbs around them to keep the cars out. The biggest problem is that they are convient as heck for pedestrians too.

[county worker]

7. Everyone must obey traffic laws. No many motorists do not obey traffic laws.

People driving cars do not obey traffic lights or yield the right of way as they should. I am not saying that motorists are angles at all.

We have a bike lane in Santa Barbara that crosses a busy street. There is a 4 way stop there. The cars and bikes all are required to stop but I will say that 9 out of 10 cyclists do not stop there. I see as many lousy car drivers as I do lousy cyclists.

On edit: I rarely ride a bicycle so I don't get the perspective that cyclists get and I drive were there are bike lanes so it is easier for me to be aware of lousy cyclists. That's just the nature of the beast. I do ride a motorcycle and have many complaints about car drivers, likewise many motorcyclists piss of car drivers

[zipplewrath]

9. Chicken and egg

In my serious riding days, I gave up trying to "follow the law". It was written for cars, and they didn't follow it either. The truth was, you were "safest" when moving. To stop on a bike was to draw a target on yourself. I blew through most stop signs, and generally treated traffic lights as suggestions. The "trick" to that is that you are living life as an "outlaw". You can't rely upon the cars to know what you're doing, so you have to take all responsibility upon yourself. One of my biggest wipe outs was because I hit the truck, not the other way around. (Scared the bajeezes outta him too). I would have gladly followed all the laws, but the cars wouldn't recognize me as another legitimate user, so I had to get "defensive" with a good "offense".

Having said all that, I also avoided main roads as best I could. I used sidewalks and crosswalks liberally. And I knew more "cut throughs" of parks and businesses as well as just little bits of land that would allow me to circumvent the traffic altogether. Bikes and cars don't mix well. I'm the nicest driver when I come upon bikes, but they have widely divergent needs that don't blend well together.

[Strelnikov_]

18. Pretty much the way i ride n/t

[wtmusic]

22. In Idaho it's legal for cyclists to treat Stop signs as Yield signs

which actually makes a lot of sense.

If you're driving at almost the speed of traffic it's much safer to be on the road than on the sidewalk, but not stopping at every stoplight is an easy way to get yourself killed.

[RaleighNCDUer]

10. You might try the perspective that a guy on a bike, weighing in at

170 lbs and traveling 8mph is VERY aware of the cars around him weighing in a 2200lbs and traveling at 35mph.

The opposite, not so much.

The 'traffic laws' were NOT written for bicycles - they were written for cars, and ONLY cars. Any bicyclist who "follows the traffic laws" and considers himself to be an equal on the road with a Ford Explorer is an idiot, and an accident waiting to happen.

[county worker]

13. There is a justification for everything I guess.

You don't obey the laws yet drivers are supposed to know the reason why? And respect that?

I'm sorry but I fail to see any logic to that.

[RaleighNCDUer]

16. Logic? In a direct confrontation between a bicycle and a SUV,

which one will wind up a smear on the pavement?

When I'm at a red light and the cross traffic has stopped, I start across before the light turns green because that way I know the driver who are waiting for the green light will notice me. They may say "Look at that asshole jumping the light - what the fuck's the matter with these bicycles?" - and if they say that, I'm happy because that means they SAW me. And in any case, I'm across the intersection before the light changes. First rule: never assume that a vehicle sees you. Second rule: always try to be where the vehicles are not.

You talk about motorcycles also being invisible, but there's a difference - they are bigger, noisier, and they can match the speed of the traffic that is 'sharing' the road with them. In most of America, the challenges for bicycles are far different. When I'm riding I have three goals - to get to my destination, to avoid confrontations with motor vehicles AND pedestrians, and to be SEEN when I'm riding. The guy a half block back who sees me running a red light and bitches about it must SEE me to do so. He will be far less likely to pull a right turn across my path when he catches up with me. People notice the unusual far more readily than the usual.

Somebody could pass a law tomorrow saying that pedestrians have equal rights on the highways with cars. It would then be legal to walk down the middle of the highway. But it would also be fucking stupid to do so.

The laws are written for CARS, not bicycles. There is no real-world equivalency between them. So I have my own rules. My own laws.

They keep me alive.

(edit for typO)

[Strelnikov_]

17. Year round rider/commuter . . in Iowa (ie hard winter weather)

The rules you noted are the rules I live by.

