Physically Separated Bike Lanes

I think it's the biker's responsibility to take back control of the road. Most bike messengers I've seen in cities weave between traffic with the same aggression as the taxis. Visiting Buenos Aires, I learned that the hordes of cars, trucks, and motor bikes will weave around you and you'll be fine so long as you don't do something stupid like swerve.

Even still, it's nice to have seperate lanes. I love the two-tiered sidewalks in Copenhagen for padestrians and bikers.

As a biker in a world-class biking city (portland) I oppose putting the bike lane between the sidewalk and the parked cars. Doors opening (ouch) and the cage effect when the lane is blocked.

Of course I'm also a big proponent of sharing the road, but it's different here from the roadways in that video.

Whether or not bicyclists should "take back the road", or drivers should be more aware of cyclists, the fact is that no one is going to go cycling with their kids when they feel in danger on the road. Separated bike lanes would definitely encourage cycling, I know I've always been intimidated to start because of the dangers.

i like the idea of separated lanes - i don't think we can wait for motorist awareness to increase, it's just not going to happen unless it's mandated. one issue with separated lanes: aesthetically it can be really cluttered, and kinda confusing if you're not used to it. ask tourists in amsterdam....

I've ridden in separated lanes while in Berlin and Amsterdam and they were the scariest things ever.
Not only did I need to be hyper aware of pedestrians camping in the lanes, other bicycles moving at a craw, hence unstable, but I was totally unaware of the vehicular traffic around me due to the distance and trees between us. Every intersection that I could just legally go through on the street, required me to stop and watch for turning traffic.

In fact, I would ride in the streets because it was safer.

These lanes may be ideal for non-cyclists, but the fact that they are non-cyclists shouldn't mean we build bike lanes for them.

Great video, and great messaging. Thanks for including this. Hope the NYC government adopts some of these policies soon. I sure wish we could see them here in DC.

Well you have a bit more of a buffer between the car doors and where you would ride I think. I never heard of people getting doored when I lived in Europe, but I'm sure it has happened. I live in Portland now and I wouldn't call it a world class cycling city. I just think, in city centers especially, cars and bikes should be separate. Cars are fast and heavy and the people driving them aren't just driving. They're talking, doing makeup, dropping food on the seat, etc. Separation is a good thing.

I think we have a huge problem in this country, because people perceive driving as a right, not a privilege. Cars kill more people than guns, and more people than drugs, yet few are fighting against cars with the same passion as is directed against guns and drugs. Why do we as a nation accept thousands of needless deaths every year as just a part of modern society?

I think the ideal would be for cyclists and cars to be able to share the road in harmony, with car drivers treating their vehicles with the respect that driving such a weapon of destruction should command.

But until someone finds a way to make that happen, I would really like to see more cities install bike lanes that are completely separated -- by concrete barrier or trees or other impermeable barrier -- from the traffic. Because I would like to be able to commute in an environmentally sensitive and physically healthy manner without risk to myself or my children.

where are the stack hats??

So many people weren't wearing a helmet nor where they checking to make sure the way is clear before swerving around a car.

Yes you may have right of way but do not trust the cager to know, realize or even give a damn about you, To a cager your an inconvenience.

And damn it people wear a stack hat!

"Cars kill more people than guns, and more people than drugs, yet few are fighting against cars with the same passion as is directed against guns and drugs. Why do we as a nation accept thousands of needless deaths every year as just a part of modern society?"
zzxf

I couldn't agree with you more. Sadly I believe the answer to your question is that, like drugs, we are addicted to cars. We need an intervention.

While I agree that helmets are crucial, I also think that the best thing for safety we can do is to ride defensively. But I also agree that we cyclists shouldn't have to worry so much :) Can these people talk to the planners @ LA?

Truly sad to see so many people in that video who were not wearing a helmet.

Maybe the reason people in cars seem to dislaike bikes is simple.

Auto divers pay gas/road taxes, auto drivers see that bikers do not.

At least in Anchorage we have seperated the cars and bikes. And I feel much safer, not safe, just safer.

Why? Too many drunk drivers.....

Maybe the reason people in cars seem to dislaike bikes is simple.

Auto divers pay gas/road taxes, auto drivers see that bikers do not.

At least in Anchorage we have seperated the cars and bikes. And I feel much safer, not safe, just safer.

Why? Too many drunk drivers.....

Maybe the reason people in cars seem to dislaike bikes is simple.

Auto divers pay gas/road taxes, auto drivers see that bikers do not.

At least in Anchorage we have seperated the cars and bikes. And I feel much safer, not safe, just safer.

Why? Too many drunk drivers.....

