Bicycle Austin forum

I don't understand why people think a paint stripe is such a wonderful thing.  A thin layer of paint offers no protection at all from two tons of steel.  What it does is provide an area to accumulate gravel, glass, nails, screws, etc., as well as condition car drivers to think that "cyclists belong in the bike lane."

Then, to make it even worse, you get follies like the two-way bike lane on Shoal Creek (boy, I want a closing speed of 40-50mph with another cyclist only a foot away, with that northbound cyclist "enjoying" a closing speed of as much as 60mph with oncoming cars), and bike lanes striped right up against parallel parking areas, encouraging bikes to ride in the door zone.

The bikeway from Stephen F. Austin headed east is the right way to do it, if you want a real, separate facility from the roadway.  It's hard to do that in existing neighborhoods, though.

I think that a better alternative to bike lanes is promoting sharing, either via "sharrows" or signage, and PSAs.  I also think that PSAs for sharing the road will be better received if the same people also issue PSAs encouraging cyclists to obey red lights and not blow through stop signs like they weren't there.  You have to till the soil before you can plant seeds, after all.

When I talk to people about bicycle commuting, I think that the things that stop them are:

* Fear of getting hit by a car.  If you can show them routes through developments, you may be able to alleviate this fear, but big roads that they have to be on (e.g., 620, 183, Anderson Mill, Jollyville, 360, Lamar, etc.) to get to the quiet routes may still intimidate them.

* Logistics:  How to get clothes and lunch to and from work?  Beginners don't think about racks and tail trunks, and there's also the notion that it's OK to take the car once or twice a week to transport your stuff.  A week's worth of business casual fits into a large desk drawer.

* Getting to work sweaty:  Yeah, that can be overcome in a number of ways (chief among which is leave really early, while it's still cool out, and take your time--added benefit is that there's less traffic to worry about), but people still think about it, especially if there are no showers at the office.

* Bad weather:  Fenders and warm, breathable, windproof fabrics if you're hardcore, but it's OK to take the car when it rains if you're just not that into it.  Bicycle commuting a couple of days per week is better than not bicycle commuting at all.