sggoodri

If we define vehicular cycling as being obedience of the normal vehicular traffic laws while operating on a particular road, then vehicular cycling is absolutely for everybody who rides on that road. Contrary operation is illegal and dangerous.

If we instead define vehicular cycling as being instantly able to use every roadway and every turn lane safely and comfortably, then no, it takes some practice and skill to get there, even for physically fit cyclists, and there are some places where even an experienced cyclist will have difficulty merging over to a left turn lane. Heck, I experience similar difficulties in my car.

Starting out on slower and lower volume streets helps one develop the skill and confidence to ride safely and comfortably on more and more busy and faster streets, just like when learns to drive a car. But even with just a beginner's level of learning, vehicular cycling provides safe and comfortable access to a very broad network of pleasant roads. Using those roads in a way contrary to the rules of the road would make them less safe, and so vehicular cycling skills are very useful.

So what do we do about the unpleasant roads, where only the most confident, seemingly physically fit cyclists seem to be comfortable riding? There are couple of strategies that I think are useful here:

- One strategy is for the government to promote better connections between low-speed low-volume roads, so that traffic-averse cyclists can reach more destinations on the easier roads.

- Another strategy of is for the less pleasant roads to be re-engineered in ways that cyclists will be safer or feel more comfortable (as long as the design for comfort does not actually reduce safety). Wider pavement in the area where cyclists will operate near overtaking motor traffic may be useful here. This can be accomplished by reducing the lane count, shifiting lane lines toward the inside, removing parking, or widening the road. Also, high-speed right turn lanes and merge lanes can be avoided. However, I don't believe that traffic control devices that demand cyclists operate contrary to the normal vehicular rules (such as "bike boxes", door-zone bike lanes, narrow bike lanes on steep descents, bike lanes to the right of right-turn-only-lanes, and mandatory-use sidepaths) are useful for improving safety.

-Another strategy is more vigorous enforcement of traffic laws for motorists, in conjunction with education efforts for motorists to drive safely around cyclists on busy roads.

-Last, but not least, cyclists can dismount and make pedestrian-style left turns where they find traffic volumes to be so high that merging into the left lane safely would be too difficult. Better engineering of pedestrian facilities such as sidewalks, crosswalks and pedestrian signals can assist with this. Note that dismounting and following pedestrian rules is not a violation of vehicular rules. It isn't an example of vehicular cycling, but it doesn't conflict with vehicular cycling either.

I support, and practice, all of the above in the appropriate context. As a member of the Cary NC Planning and Zoning Board, I promote better residential street connectivity, better pavement width on major roads, avoidance of high-speed merge and right-turn-only lanes where they would create problems for slower cyclists, Better motorist law enforcement, and better pedestrian accommodations. I ride all over town pulling my two year old son in a Burley trailer, usually slowly, and I never violate the vehicular rules of the road, and I don't ride on sidewalks, although I do avoid some major roads and I do make an occasional pedestrian left turn, or dismount to cross a street while stopping on the median like a pedestrian.

I find vehicular cycling to be very useful. There are some linear park paths that I ride on occasion, but those paths will never get me everywhere I want to go the way roads can, unless they get built as sidepaths, in which case I find a pleasant roadway to be far superior. I have not had any trouble teaching these techniques to the friends and family who join me on my rides. I am sorry if others have more difficulty.

-Steve Goodridge