BIKE: Dedicated bike lanes -- a mistake?

[Lane Wimberley]

A while back, we learned that UTC commissioner Carl Tepper feels that
Shoal Creek  Blvd. was better off with the original striping, and that
the debacle that unfolded and the undesirable results were the result
of "bicycle activists" fighting for change on SCB, namely dedicated
bicycle lanes.

Interestingly, that seems to be the consensus on at least one
sport/racing forum.  They believe that SCB was never broken, and so
should never have been fixed.  (Obviously, the views on that list are
decidedly myopic, with a bias towards racing and/or recreational
riding by experienced/expert riders.)  They believe that what has been
done to SCB is bad (to put it mildly).  And, they place blame on
activists who fight for dedicated bike lanes.  They see this fight as
politically untenable, and likely to result ultimately in worse
conditions for cyclists rather than better.  (Or, at least, they see
it as a waste of political capital that would be better spent
elsewhere.)

I've always held that unobstructed bike lanes were worth fighting for,
both in the interest of safety and also in the interest of
legitimizing cyclists' rights to the road.  Maybe this view isn't
quite right?

-Lane

-- 
"Every time I see an adult on a bicycle, I no longer despair for the
human race."
- HG Wells