Avoid major signalized intersections if at all possible. Going to midblock, where the onboard kinematic computer can reach a near zero collision probability solution, is SOP. For example, at the major intersection near work (6 lane ribbons of death each direction) crossing on the pedestrian signal, and assuming the smoker operators will honor the signal, is a death trip. Virtually every time, some rampaging smoker attempting to beat the left will try to plow through.

Stop lights. Always come to stop. If traffic is present, follow all rules. If no cross/conflicting traffic, perform kinematic solution, cross if probability of conflict is near zero regardless of light.

Stop sign. Always slow to 2x walking speed. If traffic is present, full stop and follow all rules, let all smokers waiting clear intersection (smoker operators hate having their motoring pleasure delayed). If no traffic present, continue without stopping.

Never assume, position yourself (whenever possible) so the reaction of the smoker operator is not in the equation. If this requires violating traffic laws, so be it.

[county worker]

19. You sure as hell don't win me over.

[RaleighNCDUer]

20. I'm not interested in winning you over.

I am only interested in getting to and from work in one piece - which is NOT something I can expect to do if I delude myself into thinking I am equal to a fucking SUV.

[wtmusic]

21. You don't know traffic laws very well.

If you look at your state rules of the road you will see an entire section devoted to bicycles. And ONLY bicycles.

Obviously, it makes sense to be more defensive as a cyclist. But cyclists have just as much of a right that drivers of Ford Explorers have to be on the road.

[RaleighNCDUer]

25. And you don't know urban bicycling.

Follow the law, and die.

[wtmusic]

24. Studies have shown that segregated bike lanes are more dangerous

It's the "getting on and off the road" part.

[zipplewrath]

3. More ideas

bike paths, that don't follow roads. Rails to trails creates these. Some towns have old "rail lines" that can be utilized. Public parks can also be utilized to give "short cuts" to bikes. Public areas around major buildings could also have "easements" to allow bikes to traverse where cars can't go. The concept is to give bikes "preferential" treatment to encourage people to use them.

[FightingIrish]

4. I've been bike commuting for over thirty years.

Only a small segment of my daily commute is really bike friendly. Only the last mile of my eight mile route is on a bike path. Many of the locals were upset about the money (most of it federal) spent for the construction of a bicycle bridge to extend the bike path across a busy arterial street. This is in southern Oregon. It's a completely different story in Portland. My son is living in Portland and takes long rides all over the city. He's a good example for people who say they're just not up to biking. After a spinal cord injury left him paralyzed, he spent two years in a wheelchair. He fought back to walking on his own and now walks with a slight limp. Biking makes getting a round Portland easy and enjoyable and provides the aerobic fitness he needs.

[SocialistLez]

6. I'd love to bike

My primary concern is safety.

We have some CRAZY and STUPID drivers here.

It's ridiculous.

I don't drive very far to most of my destinations. My job is within 5 miles of my house. Right now class is less than 5 miles of my house BUT it's up a big hill.

I've considered the bus but it comes every 30 minutes and the routes are kind of stupid for some places.

If I wanted to catch the bus to my school, while is 5 minutes away, it would be an hour long (or more) ordeal.:(

[yellowcanine]

8. Two problems I have observed - car drivers not "seeing" bikes and "bike lanes" which go nowhere.

Even more than with motorcycles - car drivers do not see bikes or they assume they are going much more slowly than they are.
For me this has personally manifested itself in

(1) the "no-look" door opening into the traffic lane (fortunately I was able to avoid it - barely).

(2) the "right hook" - a car passes a bike and immediately makes a right turn across the front of the bike. This happened to me also. Fortunately it was wet and the handlebar and front wheel just skidded along the side of the car. I did not flip and was unhurt. The car never stopped. I assume he never saw me nor realized he actually had hit me though I can't be sure.

The other problem - bike lanes which end abruptly without warning leaving the biker with no safe place to ride or bike lanes crossing dangerous intersections/entrance, exit ramps with no safe provision for the bikes is the main reason I avoid using a bike lane which I am not familiar with.

Bike trails have their problems also - mainly pedestrians who act as if the bikes can stop on a dime or who wander all over the trail in unpredictable ways. Pedestrians either should be excluded from bike trails or there needs to be good signage on how to walk and ride on the trail - and then the trail needs to be patrolled with police on bikes who are willing to ticket bikes or pedestrians who don't obey rules.