5000 pound metal car versus 200 pound squishy human.

I wonder who's going to get their way.

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Maybe the reason people in cars seem to dislaike bikes is simple.

Auto divers pay gas/road taxes, auto drivers see that bikers do not.
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Not necessarily true. In Toronto, road maintenance is a municipal responsibility, and comes from property tax revenue. The people that pay for Toronto's roads are the people that live in Toronto. Even renters pay property taxes, however indirectly.

What really bugs me is that the folks who use the roads most - the commuters from the 'burbs - pay NONE of the maintenance because they pay property taxes in Mississauga or The 'Shwa.

Gas tax is a federal/provincial revenue, and _might_ go to some highway maintenance, but as we all know, bikes aren't allowed on highways.

I think physically separated bike lanes would get more people riding which would be a good thing. But the real problem is that drivers consider cyclists as second-class road users.

So, educate drivers so they stop killing cyclists, AND provide some separated bike lanes for beginner commuters and families.

"Maybe the reason people in cars seem to dislaike bikes is simple.

Auto divers pay gas/road taxes, auto drivers see that bikers do not."

That is absolutely not true. We all pay for taxes that are applied to road maintenance whether you drive or not. Someone one who bikes pays less, due to lack of gas taxes. But when you factor tax payment versus damage to road for maintenance, cyclists pat MORE then their share of the road, because bikes cause negligible damage to the road, while cars, SUVs, trucks and buses, tear it to pieces.

"Maybe the reason people in cars seem to dislaike bikes is simple.

Auto divers pay gas/road taxes, auto drivers see that bikers do not."

That is absolutely not true. We all pay for taxes that are applied to road maintenance whether you drive or not. Someone one who bikes pays less, due to lack of gas taxes. But when you factor tax payment versus damage to road for maintenance, cyclists pat MORE then their share of the road, because bikes cause negligible damage to the road, while cars, SUVs, trucks and buses, tear it to pieces.

Paul P from Portland has the right sentiment. Drivers are ignorant. I'm not a cyclist, and I'll say that. Separate bike lanes is definitely a good idea. Even in this smaller town, there are a few cyclists using the road, and they don't seem to care that they're not able to maintain, nor even approach, the posted speed limit, thereby slowing down an entire line of traffic. And you cyclists wonder why we get mad at you? The drivers don't care that you're doing your part to help conserve the environment, or else they'd be cycling, also. I won't "tailgate" a cyclist, but if I feel I'm being slowed down, either on purpose or otherwise, I'll use my horn until the cyclist gets the idea that I, and others, want to continue at a pace faster than a 10spd bicycle. That's why the streets are posted at 25 and 35mph, and not 8mph

I've advocated for moving the bike lanes to between the sidewalk and the park cars for a long time. People said no, we need that space for loading. I ask: is that really a bike lane then?

Also, if a person is going to wear a helmet on an advocacy video, I wish they would wear it properly! Caroline was not.

I'm a much faster than average cyclist, but no matter how strong you are, there are times when traffic is low enough cars are going much faster. I ride as right as practical, but I will not put my self into a ditch for the convenience of cars.

If necessary, cars are supposed to wait until they can half enter the next lane to pass rather then squeeze next to cyclist on road widths that cannot accommodate both. There is a drawing of this that no one looks at or is tested on in the CA driving manual.

In instances where someone honks politely, if there is more room to my right that isn't tore up (right shoulders are often in disrepair) I'll try to make some more room. But to be perfectly honest, if someone gets all aggressive and starts giving blaring repeated or extended honks, which are ear splitting without a metal and glass bubble, than it makes me want to hold my ground and force them to change lanes or wait until they get bored of their aggression not working. More often then not this impatient person will get stuck at the light and I will continue sailing by.

Im all for bikers carrying the type of stickers that are very very hard to get off of cars that say "stay the hell out of my bike lane". see a car in the bike lane ... slap it on and keep on going. they will get the idea soon enough.

The issue is, how are you going to change the attitudes of motorists that cyclists have as much right to the road as they do? It's going to be a long, hard fight to change that attitude, and in the meantime, cyclists will continue to get hurt due to those long standing attitudes.

In some cases, even the Police don't know the laws regarding cyclists and their rights to the road. At one point in the past, within the space of a mile, I had one Cop tell me to get off the road, and another tell me to get off the sidewalk. Each one threatened to give me a ticket.

A couple of years ago, a university of waterloo student here in town was part of a project to demonstrate to drivers how much of a right to the road cyclists had. He, and others, strapped a rig to their bikes that created a "footprint" the size of a car around their bike. They then went riding around town as usual. I witnessed first hand the fury of the motorists regarding this!