Originally Posted by
BarracksSi
Right hooks and difficult intersections are a problem no matter where you go. You're not going to solve them without making separate elevated ramps for pedestrians, bicycles, and motor vehicles (and while we're at it, why not separate roadways for emergency vehicles?).
One of the better layouts I've experienced was in Heidelberg, Germany, and even though I've been told it's not very good by German standards, it fundamentally doesn't appear to be too much different from the Dutch principles. Peds, bikes, and cars all have their separate facilities. The bike-specific lanes are often technically on the sidewalk but are heavily marked as being for bikes, even with a flush line of brick as a separator and different, or painted, pavement. At intersections, cars, peds, and bikes each have their own signals; in some cases, both cars and bikes are made to wait for pedestrians.
I really don't see what the problem is with such a setup. Everyone gets to where they're going and does so in a reasonable amount of safety. I'm good at negotiating busy traffic here, but I never had to do it over there.
The problem with such a setup is that it depends on motorists paying attention. In Germany and other European countries, motorists have an automatic responsibility with regard to "vulnerable road users" that does not exist in America. Here in the US, the motorist feels they are king of the road and that their car is their rolling castle. That mentality allows for the distraction of everything from cell phones to DVD players with little recourse in the event of motorist misbehavior.