Originally Posted by LittleBigMan
I was thinking the same thing. My concern arises from the tendency to build roads in suburban areas that have freeway-like characteristics. In my neighborhood, even though the speed limit on one of these pseudo-freeways is 40 mph. and peppered with traffic lights and driveways (even homes,) it's common for the speed of general traffic to approach freeway speeds.
This creates a bleed-over effect on older roads designed for even slower residential traffic. Drivers accustomed to flying along at up to 150% of the posted speed limit tend to do the same thing in residential areas where the posted limit is 25 to 35 mph.
The end result is the intimidation of cyclists and potential cyclists through excessive speed.
+1
The roads that HH and I both ride for our commutes are marked at 50MPH and traffic tends to be much faster. Sure, the roads are negotiable... by skilled experienced cyclists... but they don't make up the best part of my commute, that's for sure.