Commuting - The wonderful bike lanes of Atlanta

I have a short 2.5 mile commute to work, inside the city of Atlanta. The majority of my route has a bike lane, which are somewhat uncommon in the metro Atlanta area. I choose not to use them because of the absolutely horrible condition of all of them. I sometimes get yelled at for this by cagers, but I'd rather not risk my life in those sorry excuses for a bike lane.

For my own amusement I took pictures of the bikes lanes on my commute and I thought I would share. You will see lots of pot holes, cracks in the pavement, debris, storm drains, door zones, metal plates, trash, busses leaning into the lane, and a generally too narrow lane.



http://comradesoffunk.org/jon/bike-lanes/bike00.jpg

http://comradesoffunk.org/jon/bike-lanes/bike01.jpg

http://comradesoffunk.org/jon/bike-lanes/bike02.jpg

http://comradesoffunk.org/jon/bike-lanes/bike03.jpg

http://comradesoffunk.org/jon/bike-lanes/bike04.jpg

http://comradesoffunk.org/jon/bike-lanes/bike05.jpg

http://comradesoffunk.org/jon/bike-lanes/bike06.jpg

http://comradesoffunk.org/jon/bike-lanes/bike07.jpg

http://comradesoffunk.org/jon/bike-lanes/bike09.jpg

I think I see of my old friend west peachtree.

I think I see of my old friend west peachtree.

Indeed those pictures come from 5th Street and W. Peachtree.

Maybe you should get a cyclocross bike.

I'm impressed someone marked the door hazard. Doubt that was the GaDOT's doing.

The only good bike lanes (meaning where the road is shared) in the state are in Calaway Gardens.

http://comradesoffunk.org/jon/bike-lanes/bike03.jpg



Get those bikes out of my door lane!

I spent about a month in Atlanta last year for work; the city (compared to NYC, Philly, SF, and other cities I've been to) seems absolutely HORRIBLE for cycling; it was difficult to WALK around in! Most times (except for the midtown area) I was the ONLY person walking on the street. Atl is also the only city I can think of which has a seedy part of downtown.

I dont see any markings to indicate that those are bike lanes.

I lived in Auburn, AL for several years in the 90s and pedaled about town there with no problems. However Atlanta is 100 miles up I-85 and 100 times larger, so there's no comparison. I have been to ATL many times and would be scared to ride around the city except on Sunday morning before 8 am. It's like that in many cities in the southeast, and outside the cities on the rural county and state roads. A decent shoulder on the road is typically not there, you better have a good mirror, and pick your route with care.

Wow, looks like Houston, wel except for the hact you have cars parked and the bike lane goes around them. Most people just park in the bike lane.

Atl is just the worst, more often than not those big metal plates become part of the road for over a year.

http://www.dot.state.ga.us/dot/plan-prog/planning/projects/bicycle/maps/index.shtml
Georgia's state bike routes.
Click on the green route signs and it'll give you turn by turn directions. Folks who know the state should get a kick out of them.

I must not know what good is. They don't seem bad to me.

They seem to be OK unless you have skinny 23mm tires.
Some people commute on gravel roads without a problem.

I recently spent a week in Atlanta (my first visit to the US) and I saw one, say one, cyclist.

That must have been you.

http://www.warringtoncyclecampaign.co.uk/facility-of-the-month

you're not alone

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/pete.meg/wcc/facility-of-the-month/castlepoint.jpg

I dont see any markings to indicate that those are bike lanes.

You can't see it in any of my pictures, but those lanes are indeed marked with a bike symbol.

Markhr,

Does that bike lane head you straight into a tree? Is that on your route?

...Markhr,

Does that bike lane head you straight into a tree? Is that on your route?

It's not on my route but is one of many crap cycle lanes in the UK where it's illegal to cycle on the pavement. Inspite of this many idiot planners try to shoehorn cycle lanes onto pavements. Clearly planners have never read either cyclecraft (http://www.cyclecraft.co.uk/) or effective cycling (http://www.amazon.com/Effective-Cycling-6th-John-Forester/dp/0262560704) :rolleyes:

Warrington cycle campaign have even produced a book on the problem of useless bikelanes.

