Originally Posted by sbhikes
A lot of people on these forums seem capable of riding quite fast. I do not think that 25mph is a safe speed for cyclists on residential streets or near intersections. I believe it's safer to go much slower. VCers might feel ok taking the lane because they are going the speed of traffic, but I think it's unsafe. I prefer to go slower and use the bike lane.
I will stop at the side of the road and wait until traffic goes before merging into a left turn lane rather than stick my arm out and try to get an opening sometimes.
This is an interesting point. To bike the way I do (vehicularly), I feel like I need to ride hard and fast to be safe. 25mph may be pushing it, but I do tend to approach intersections at full bore, to better mix with car traffic and get into the lane I need. I feel the lower the speed differential between me and the cars, the better it is for me. Not everybody does this, and not everybody is able. What of them?
Bike lanes and MUP's seem to me to be the best facilities for slower folk. The errors of moterists around these facilities are lessened because cars can sweep by a slower cyclist faster. For instance, a slower cyclist will be less susceptable to a right hook because distance the cyclist has to be away from the intersection to be susceptable is less. A slower cyclist can also react and stop faster than a fast cyclist, mitigating the dangers of intersections.
Perhaps there is a speed cutoff between when vehicular cycling is necessary and when a more segregated (to adopt Serge's term, but with less weighty implication) style is necessary. Below this speed, segregated facilities are desired. Above, less segregation is required. Since the high speed cyclists can make do with either, we should put in the cycling facilities to better include all different types of cyclists.