BIKE: Dedicated bike lanes -- a mistake?

[Patrick Goetz]

Fred Meredith wrote:
> Also, nobody really worked from the ACTUAL situation in trying to create 
> solutions. The ACTUAL conditions along most of SCB during an average day 
> indicate very few cars parked at the curb. Maybe even fewer cars for a 
> bike-lane-riding cyclist to steer around in the old days than there will 
> be curb bulbouts for a novice cyclist to steer around with the new plan.
> 

I disagree with this -- city staff most certaily worked from the actual 
situation in proposing a solution.  This is why they came up with the 
idea of allowing parking on only one side of the road to allow for car 
(and door) free bike lanes on at least one side of the road.  The lack 
of cars parked on the road at any time justified cutting the amount of 
potential street parking in half.

The problem with the new striping (based on my anecdotal observations 
only) is that people now see the "improved shoulder" as a bonified 
parking lane, so that people who were parking in their driveways are now 
leaving their car(s) on the street.  There were many, many more cars 
parked on SCB last week than I've ever seen before the new striping. 
Residents on most streets are loathe to park on the street because 
street-parked cars frequently get hit, presumably by inebriated late 
night revelers.  The fancy new striping and curb bulbouts on SBC, 
however, help to insure that Shoal Creek is the safest street in town to 
park your car on.  I continue to maintain that the situation for 
bicyclists is now considerably worse than it was when there was 
absolutely no striping on the road at all.

I agree with Fred that weaving in and out of bike lanes is considerably 
more dangerous than holding a steady line.  The new SBC geometry can 
only be safely navigated if the bicyclist holds to the line separating 
the shoulder from the traffic lane, and this is guaranteed to piss 
motorists off, as the new lanes are not wide enough for a motorist to 
pass you in-lane when you're riding on the line.  We were much better 
off when the bike lanes were narrow and the car lanes wide; both from 
the perspective of discouraging street parking and from the perspective 
of safe biking (see below for a more detailed explanation).


> 
> The dumbest thing that can be said for bike lanes is that they encourage 
> novice and young riders to get out into the street.

Again, i don't agree with this.  Certainly bike lanes are no substitute 
for proper training (the weaving vs. maintaining a line behavior being 
just one example of such training), but what they do provide is a 
reasonably protected haven for bicyclists when being passed from the 
back.  And this doesn't just apply to novices.  The usual case for me is 
that I'll ride in a straight line about a foot outside the bike lane, 
and when I hear a car coming up behind (*hear* because I'm NOT wearing a 
helmet), I move into the bike lane until the car has passed.  Usually 
there isn't a car in the bike lane at that exact location, so this is a 
convenient thing to do.  I ride OUTSIDE the bike lane otherwise in order 
to maintain a line and in order to more coveniently move over in order 
to avoid getting doored.  This is a comfortable, safe way to get about 
town.  Anyone who doesn't worry about motor vehicles passing from the 
back in the ABSENCE of a bike lane is a FOOL, PERIOD; helmets, mirrors, 
reflectors, vests, and flashing lights all add up to a dead you if an 
inattentive or DUI motorist drives an SUV up your butt.  It's simply a 
lot more comfortable to bike on streets that have a bike lane.  I log at 
least 5000-10000 commuting miles a year, have been doing this for a long 
time, and will bike down a rude motorist to kick their ass, hence don't 
consider myself a novice or particularly skittish.

Experienced bicyclists get used to looking over their shoulder and 
listening while continuing to pay attention to the road in front, but 
having to do this is very intimidating to someone inexperienced with 
riding in traffic.  I really can't believe that Fred has so little 
experience with novice bicyclists that he doesn't realize that lack of a 
bike lane is a deal killer for 90-95% of *potential* transportation 
bicyclists.  "You're crazy to be riding a bike in that dang traffic!" is 
by far the number one excuse I hear from people unwilling to use a bike 
for transportation.  A bike lane gives one the option of safely staying 
out of the traffic, even when there are *some* cars parked in the bike 
lane.  A novice cyclist can simply slow down or stop and wait until 
there is no traffic to go around parked cars.

Now let me repeat myself for the reading comprehension challenged:  bike 
lanes are NOT a substitute for proper training and always exercising 
defensive biking habits.  What they do best is provide a safe haven when 
being passed from the back by a motor vehicle.  That's all, but that's 
enough to encourage the fearful to give human-powered wheels a try.