The problem with enforcement in an area like that is any attempt to stop someone only plugs up the works. Maybe they need to added a 'police enforcement lane'.

-Lego

I was biking where that picture was taken today(for the first time in 2008 due to poor conditions) and some lady on a cell phone in that exact lane during that time managed to blurt out her window "get off the road" ...ah cycling in Toronto 2008 and only the first day!

p.s Physically Separated Bike Lanes: Heaven..and it helps angst filled drivers.

Hmm, maybe something similar to red-light cameras? Just take pictures of all the cars in that lane, and anyone in that lane who does not meet the criteria gets a ticket.

Forget enforcement. Sharing bike lanes with cars does NOT work. Why do you think the cycling population in the US is very low? It does not matter if bicycles and cars have the same rights. One hit by a car, who do you think ends up with a couple of broken bones.

If US wants to convince people to commute by bicycle, separated bike lanes (in the sidewalk) are the way to go. Just take a look in Munich, Germany. The sidewalks have two lanes, one for pedestrians and one for bicycles.
http://www.futuregringo.com/munich/bikelane1.JPG

> Sharing bike lanes with cars does NOT work.

It does, but it requires a few things:

1. The ability of the bike rider to understand how to ride in traffic, and that means to not be afraid of these metal monsters.
2. The understanding by the drivers of these cars that bikes belong on the road too.

The problem is that 2 can only happen when there are enough 1s, but most 1s want to wait until there are enough 2s. Catch-22.

As far as enforcement goes. Ha! I remember when I still lived in Toronto there is a Buslane / bike lane that goes past by the Police HQ, not even ONCE did I see a cop ticket a car driving in that lane, and I went over that stretch of road quite a bit.

The DMV supports driving in bike lanes in Wisconsin.

My daughter got her license a year ago and when the DMV examiner was going over her road test, he deducted a point for not going into the bike lane at a corner. I asked him, "aren't those for bikes only?" His response was if it is not used then take it over.

So the Wisconsin DMV requires cars to use biike lanes when they are not occupied with bike riders.

What else do you expect from Toronto, Lloyd?! The city councillors talk about a helthy city all the time but then they allow big box stores to be built in the Beaches. One got in at Leaslie and Lakeshore and another one is going to go into the same general vicinity. Nothing is enforced, nothing is really thought out, and it is always 20/20 hindsight when pitching for re-election.

Bicycle lanes are kind of a joke here in Chicago. Although they are--in theory--incredibly practical/logical/what have you, they really are failing.

When I lane is clearly marked, there are cars parked to the side and you regularly risk being doored (a not pleasant, and quite dangerous experience), and often pedestrians see it as a "safe zone", or cars just use the additional space for passing, or there is a bus weaving in and out of it to get to their stop. While when it is NOT clearly marked with painted lines, there is some neon signing telling you that it is a shared lane and motorists should pay caution to cyclists. Which really, doesn't happen.

We have fines now for making right hand/left hand turns in front of cyclists and opening doors in front of them. All prove ineffective unless someone is actually involved in an accident under that circumstance so there is reason to take note and issue a fine.

Cyclists are seen often (not always) as a problem. We have to be dealt with, our lives are at risk because we enjoy a mode of transportation that conflicts with the efficiency of the popular and environmentally damaging mode of transportation shared be others.

We do need a valid lane, not one that is only recognized when we are in it.

And you can't throw our lane on a sidewalk with pedestrians. I'm sorry, sure it works in Munich just fine but have you ever used a bike/ped lane here? The lakefront trail is a prime example of what a problem that can be. Pedestrians pay no mind to cyclists, cyclists have to worry about the speed they are commuting at. Pedestrians then start to complain about cyclists and dogwalking becomes a terror for them. And cyclists stop reaping the benefit of commuting by bike. I could go on...

Cyclists are traffic, should be treated as traffic.
They deserve a lane, and to be recognized, really legitimately recognized, by motorists as legitimate traffic.

Cities need to see the bike lane for more than the safety it can bring to cyclists.

But rather, see it as a step for bike advocacy, encouraging better commuting practices and freeing up automobile traffic.

As far as enforcement of bicycle/bus lanes, all too often I fear it is regarded as a de minimis situation within the law, meaning it is a triviality not worth expending time and resources to enforce. Kind of like non-enforcement when cars pass on the right-hand side, or don't use their headlights in the rain. Many such "trivial" breaches of the law create dangerous situations, but as other posters noted, unless an actual incident occurs, don't expect anyone to be ticketed. Here in Atlanta, the police force is so understaffed (about 400 officers short), they're doing all they can just to keep homicide and drug crimes in check, so of course there isn't enough manpower to enforce red lights and bike lanes. Not only is it a manpower issue, but I also believe it to be a specialization issue. Police officers on bicycles should be monitoring bike lanes, riding on them throughout the day--they could actually slip up through these car-choked bike lanes to give the cars choking them tickets.

In Vancouver,BC we have bike routes on residential roads running parallel to the main routes. There are lights to cross major streets, with crossing buttons for cyclists. It mostly works well, there are problems of course. I find it much more pleasant to ride on these streets, than breathing in all the exhaust on the main streets. Doesn't work in downtown areas of course.

Intersections are the most dangerous part of sidewalk bike routes, you pop out in to traffic at intersections, better to be part of the flow of traffic where you're visible. Some maniac bikers give us all a bad name here, they are much worse than drivers when it comes to flaunting the rules. I'm not surprised that there are serious accidents, when I see someone on a bike running a 4 way stop at 50 km/h. A lot of people are paranoid about being hit from behind on a bike, I think accidents at intersections are more the norm, and much more serious.

I moved out of Montreal last year as they were finishing a huge extension to a separated bike lane that ran most of the way across the city, parallel to the main street downtown, St. Catherine. The bike lane had two lanes in it and was seperated from the road by a large cement curb. The city even had plans to clear the snow during the winter and designed the bpath to be wide enough for a small snowplow to go through it. I don't know how well it is working out now, but it looked beautiful and very inviting to ride on when I last saw it. Maybe someone should take a look at how that is working out in Montreal - maybe it will help the cause.

A lot of people were upset about the path though, because it eliminated hundreds of downtown parking spots. No big deal to me, it's easier to get around on the subway in downtown Montreal anyway!