BIKE: Kunstler's Eyesore of the Month

[Mike Dahmus]

The Lake Austin bike lane is actually bad in design _and_ upkeep. 
There's a portion (eastbound) where it narrows to about 8 inches wide. 
Was discussed here a bit at the time; the bike/ped coordinator was as 
pissed as we were, but didn't have enough pull or peeve (don't know 
which) to make them go back and fix it.

Upkeep is not the fault of the bike program; but I question the sanity 
of building a bike lane on a street with no curb and gutter and with 
substantial debris immediately next to the road. (they do build bike 
lanes on streets with no C&G in my hometown in Florida; but then again 
hardly any streets have C&G there due to the water table; plus there's 
far fewer idiots driving offroad bringing the gravel back with them).

- MD

Lauren Strickler wrote:

>We had friends in from Chicago this weekend, and in riding around, went down Lake Austin Blvd. west of Exposition which is an excellent highlight of one of the worst examples of a bike lane I've ever seen (in terms of maintenance and upkeep - it appears that original design may not have been the problem).  One of our friends commented on the nice water garden being cultivated on the south side of the street, taking up most of the bike lane.
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>There's a great poster I saw once of a large multi-lane road, with what looks like the standard rutted, gravely bike lane on the right.  But if you look closer, you realize the multi-lanes are for bikes, with a few bicyclists riding down the road.  The "bike lane" actually has a car painted on the road as its a car lane that hasn't been kept up because bicyclists are getting priority:)
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>Lauren Strickler
>512-567-9171
>lauren
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>Original Message:
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>>From: Dave W <daveintex13>
>>To: forum-bicycleaustin.info
>>Subject: BIKE: Kunstler's Eyesore of the Month
>>Date: Fri, 2 Apr 2004 06:43:39 -0800 (PST)
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>>Thought you folks might like this for irony:
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>>http://www.kunstler.com/eyesore.html
>>
>>James Howard Kunstler, author of books criticizing
>>suburbia (A Geography of Nowhere, Home From Nowhere),
>>posts photos of an "Eyesore of the Month" on his Web
>>site.  Also see his occasional, and always
>>entertaining, blog.
>>
>>April's eyesore is a bike lane cluster-f#@k that
>>you've gotta see to believe.  Previous months' are
>>also hilariously sad.
>>
>>Roger:  Love your posts.  Keep it up.
>>Jeremy: Excellent reasoning.
>>Bluejay:  I just hit "reply" and I don't have to
>>remember nor type a long nor short address.
>>
>>Dave Westenbarger
>>
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