Originally Posted by noisebeam
Then the higher speed roads where bike lanes are added, any cyclist must have the skills to merge left/right in traffic and destination position oneself at intersections. Bike lanes do nothing to help here - what good are the 1/2-1mi stretches between intersections with nice bike lanes if the difficult part for any cyclist (experienced or not) is the intersections?
Bike lanes are a great help to "folk" cyclists in those conditions. They don't need to negotiate intersections as such: If going straight, just go straight through*. If turning and not comfortable changing lanes, they get off the bike at the intersection and use the crosswalks. I do see people riding this way - very inefficient, but if it makes them comfortable then great.
For some people, a bike lane on a busy road may be the ONLY way they will ever cycle from point A to point B.