Originally Posted by sbhikes
STRONGLY disagree based on empircal evidence and just plain horse sense. People move over more when there's a bike lane and they move over less when there is not.
Huh? Even most bike lane supporters acknoledge studies (and their own experiences) that have found that cyclist/motorist passing distance is less when a bike lane stripe is present. This downside is said to be OK as the passing is claimed to be more consistent and there is faith in the line to prevent larger distance variations that may make passing more uncomfortable vs. more consistently close.
Anyway studies or not, my personal experience is that motorists by at least a 50:1 ratio more often move over leftward when I am riding in right side of a WOL vs. in a BL, with the result being larger passing distance and a visual clue that the motorist passing has for at least a minor moment, noticed me.
Al