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Originally Posted by Yahoo
Sharing a lane of traffic between vehicles and bikes just isn't possible. Lanes aren't designed to have room for both. Anyone who thinks otherwise is delusional. We have to live with the realities of life, not how we hope things should be. Bikes simply shouldn't be allowed to take a lane of traffic - for their own safety. It just isn't safe outside of uncongested residential areas. I'll go to great lengths to stay off of main roads when biking.
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Bikes should and are allowed to take a lane of traffic for their safety. Riding too far to to the right is actually more dangerous and causes more congestion than taking the lane. For an example of what I mean, see the video on
http://cyclingsavvy.org/hows-my-driving/
If I had a penny for every time this phrase is used...
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As for taking over traffic lanes and giving them to bikes - that's just wrong too. I walk by one of these downtown every day and it's a huge flop. I've counted 3 bikes, 2 skateboarders and 2 joggers since it opened. (Lol, I can't wait for bikers to start protesting people jogging and skateboarding in their lanes! It works both ways hahaha). I cross the lane as a pedestrian every day - 4 times a day, and it's crazy how no bikes use it! I even saw one bike rider taking up a lane of traffic instead of driving in the bike lane. This kind of arrogance doesn't help the situation.
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Your anecdotal evidence and my anecdotal evidence are the exact opposite of each other. I'm constantly amazed at how many cyclists I see using 7th St.
There is no reason someone should be forced to use the bike lane/cycle track. eg. a right turn from the track onto 6th Ave isn't possible - you need to leave the cycle track and move two lanes over to make a safe right turn. Or if the location you want to go to is on the W side of 7th St. The cycle track is on the E side.
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People get frustrated because bikes are slower, harder to see, are unpredictable, and yes - they frequently break laws and are rude to drivers. Many act as if it's up to everyone else to watch out for them - when they don't seem to care about driving safely themselves.
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Replace bike with vehicles and it's still the same.
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I know there will be lots of people mad about this post, but bike lanes shouldn't be in traffic. Our city is growing, so there isn't room to get rid of vehicle lanes. Bike paths need to be built away from roads - and yes, if there is a bike path in the area then bikes need to be outright banned from roads.
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You're assuming that all bike lanes must replace vehicle lanes (there can only be 1!) - that's not true. Narrowing other lanes (which also reduces speed) to fit in a bike lane works as well.
I disagree entirely that cyclists should be forced to use a path when available.
Multi-Use pathways have a speed limit of 20 km/h (or 10 in some places) and have many different users - pedestrians, dog walkers, rollerbladers, etc. Nor do they scale well once a certain amount of traffic is on them.
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If people insist on driving on busy main roads with their bikes they should be trained, licensed, registered and insured - just like every other vehicle on the road.
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Only busy main roads? Licensing/insuring bicycles is a rabbit hole of pain full of red herrings and wasted time and money. (What about those under 18, the fact a bike isn't a thousand pound projectile, registration doesn't actually pay for what people think it does, etc.)
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It doesn't matter if it's a person on a bike or in a car. If you are causing an unsafe situation then people get mad at you.
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Exactly
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If people are always honking at you then you need to look at one person - yourself - since it's pretty likely you who are acting like the jerk. Seriously, people don't honk at people when they're being safe.
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Anecdotally, the only time I've been honked at cycling is when a driver is being impatient and trying or creating an unsafe situation. Wanting to get around me to make a right instead of the 10 more seconds left in the light sequence, or weaving around me to gun it down a playground zone.
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Pitting vehicles (and pedestrians) against bikes is wrong, but mayor N seems to be fueling the conflict by encouraging unsafe interaction. Wishing it was safe doesn't make it safe. Telling people to all get along won't make it safe. Think of it this way. If you walked in a lane of traffic and got hit people would think you're an idiot. A bike in traffic is no different than a pedestrian, skateboarder, or roller skater in traffic.
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Except for the pesky fact that a bike is a vehicle and is legally entitled to be ridden on the road and not the sidewalk? (Unless that sidewalk is labelled a pathway and good luck telling the difference)