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/pete.meg/wcc/facility-of-the-month/CCL.jpg (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Crap-Cycle-Lanes-Warrington-Campaign/dp/1903070589)

Looks like most bike lanes to me. They're not meant to help you, they are just a step towards getting you off the road. A typical persons response to those bike lanes would be, use them, or if not drive your car.

Looks like most bike lanes to me. They're not meant to help you, they are just a step towards getting you off the road. A typical persons response to those bike lanes would be, use them, or if not drive your car.

Exactly - a judge "over here" declared cycle facilities MUST be used where installed. Lucklily, that was over turned on appeal by the cyclists' defence fund lawyers (if I recall correctly).

^^^There are quite a few must use laws here. We have a "must use" law in my town. We weren't able to beat it, but we were able to pull the bike path/lane funding. So we have a "must use" bike lane law, but no bike lane.

^^^There are quite a few must use laws here. We have a "must use" law in my town. We weren't able to beat it, but we were able to pull the bike path/lane funding. So we have a "must use" bike lane law, but no bike lane.

I"m sure the people who prefer bike lanes thank you profusely. Did it ever occur to you that some cyclists don't want to ride in traffic?

Not that it's entirely relevant, but which streets had must-use bike lanes? Last I checked, most posted limits in your town are 25mph anyway. While I don't agree with your tactics, I'm at a loss as to what streets wouldn't facilitate in-street cycling.

Looks like most bike lanes to me. They're not meant to help you, they are just a step towards getting you off the road. A typical persons response to those bike lanes would be, use them, or if not drive your car.

Sometimes I feel the city wants to claim they have a bike infrastructure, so they do the absolute minimum to make that claim.

I'm impressed someone marked the door hazard. Doubt that was the GaDOT's doing.

The only good bike lanes (meaning where the road is shared) in the state are in Calaway Gardens.

I think they are marking how narrow they want the new painting of the bike lane to be :p

I"m sure the people who prefer bike lanes thank you profusely. Did it ever occur to you that some cyclists don't want to ride in traffic?

Not that it's entirely relevant, but which streets had must-use bike lanes? Last I checked, most posted limits in your town are 25mph anyway. While I don't agree with your tactics, I'm at a loss as to what streets wouldn't facilitate in-street cycling.

yes, because we all know how cycle lanes always encourage new cyclists :rolleyes:

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/pete.meg/wcc/facility-of-the-month/look-both-ways.jpg

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/pete.meg/wcc/facility-of-the-month/mulhouse.jpg

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/pete.meg/wcc/facility-of-the-month/harlow-dismounts.jpg

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/pete.meg/wcc/facility-of-the-month/st-noets-road.jpg

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/pete.meg/wcc/facility-of-the-month/tamworth-road-croyden.jpg

...want me to go on?

Cyclists are by far safer, faster and more visible cycling with traffic than excluded by misguided ideas that cyclists shouldn't be part of traffic.

There've been multiple fatal accidents in the UK where even experienced cyclists who follow bike lanes have either ended up either crushed under turning vehicles or pushed into stationary objects/vehicles by turning traffic. Even more at risk are inexperienced and timid cyclists who are most likely to wrongly assume that bike lnes are there to help them.

The books I recommended use the principle that if you wouldn't do it in a car (not signalling, no lights and reflectors, passing on the inside, driving on the pavement, running red lights, not checking before changing lanes, kerb crawling, driving against traffic, etc.) then you shouldn't be doing it on a bicycle.

Ride as you would drive for a strict road test and you should be ok. Situational awareness is key as most road users attempt the bare minmum to get by and are quite often distracted.

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/pete.meg/wcc/facility-of-the-month/mulhouse.jpg


Look they put in a slolum for the cyclist that was nice of them.

For me, bike lanes are unnecessary and further confuse the already confused motorist. I don't bother with them.

They looked ok to me too. The buses stop any where they want too. Half of Atlanta's roads are covered with those big medal plates they are not just in the bike lanes. Those grates or manhole covers often are in roads w/o bike lanes too. Just go around them.

Those lanes don't look all that bad to me. The worst one was the big metal plate; I'd hate to hit a hunk of steel that big in the rain.
As far as smoothness, I ride 8 miles of gravel a day that's pretty much made of washboard and potholes; I'd purely love to have those bike lanes instead.

yes, because we all know how cycle lanes always encourage new cyclists :rolleyes:


...want me to go on?

