Originally Posted by
degnaw
I find that on a 2-lane road with a center turn lane, the turn lane has the same effect as a bike lane; drivers can pass a full lane to the left without necessarily waiting for oncoming traffic. This obviously brings up the suicide lane issue, but that's never been a problem to date.
except when the drivers refuse to use the center lane to pass and just honk and get angry instead. happened to me twice this winter so far.
I think space separate from the general traffic flow is a preferable treatment for bicyclists on higher speed corridors.
converting a two lane with center turn lane into a two lane with bikelanes and turn pockets for significant intersections sounds great for bicyclists needs. check out this rural highway design below. Like Steve mentions, it all depends on the level of traffic, turning traffic, delays and safety issues generally.
Oregon specifies in some way that all highways have widened shoulders added anytime road improvements are made so as to benefit bicyclists.