Originally Posted by I-Like-To-Bike
Yada, yada, yada about road engineering and Cary, N.C. too. No one is discussing road building/road design as a vehicular cycling concept except you and Forester.
I am not surprised you want to avoid the subject of the credibility of the fundamental Vehicular Cycling premise/conclusion about "Vehicular Cyclists faring best." You know, the "faring best" premise/conclusion with no measured metrics or definitions of what constitutes "faring best". Only the various Forester Brand safety analyses and
tests and statistical mumbo jumbo that Forester and his associates claim
are the best evidence that prove their premise/mantra. But you choose to ignore the issue of lack of validity of Forester furnished "scientific evidence" and conclude that vehicular cycling is valid by sticking to discussing esoteric road design concepts. Works for you, eh?
Most of the local road engineers in my community have become aware of the vehicular cycling paradigm and have made some adjustments in their design standards accordingly. The high numbers of local sidewalk cycling collisions and lack of overtaking collisions on wide outside lanes (and only a couple overtaking collisions at all, on narrow lane thoroughfares), despite higher volumes of roadway cycling than sidewalk cycling, have caused them to rethink their previous emphasis on designating sidewalks as bikeways next to narrow lanes, in favor of wide outside lanes on busy roads with curb/gutter and wide paved shoulders on non-curb/gutter roads. The local engineers have also started experimenting with making traffic signal sensors detect bicycles when those signals are under local maintenance. We are still working on getting the state to do this for state-maintained signals. Cary also has a new ordinance requiring good street connectivity.
My city has been doubling its roadway lane-miles every ten years or so due to its fast growth, and the larger surrounding county of a million or so people is growing almost as fast. Street connectivity, on-roadway passing facility design, sensitivity of signal sensors to bicycles, short-cut paths between subdivisions, land use planning - these are issues that will have very real impacts on the convenience and enjoyability of cycling here, as our community continues to take shape. Thousands of people are now living in new subdivisions, shopping in new commercial areas, and traveling on new roads/lanes and paths that I helped shape while serving on the P&Z board. Thousands more will in the future. I like to think that I have made these places more conducive to bicycle transportation.
From the Cary Bicycle Plan FAQ:
http://www.townofcary.org/depts/dsde...anoverview.htm
What is a ‘bicycle facility’?
A bicycle facility is a structure that enhances accessibility, use, and convenience of
bicycle transportation.
Noted bicycle transportation engineer Richard Moeur describes these ‘principles of good
design’ for bicycle facilities:
�� Treat bicyclists as operators of vehicles
�� Encourage operation in accordance with traffic flow and traffic law
�� Connect destinations in a continuous network
�� Accommodate cyclists without inconvenience or extra travel distance/time
While they most often refer to roads and road modifications, bicycle facilities can consist
of other infrastructure improvements such as bicycle parking, bicycle-sensitive traffic
signals, and compatible road markings, drain grates, and the like. Bicycle Facilities –
Phase 2 implementation includes wide outside lanes and striped bike lanes.
Wide outside lanes, are they safer and/or better than striping a bicycle lane?
The issue of bike lanes versus wide outside lanes is the subject of considerable debate
among bicycle transportation advocates. The bottom line is that there have been too
few studies to answer this question definitively.
While cyclists and motorists may perceive a higher comfort level on roads with striped
bike lanes, wide outside lanes tend to be preferred among experienced cyclists. Why?
Because with very few exceptions, the safest way to ride is as part of the traffic, going
with the flow of the normal traffic pattern. According to the tenets of Effective Cycling,
promoted by the League of American Bicyclists, the national bicycling advocacy
organization, bicyclists fare best when they act as drivers of vehicles and adhere to the
rules of the road.
Wide outside lanes have other benefits
�� Wide outside lanes are more cost-efficient because they can be integrated into new
road construction and road improvements. In other words, they don’t have to be
designated as ‘separate facilities’ when considering funding for new roads.
�� Wide outside lanes require less maintenance than a striped bike lane because they
are narrower than a regular road lane with a bike lane. Since there is no stripe to
keep motorists away from curbside, in the absence of bicyclists, the sweeping action
of motor vehicles clears debris from wide outside lanes continuously, pushing it
closer to the edge and out of bicyclists' way. (The Town will continue to sweep
routes with wide outside lanes routinely and on an ‘as needed’ basis.)
�� Wide outside lanes have one very important intangible: they accommodate bicyclists
in the travel lane as equal drivers of vehicles. Since North Carolina law regards
bicycles as vehicles, bicycle riders have the same rights and responsibilities as
motorists. Bicyclists properly using wide outside lanes demonstrate that bikes
belong.