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

[Ron Green]

1. I'm encouraged by Ray LaHood's positive talk about bike transit.

It's the non-imperialist mode of the future, and it's happening today in places like Portland.

[elocs]

2. Wait, "allow bikes to wait at red lights in front of cars"?

Seems like a good way to piss off drivers about bikers and as someone who bikes I prefer not to have drivers pissed off at me. That usually ends badly for the one on the bike, namely me.

Over the years I ridden my bike to work many, many times, but now I need my car for work so that's out. Fortunately in my city we may legally ride our bikes on the sidewalk and over the years I've found that's worked quite nicely for me. The further away I am from motor vehicles the better it is for me and in a crosswalk I have exactly the same rights as a pedestrian.

[Ron Green]

4. The cyclists have a separate light that allows them to go while the

car drivers are still waiting, letting riders get a head start. There are lots of creative ways to bring bikes into the mix in a way that encourages cycling and lets the dinosaurs still use their cars.

[elocs]

7. Made me think of the guys in spandex on the speed bikes riding in the middle of the traffic lane,

with all the cars behind him lusting to run him over if it weren't for all of the nasty paperwork involved.

Currently I am a dinosaur who needs to use his car as are many else. As someone who has biked for decades I am able to cut drivers some slack in some situations because I am also a driver. To be honest, cyclists would go a long way to getting along better with cars if they just obeyed the same rules of the road, traffic signs and signals that drivers are required to obey.

Again, in my city I prefer the sidewalks and the dedicated bike/walking paths as opposed to mixing with traffic in the street. It just makes it harder for a motor vehicle to casually run you over. Also, some trucks have side mirrors that stick out quite a ways.

[Ron Green]

22. It sounds simple to say "they should just obey the exact same rules of the road,"

but that's not the best solution. Bicycles have their own physics, their own logistics, and they need their own rules - not necessarily the same as the ones for cars (see the "Idaho stop," elsewhere in this thread.) I agree that cyclists must obey rules and ride predictably, but sidewalks are NOT the place for bikes going 20 mph.

If we're going to be serious about sustainable urban and suburban transportation for the next century, bicycles have got to be part of the mix: not as toys, but as street vehicles.

[csziggy]

5. Yes, I try to treat bicyclists with respect when I pass them

Especially since I drive a truck. And nothing pisses me off more than to wait to pass until I could pass with a lot of room then have the cyclist illegally pass me on the right while I am at a light.

Many of the rural roads around here have either bike lanes on the side of the road or greenways completely off the road, but the country roads I most often take are canopy roads, narrower than normal with no room for either. Bicyclists still use them often for training and will completely block motorized vehicles. I've had them ride in herds and even had them pull into the oncoming lane when there was a chance to legally pass, totally blocking the road in both directions.

With bicyclists like that, I am surprised there are not more incidents of road rage against the cyclists!

[rgbecker]

6. Actually, about crosswalks you'd better check.

If you are riding the bike, you are not a pedestrian and have no pedestrian rights in the crosswalk unless you are walking the bike. If you ride the bike, its same road, same rules. Picture a car in the crosswalk saying he has same rights as a pedestrian.

[elocs]

8. Wisconsin law says that a cyclist in a crosswalk has exactly the same rights as a pedestrian.

I know because I have checked it out. So, yes, I have the same rights as a pedestrian because if I am walking my bike I am not a cyclist but a pedestrian.

[petronius]

23. That's usually in a turn lane, right?

For a left, I think that makes sense - the cars are clearly aware of the bikers (bonus if the cyclist has a nice booty), and since the cyclist head to the curb after the turn no one is really held up. I don't really see the point of a bike box in a straight-ahead lane, unless there are so many bikers that the curb is getting crowded...

[rgbecker]

3. On a recent trip to Boston and Cambridge, Mass....I noticed this.

Bicyclists think of themselves as super special and not confined to normal traffic patterns or laws. Many rode thru red lights and stop signs and went down the left side of road against traffic. As a sometimes bicyclist myself, I cringe at the lawlessness of cyclists wherever I go. Its no wonder people aren't interested in joining their ranks and risking life and limb.

[elocs]

9. Too many bicyclists want all of the rights of the road without having any of the responsibilities,

like stopping for red lights or stop signs.

[Codeine]

26. Yep.

I have a friend who goes on about "Same Roads. Same Rules. Same Rights." but fuckin rolls stops signs because he doesn't want to have to pick his speed back up.

[taterguy]

11. Do you have any evidence other than your selective observation to support this?

What's the rate of lawlessness of motorists v. cyclists?

How many people a year do cyclists kill v. motorists? (Without looking it up I'm pretty sure motorists kill a lot more)

How risky is cycling?

Or should I just take your word for it?

[rgbecker]

19. Two cycle deaths in Boston area in two weeks....

Here's some ways to address the issue. http://www.massbike.org/2010/04/09/its-time-to-pass-a-vulnerable-road-users-bill/

I'll start counting observed breaking of the laws by cars verses bikes and let you know. You do the same and we'll compare notes.

