Originally Posted by Helmet Head
This thread is a contest!
Let's see who can state the essence of the pro-Bike Lane and anti-BL positions most succinctly.
Honestly, my friend, the position I can state most succinctly is my own. My position is not pro- nor anti-bike lane. I see both sides of this equation. My only qualifier is that bike lanes manifest themselves as equal to, or better than, the unmodified roadways they compete with, else they are of little use to me. They must make cycling better for me, if I am to support them for myself. If they don't make cycling better for me, I can support them to a degree for those who do find they make cycling better for them, but I also strongly desire they are designed and maintained intelligently for my sake.
As a realist, I recognize that bike lanes, like all other forms of transportational infrastructure we have come to accept as commonplace in modern American cities, are a fact of life I must adapt to. Not that I prefer many of their forms...I would also prefer that roadways be made better for cycling, as well. Just that if bike lanes are going to be built, I must adapt to them as I do to other roadway conditions.
However, adapting to bike lanes seems to me to defeat the purpose of them in the first place. Therefore, I reiterate they should equal or surpass the roadways they compete with for improving cycling. Else, what's a bike lane for?