This is what I'm saying - not that all bike lanes are bad, but that in Andy's world, they are all good, and all are better than normal roads lacking bike stencils, even the most pleasant residential streets with wide pavement, minimal traffic, and low speed limits. To be "Bicycle Friendly" during Andy's reign at LAB, a road needed to have a stripe and a bike stencil on it, or have a sidewalk designated for bikes. That's how the BFC score sheet worked, and how the marketing went.

In my opinion, this praise-segregated-facilities-regardless-of design approach undermines best practices for bicycling operation, and confuses people about what makes cycling safer and more efficient. To extrapolate on what Bek says, it is certainly possible to cycle vehicularly (and defensively) in a bike lane, or on a path for that matter, but we must understand that this requires the bike lane to be designed, routed, and maintained in a manner compatible with best bicycling practices. Until that becomes a priority for those who make their living off of promoting bicycle facilities, many cyclist advocates will find themselves at loggerheads with bikeway advocates.

FYI, here is the LAB article on Cary, NC's BFC award. All but one of the photos were taken by me, donated to the town years ago, before we had any bike lane stripes.
http://www.bicyclefriendlycommunity....pages/cary.pdf

Of interest to ILTB, here's the article on Gainesville, Florida, which seems to be very proud of its sidepaths:
http://www.bicyclefriendlycommunity....ainesville.pdf

Bicycle Friendly Communities showing off their door zone bike lanes:
http://www.bicyclefriendlycommunity....es/orlando.pdf
http://www.bicyclefriendlycommunity....ntain_view.pdf
http://www.bicyclefriendlycommunity..../arlington.pdf
http://www.bicyclefriendlycommunity....ges/denver.pdf
http://www.bicyclefriendlycommunity....pages/mesa.pdf