Big Lebowski

Agreed. My long-winded post tried to explain why.

dynodonn 

Either merge into the adjacent lane before the traffic light, or use the RTOL after the traffic light, then merge into the bike lane.

mtbikerinpa

TBH a controlled taking of the lane would be my best thought. Since we don't get bike lanes often in PA it is pretty normal to ride on/in 45mph roads. They have more than one lane to drive in, just don't dally about it.

psy

yep

gerv 

I'm having a hard time completely understanding the situation, but since you're a seasoned cyclist, I trust your instincts and you should trust your own. If the situation is that bad, I'd phone city hall and start hollering. I'd also phone any cycling organization that might listen. Whoever striped those lanes probably did it from a Land Rover....

As I'm getting older and remarking that I'm still alive, I'm not hesitant to get off my bike and do a little sidewalk if the street looks dicey. If there's no foot traffic I might even stay on my bike a bit...

CB HI

With a double right turn on the second intersection, sidewalk riding seems the least safe to me. The motorist will make that right turn from both lanes regardless if the light is green or red. Even if you get the motorist to stop for you in the right most right turning lane, the motorist in the left right turning lane is not likely to see you or stop for you.

Even the first intersection with no stop right turns exiting and entering the main road is a dangerous situation for sidewalk riding.

GamblerGORD53

I think CB missed the part about there is now only 1 turn lane at the end of the block.
He is right about the new lanes almost forces VC or sidewalk, at least from a red light start.

Myself , after looking at Big Leb's pic, I now think the OLD set-up is FAR FAR better, but a bit slower of course.
It actually does use the sidewalk to cut across (at a better 90 degree angle) those now 1 lane each exit + entrance lanes with the island safe zone inbetween.
I think that the vast majority of cars that would enter that roundabout lane will come straight thru the light with the bike flow. If the bike is stopped at the light and is already to the left of the turn lane, then it should be NO problem riding
along the curb lane setup. By the time the bike gets to the end of the next block, the cars would be already by the bike, while the light is turning red again. So it should be not a major problem to cross on the curve and then see about what is comming from the right. Those cars would be thinking it's free flow and stomping on the gas while not neccessarily seeing the bikes now going full speed on the new lane at the top of the island.

The new way forces 3 MAJORLY very dangerous merge crossovers in short order. There is no safe zone anywhere there.
Cars almost always will yeild to bikes, in that second corner/ island situation, here. Clear sailing for us.

Andy_K 

Yeah, crossing the island from the sidewalk is no problem at all if you're willing to wait for traffic to pass. Getting across the RTO lane in the new situation is challenging even if you're willing to wait for traffic to pass because it's close enough to the intersection that traffic can turn from 185th can surprise you, not to mention the challenge of interpreting which lane the headlights are in on a dark, rainy night.

Big Lebowski

So, you'd use the sidewalk beginning at 185th? I suppose as long as you are looking behind you when getting to the middle then looking to your right to cross again back onto the sidewalk. Then, stay on the sidewalk until it is safe to re-enter Baseline.

I have a similar situation. My express bus home drops me off at a terrible location and I must get off there. I walk my bike on a sidewalk for 1/8 to 1/4 of a mile to a safer location before getting on the street and riding home.

Good luck.

P.S. I saw this on google maps. It is an image of a rider slightly further east on Baseline. He doesn't look too worried. No helmet, riding with one hand, no high-viz gear. Looks like a safe road to me!

Andy_K 

Baseline is actually an outstanding road to ride on. Most of it goes along fences that mark the backside of cul-de-sac clusters. There are very few places for cars to turn on or off and there's no on-street parking, so it's one of the best places possible for a bike lane. They just screwed it up in this one place.

dscheidt

Yeah, don't just submit a request from a web page. Pick up the phone, and call the city or county highway department. I'd also call who ever your local elected official at that level is, and who ever it is at the intersection, if they're different. Don't take 'we'll get back to you' as an answer. If they don't get back to you in a couple days, call again. And again. They might not get it fixed, but they should be able to explain why it can't be, if that's the case.

Lot's Knife

I trust the OP's instincts, but from an outsider's perspective, this would seem to be the best option.

ItsJustMe

I would invite the planning authorities to ride along with you through that intersection during a busy time of day.

mr_pedro

Actually, now that I have given the pictures a second look, it doesn't seem like a very big deal (as far as can be judged from the lazy chair).
If you just ride on the left side of the bike line then you will end up in the middle of the right turn lane when the bike lane ends. At that point cars coming from behind have to break and stay behind you.
So it might get you out of your comfort zone of always hugging the right side of the road, but safest way to proceed is to not let you be pushed to the side so that it becomes easier to cross over when the bike lane continues on the left.

