Originally Posted by
joejack951
Ok, so bike lanes may lure riders from the sidewalk onto the street according to the authors. How do they accomplish this? By making riders feel as though they aren't riding in traffic, just like on the sidewalk (at least in between intersections)?
With the understanding that there is a large variance in the quality of bike lanes ...
Some bike lanes look attractive since they are designed in conjunction with other engineering changes to the street. So the street is widened, a lane is eliminated, and so on, creating more space allocated to the cyclist.
Bike lanes do seem to reduce minor motorist aggravation ... the honks and such.
I think that the legal consequences of getting in an accident while in a bike lane are much better (including tort).
Of course, there is the perception that they are
much safer than interacting with traffic in a ceteris parabis argument. At least this is my anecdotal belief from conversations with local cyclists who seem to get giddy with a bike lane.