From now through memorial day weekend. Ready? Go. (By the way, you have to count the number of each that you observe and then how many of each breaking the law so we can use the ratio of bike law breakers vs. car law breakers).

[midnight armadillo]

16. And you didn't notice the lawlessness of the drivers & pedestrians?

Ignoring traffic laws is a way of life in Boston - for everyone.

[rgbecker]

20. Live Free and Die...Wait..That's New Hampshire!

[AngryAmish]

37. If you don't like the way I'm driving, get off the sidewalk.

[midnight armadillo]

46. exactly!

LOL

[Romulox]

27. Who made you amateur traffic cop? Try minding your own bee's wax for a change.

I find this "but the bicyclist rolled the stop sign!" stuff childish in the extreme, not to mention ill informed. Did it ever occur to you that the physics of stopping a bike are so radically different from those of stopping a car that perhaps different rules should apply? No. You're keeping score of cyclists who you've observed breaking the law, as if you and everyone on the road isn't speeding pretty much non-stop.

Mote/Beam/Eye. :eyes:

[-..__...]

36. "The traffic lights are there for cars."

I would love to see more enforcement of bicycling scofflaws like this on a regular basis by all communities...

Cyclists pedal into arms of the law
Cambridge riders find rules of road apply to them, too

CAMBRIDGE - He looked as carefree as can be, pedaling on his silver 18-speed mountain bike, wearing designer jeans and a black sport coat, a butterscotch leather handbag in his bicycle rack.

He had no idea that two Cambridge police officers were watching him from the side of the road with pads of tickets in their hands, waiting for him to break the law.

Snip...

Many cyclists assume that they are exempt from the laws governing their motor-driven colleagues and have no cause to fear the officers who enforce them. The rules of the road, they say, are merely courtesies to be observed, or suggestions to keep them safe. Not so in Cambridge, where cyclists are increasingly being cited for any of dozens of violations, from running red lights or failing to stop for pedestrians in crosswalks to riding at night without a headlight.

Snip...

In 20 minutes on a recent afternoon, Kale and her partner, Officer Oswaldo Ortiz, ticketed 12 cyclists - roughly one out of every two that passed by them - for running a red light on Massachusetts Avenue in Central Square. They gave them each a warning, and reminded them that they have to obey the same laws as drivers.

Snip...

Jack McCambridge, ticketed near MIT for running a red light on his bicycle, agreed, saying he brakes only in heavy traffic.

"I go through stop signs all the time and down one-way streets, but I certainly wouldn't want to be ticketed," he said. "Most Cambridge cyclists are much more responsible. I have my own rule of thumb, and that is: I ride safely."

Snip...

Cambridge police said they prefer issuing warnings and mostly reserve fines for the rude riders, like those who say: " 'You've got to be kidding me,' " Murphy said. " 'Why don't you get a real job? You're not the real police, right?'

Complete story

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

10. The Idaho Stop.

Allow bicyclists to treat stop signs as yield signs. Given their lower speed and greater field of view, this is perfectly reasonable.

It'll piss off the asshole drivers though.

[IDemo]

15. Trust me on that one

I wasn't aware we had the only law like that. Yeah, the a*holes do make a point of making their displeasure known.

[applegrove]

12. I totally hate hate hate those bicycle lanes on busy roads. They drive me nuts. I'd never bike on

them.

[taterguy]

13. Suppose a busy road was the most direct route from your house to your job?

[applegrove]

14. I would never bike to work unless I could stay on secondary roads. I'm not a big biker anyhow.

But I drive alot and always worry about people on bicycles. A girl got killed near my parent's house last year. Another bicyclist was hurt today nearby. I've known of a few people ore the years who got hurt on a bicycle by a car. It is just way too dangerous unless you have a city like Amsterdam which is made up of mostly secondary roads. There it makes sense. Here we need more separated bike paths.

[taterguy]

33. Public policy shouldn't be based on anecdotal evidence and skewed perceptions

Bike facilities on major roads make sense, because that's where they will do the most good, provided that they're engineered properly.

The issue in this thread is what transportation philosophy should be used.

I think the Northern European model works quite well.

America designed its transportation system when we thought oil was limitless.

We were wrong.

It's time to evolve.

ps: I bike on a busy road nearly every day. Never had an accident. Using your criterion, it must be "safe."

[backscatter712]

17. I'm with you there. A three-foot-wide strip marked "bike lane" is insufficient in heavy traffic.

Some of the traffic in town is terrifying to ride in when you're on a bike, and there's enough rednecks in pickup trucks (you know, Republicans) who think that because they've got a bigger vehicle, they have the right to terrorize everyone else, including bikers.

My college campus is great when it comes to biking - they've got lots of bike paths, set up separate routes for bikes so they don't have to interact with car traffic at all, and it's set up in such a way that you can get around campus really easily.

Once off campus, I stick to the secondary roads, or I'll even be a chickenshit and ride on the sidewalk. I fucking hate riding in traffic. All the time, I read about another poor bicyclist in the paper who gets rear-ended and killed or maimed by some shithead driver who encroached into the bike lane.