Andy_K 

Well, I'll admit that I just don't like using the phone, but I really think in this case the web form was better than you might think (not least because the county roads people actually seem to like it). What I like about it is that it packages my exact words in a form that is easy for the first line support people to pass on to the people I really want it to get to and doesn't depend on me being on the phone at whatever time the person I need to talk to is actually available.

I submitted the form at 6:15 PM on Friday. At 10:30 AM today (Monday) I got a generic response from the county's Public Information Officer saying she had forwarded my concern to Traffic Engineering. At 11:40 today, I got a response from someone in Traffic Engineering, who also CC'ed their Bicycle and Pedestrian Coordinator. I love it when technology works.

Unfortunately, this was the response:

"These transitions are definitely not easy for bicycles. We have a handful of them around the county with various striping layouts. The Oregon Department of Transportation recently approved a standard striping layout for these situations, which is what we installed on Baseline Rd east of 185th Ave in conjunction with the recent repaving. Your concern is the 100 ft section that's between the curb-tight bike lane to the bike lane that's to the left of the turn lane. This 100 ft long area is for bikes to transition between the two marked bike lanes, as they feel it's appropriate. I know that during busy times this can be challenging, but this is intended to be the permanent striping layout."

I looked up the new standard and followed up explaining in more detail what I didn't like about it, suggesting what seems to me to be a better alternative and asking about any formal process I should go through to request a review. At this point, I'm still hopeful.

ckaspar

Another alternative would be to head South on 185th until you catch the break in the median just past Stepping Stone. Flip a U-turn then turn right down Stepping Stone and proceed. It is a little longer than your original route and I am not sure how 185th or Stepping Stone is for streets but it is another shot.

CB HI

Actually I thought the OP was riding left to right in the aerial photo (and I was considering the second intersection that still shows a double right turn), but the OP is really riding right to left.

Still seems best to ride VC not knowing what is coming up at the next intersection (seeing how poorly the entire road is designed).

John_1961

Know you're hand signals "AND USE THEM" they work alo infest in a britely colordreflective cycling saftyvest they and yes they do workvery well. Also stay alert and look ahead.

Andy_K 

No, you had it correct. I'm riding left to right and the problem is at the second intersection. The aerial photo is just out-of-date.

PatrickGSR94

I would do this. Cars use that spot without striping to transition right between the locations of the bike lanes. But you keep riding straight and use the turn lane farther down as your transition spot over to the bike lane to your left. Just watch and be careful as you continue straight past the nearer bike lane. Let a car immediately to your right go on ahead, but make sure other cars behind see that you're there.

If you're there at the red light, I would probably pull out ahead as soon as the cross light turns red (after you're sure no one will try to run it) to be sure to be in front of any cars in the right turn lane so that you have time to get over to the lane on your left.

joshuatrio

Heck yeah. Take the sidewalk.

rumrunn6

riding with 50 mph traffic? they probably put in the bike lane cuz someone was killed. reasearch to see what you can find, but also find an alternate route otherwise you'll be commuting in a pine box one way only

juggleaddict

This is what I would do as well. If I got a ticket for it, I would explain it to a judge as you have here. It is for your safety and for the safety of all the other cars that you would choose not to ride in the far right lane.

The only time I have been hit, it was because I was trying to stay in the bike lane until I actually needed to get over to turn, unfortunately it was across 4 lanes of traffic and as one car on my left waved me over another was trying to come up around the left side of them them and cut them off to make a turn to the right. I can easily see a similar situation happening here where someone is trying to get over at the last minute as you're merging left.

Andy_K 

If I could get to the lane that the yellow car is in, I could get to the second bit of bike lane. The problem is getting across the far right automobile lane. There is a spot about a half mile before this where I probably could get in that lane before the far right lane appears, but that has its own problems.

Andy_K 

Actually this is one of only about three lanes that cross the county east-to-west without disappearing into a maze of cul-de-sacs. As such, it has had a bike lane from one end to the other (with the exception of the 100-feet or so at the traffic island pictured above) for many years.

I've been talking to a county traffic engineer and it sounds like the new striping is part of a program to standardize county-wide on the handling of traffic configurations like the one pictured here. Apparently, this is now one of five intersections in the county handled in this same way (though I contend its the only one with heavy traffic on both cross streets). The new striping is the recommended best practice in the Oregon DOT Traffic Manual.

The traffic engineer who has been helping me suggested that if I don't feel like I can safely cross over to the left-side bike lane then I can basically disregard the lane striping and stay in the position of the curb tight bike lane until I get to the sidewalk cut-out that lets me wait until I can safely cross the right turn lane. That seems like a fairly reasonable solution. It essentially amounts to taking the lane in the turning lane. I suppose I could even stay in the turning lane and go straight onto the paved opening in traffic island since there's only one turning lane now and I wouldn't need to worry about anyone going around me on the left.