Cyclists are by far safer, faster and more visible cycling with traffic than excluded by misguided ideas that cyclists shouldn't be part of traffic.

There've been multiple fatal accidents in the UK where even experienced cyclists who follow bike lanes have either ended up either crushed under turning vehicles or pushed into stationary objects/vehicles by turning traffic. Even more at risk are inexperienced and timid cyclists who are most likely to wrongly assume that bike lnes are there to help them.


It's fairly specious logic to say that any sort of device, implemented badly, is representative of the device itself. Yes, the bike 'lanes' you show are awful. However, using that logic to say that lanes are bad in general is about as intelligent as claiming that bridges are bad because one collapsed in Minneapolis.

I do believe that some cyclists appreciate well-designed bike lanes. I'm not generally among them, but I figure to each his own. What's annoying is when a group of people claim to represent a broad swath of people who might in fact disagree with them, which is what I originally mentioned.

http://www.warringtoncyclecampaign.co.uk/facility-of-the-month

you're not alone

[IMG]http://homepage.ntlworld.com/pete.meg/wcc/facility-of-the-month/castlepoint.jpg[IMG]

Wow is all I got to say:

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/pete.meg/wcc/facility-of-the-month/harlow-dismounts.jpg

I have no bike lanes and no shoulder on my short commute as well as on most roads around here, so I'd take what Atlanta has over what I have. I'm forced to be part of traffic, but even then I ride with traffic and rarely have any problems, cars seem to be very polite around here.

Where's the traffic? These must have been taken off-hours, right?
Looks like most of my 8-mile commute, sans "lanes." But add more gravel, deeper holes, train tracks, lots of traffic and viola - !

Where's the traffic? These must have been taken off-hours, right?
Looks like most of my 8-mile commute, sans "lanes." But add more gravel, deeper holes, train tracks, lots of traffic and viola - !

Yeah, these were taken on a sunday morning.

The bike lanes in my town are some of the most dangerous places to ride here. Not for debris or potholes, but because motorists use them for passing at full speed, which is usually at least 50mph. I avoid them at all costs.

Denver's bike lanes are generally fine. A bit dirty this time of year but so is just about everything.
The irritating thing is the side affect that motorists tend to believe you belong there and should not ride outside of the bike lane or on streets without them.
Give me a sharrow any day.
All in all, I do not care if bike lanes exist or not. I will use them if they do but I have no desire to campaign for more to be built. I have plenty of bike friendly roads to use.

yes, because we all know how cycle lanes always encourage new cyclists :rolleyes:

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/pete.meg/wcc/facility-of-the-month/look-both-ways.jpg

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/pete.meg/wcc/facility-of-the-month/harlow-dismounts.jpg

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/pete.meg/wcc/facility-of-the-month/st-noets-road.jpg

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/pete.meg/wcc/facility-of-the-month/tamworth-road-croyden.jpg



Wow, I was pretty much baffled by this. "Cyclist Dismount"? I'd have to give up wearing my road cycling shoes if I moved there. And my road bike, unless I could cram some fat tires into my frame & fork.

I commute down Peachtree St. I get off work at 11:00pm, and you would be amazed at the number of bikes out at that time of night. Some well lit, some not. In general though, Peachtree isn't as hostile to cyclists as you might think. I'm knocking on wood here.

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/pete.meg/wcc/facility-of-the-month/mulhouse.jpg


Look they put in a slolum for the cyclist that was nice of them.

:roflmao:

about the OP's pics... that doesn't really look that bad to me. but maybe because i'm used to crappy roads here.. and there's ALWAYS construction going on at UC Berkeley where i work... metal covers everywhere, sewer vents, cracks/dips/bumps in the road, all that good stuff

:roflmao:

about the OP's pics... that doesn't really look that bad to me. but maybe because i'm used to crappy roads here.. and there's ALWAYS construction going on at UC Berkeley where i work... metal covers everywhere, sewer vents, cracks/dips/bumps in the road, all that good stuff

The roads, at least in London, are good and there's a reporting system for potholes/repairs that works if a little slowly. The complete wastes of public money bike lanes are crap and seem to be tacked on by idiot planners who apparently never leave their cars. I shouldn't complain really, in some areas there're virtually no pedestrian facilities either but I can still ride my bike in the road.