[applegrove]

21. Yup.

[Romulox]

29. Bike lanes don't protect cyclists one whit. I don't use 'em. nt

[a la izquierda]

18. What I'd appreciate...

is the ability to ride without being menaced by ignorant fuckers in trucks and cars.

Oh, and I ride both for transportation and as a sport. So I know what a stop sign and a crosswalk are.

[hayu_lol]

24. Frankly you bikers have some good ideas...

the best of which is getting your own bikeways. That said, how are you bikers going to pay for them? None of you mentioned that factor.

[Prometheus Bound]

25. The drivers must pay for them.

As penance for polluting our air.

[hayu_lol]

28. Prometheus, I don't think so...

many drivers are on the road because it is not realistic for them to peddle their way on a job or to run errands...particularly in the case of seniors and disabled.

For that matter, you are probably consuming more oxygen.

I don't see an answer here, do you?

[Ron Green]

31. Saying something other than "you bikers" would be a start.

A fact is that most cyclists are also drivers, although most drivers are NOT cyclists. Another fact is that every bike used in place of a car for a trip takes an enormous amount of pollution out of the air. Still another idea, maybe a fact and maybe not, is that more cars on the road will not get us where we need to go with our transportation mix, but more bicycles will.

We are all in this world together, and we've got to solve the problems together.

[hayu_lol]

32. Ron, the term 'you bikers' was not meant as an insult...

there are some good ideas here. Would love to get bicycles their own lanes separated from the streets. Not only car drivers would appreciate this but think about the very large trucks that have to navigate the traffic mix we have today.

Kids would also be much safer with the separate path.

Where would the money for the bike lanes come from? Right of way would have to be gotten by some means. Older cities have no way to carve separate bike paths out of existing space. New cities should certainly be designed for the separation.

The claim here is that only 1% are riding bikes. Providing for them is simply not cost effective.

Drivers, in most enlightened states, pay huge gas taxes now to provide for the construction and maintenance of roads for all vehicles. You want/need separate, then you will have to find a way to pay for it.

Another question while I have your attention: How many of these 'bikers' carry liability insurance in case they hit people or cars?

Gets pretty complex depending on what size town/city you live and work in. There are no easy answers here.

[rgbecker]

38. Bike Path safety may only be a state of mind.

Google bike path safety and read about real studies done about accidents along bike paths (Two way side paths, specifically). Like when evaluating car vs. air travel safety, the homo sapiens intuition may not be worth much. Granted, there are places the separated paths are well designed and useful....for example the rail-trails being developed along old RR right of ways, but many are just causing unnecessary accidents and allowing for congestion free car travel at speeds that really should be brought under control instead. In the end, even with an extensive bike path segregated system, bikes will be using the roads as is their right, and the car driving public would be wise to watch out for them and the bikers ought to make an attempt to fit in using the same rules for the same Roads.

http://www.wright.edu/~jeffrey.hiles/essays/listening/ch7.html

[a la izquierda]

35. Right on!

[petronius]

30. The same way pedestrians pay for sidewalks, I suppose

Bike lanes are a public amenity that are an appropriate public expenditure.

Sort of an aside: at my university, city buses are free for students, and the money comes from parking fees paid for by students who drive to campus. The rationale is that the students who drive get a benefit from every student who doesn't, thereby freeing up a parking space and room on the roads...

[a la izquierda]

34. Tax me...

I'd rather pay a little extra than get run off the damned road.
Or better yet, a sack of batteries thrown at me. I'm 5'1 and A GIRL. Takes a tough man to throw batteries at a girl.

Besides, I enjoy riding around with my increased sense of self worth at saving the planet ;)

[taterguy]

40. Pay for bikeways from General Revenue funds

Gas taxes only pay for a fraction of the cost of building and maintaining roads.

The rest of the money comes from other sources.

Spend money investing in a form of transportation that's good for the environment and good for America. Bikes are fueled by food, most of which is grown in America, unlike the stuff the cars run on.

[groovedaddy]

39. I'm absolutely for facilitating travel/commuting by bike! n.t

[WinkyDink]

42. You're a guy, right? :-)

[groovedaddy]

43. The last time I looked! n.t

[WinkyDink]

41. I'd like to see the "protected" bike areas in A'dam! Seemed to me trolleys and buses had them, but

bikes went everywhere, including sidewalks.

[bridgit]

44. In Sac they've removed 1 car lane down a couple key transit streets round & through...

Downtown/Midtown, the pocket area, etc; there have always been bike lanes, and people that live down here are aware of foot traffic and various means of getting about but now there is one bike lane on each side - so that's cool. You can ride out the causeway to Davis. But you don't have to go that far outside that footprint and it all starts to tighten up. And if you find yourself out on a levee, cyclists & motorists both need to be very aware of their surroundings where there's barely enough room for two cars http://www.sacbike.org/sacbiking

[wiggs]

45. Berkeley has very effective bicycle boulevards, shared with autos. nt