[OKIsItJustMe]

11. NPR: A National Network Of Bike Trails? It Could Happen

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=126263488

A National Network Of Bike Trails? It Could Happen

by NPR Staff

April 25, 2010

A quiet revolution is starting in the world of transportation.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood recently announced what he's calling a "sea change" in transportation policy: He wants to make biking as important as driving.

"We’re elevating it to the point where as we develop new road systems, as we develop communities where people can use light rail or street cars or buses, bike trails and walking paths will be equal partners, if you will, and equal components of those kinds of transportation opportunities in communities across America," LaHood tells NPR's Guy Raz.

...

LaHood is also floating the idea of a nationwide interstate biking system -- the two-wheel equivalent of Eisenhower’s highway system.

...

(Audio and transcript at the link.)

[SocialistLez]

12. I'd love that but I think we're a LONG way off from that kind of progress. NT

[OKIsItJustMe]

14. Having a Secretary of Transportation who is a bicyclist is a good start

http://www.npr.org/templates/transcript/transcript.php?storyId=126263488

...

Sec. LaHOOD: Well, look it, the trucking companies pay a lot of taxes to use the roadways, but there's plenty of room along the roadways for all forms of transportation, whether it's cars or trucks or cyclists or walking, and using the bully pulpit that I have as the secretary of Transportation to promote these has gotten a lot of attention.

RAZ: And are you a cyclist?

Sec. LaHOOD: Yes, I am. As a matter of fact, my wife and I have our bikes in Washington, and we, usually on Saturday or Sunday or both days, are out on the C&O Canal, and what we see are thousands and I don't mean hundreds, I mean thousands of people on Saturday and Sunday. And so my wife and I absolutely cherish the opportunities that we have to cycle together.

RAZ: That's Ray LaHood. He's the secretary of Transportation.

...

[SocialistLez]

15. It is. It would also be good if we had more members of Congress

who were cyclists or whoa re fans of public transportation/mass transit.

It'd also be great if we had more LGBT members of Congress.
More members of Congress who are people of color....

The list goes on but I get what you're saying.

[happyslug]

26. Yes, given that we already have such a trail between DC and Ohio.

The "Great Allegheny Passage" combined with the C&O Canal Bike path provides an almost no interaction with automobiles path between DC and Weirton West Virgina (Which is on the opposite bank of the Ohio from Steubenville Ohio). From Pittsburgh PA (one of the two starting points of Great Allegheny Passage, the other being Weirton West Virginia which can be reached via the Panhandle and then Montour Trails which go around Pittsburgh before joining the Great Allegheny Passage) it is 330 miles in length.

Even starting in Pittsburgh the Great Allegheny Passage is longer in length then was the first "Interstate Highway" in the United States (The Pennsylvania Turnpike) when it opened in 1939 (Again over the Appalachian Mountains AND on an abandoned Railroad line through the PA Turnpike went from Carsille PA, outside Harrisburg to Irwin Pa, outside Pittsburgh instead of between DC and Weirton WV but in the process going around Pittsburgh).

More on the Great Allegheny Passage (Cumberland MD to McKeesport PA):
http://www.atatrail.org/
http://www.atatrail.org/maps/map.cfm

Please note the above includes the Montour Trail which goes through the South Hills of Pittsburgh from McKeesport to the Ohio River opposite Neville Island):
http://www.montourtrail.org/maps/maps.html

Please note while the Great Allegheny Passage is complete, the Montour still has some missing sections, go to its website for details.
http://www.montourtrail.org/panhandle.html

Routes around unfinished parts of the Montour trail:
http://www.montourtrail.org/maps/bypass.html#Panhandle

Unlike the Montour Trail (Which it has extensive contacts with) the Panhandle trail is complete to Weirton West Virgina.

The Panhandle Trail between the Montour trail in Carnegie PA top Weirton West Virginia:
West Virginia trail set:
http://www.wvrtc.org/trails/panhandle-trail.html

Montour website on the Panhandle trail in PA:
http://www.montourtrail.org/panhandle.html

Map of Panhandle Trail:


More on the C&O Bike Trail from DC to Cumberland MD:
http://bikewashington.org/canal/

[NNadir]

23. Making the streets safe for bicycles is without a doubt one of the best environmental policies ever.

It would be useful if we encourage employers to install showers in their places of work, too.

[phantom power]

27. +1