the de facto purpose of bike infrastructure is to allow vehicles of different speed and mode characteristics efficient use of roadways, encourage bicycling via infrastructure and effectively reduce the numbers of sidewalk cyclists.
bike lanes in cities like bogota or copenhagen are not designed to 'keep bikes out of the way of cars', biker infrastructure is designed to encourage cycling and safer conditions for bicyclists.
proven, seen in cities around the world. why do american bicyclists suffer with poor road conditions? (not that a 5 foot bike lane is poor ) thank the vehicular cyclist movement and jon forestor for that debacle.
in the last decade some american cities are reversing the trend with more thoughtful bike lane designs built in excess of AASHTO guidelines that five feet with gutter pan is minimum. traffic engineers are repeatedly instructed to consider bike infrastructure in excess of the aashto minimums. cities can legally design a wider bike lane. push for it, dude!
And streetscape design is taking a step back from autocentrism; the 2004 AASHTO 'green book' manual downgrades arterial requirements and additionally directs communties to design neighborhood 'local' streets with the motorists secondary to peds and bikes. CARS SECONDARY!
thats just neighborhood streets, but government road design mandates are progressing and moving away from autocentricity and the corresponding cycling debacle that has haunted american bicycling infrastructure efforts for decades.
Last edited by Bekologist; 05-27-08 at 09:16 PM.