Originally Posted by billh
Serge, obviously you don't object to lane stripes for motor vehicles, or do you? I forgot.
True. I do not object to lane stripes for vehicles (not just motor vehicles,
any vehicles).
[quote]Motor vehicles have no problem using those lanes. Similarly, most cyclists do not have problems using a BL (this is just my impression, I do not have a study to cite).
Yes, most of the time most cyclists don't have any problems using a BL. So what?
Obviously, there are times when motorists must change lanes, avoid obstacles, etc; but perhaps most of the time they are happy using the marked lane.
Ah, but the nature of ALL (past, present, future) bike lanes (being striped areas from which motorist traffic is mostly restricted, and being alongside lanes used by motorists) is such that they collect rubble, debris, glass, dirt, sand, branches, etc. that is swept from the rest of the roadway by passing motorist traffic. This results in the fact that cyclists often have to travel along the edge of the lane. This phenomena - having to travel along the edge of a lane - is rarely true for motorists.
Now add to this the need for "wiggle room" on either side of a bicycle, since it is a balanced device. Obstacles that cars simply drive over must be swerved around by bicycles and motorcycles - which is why motorists need to pass cyclists with a greater safety passing margin than when passing cars.
Finally consider your own point - that bike lane stripes allow motorists to "know" where cyclists will be riding - in the bike lane; on their side of the stripe. This alleviates the responsibility, both legally and intuitively, that motorists otherwise have to pass cyclists with a safe passing margin.
Most cyclists don't seem to mind this. They "feel safe" because they are on their side of the line, and motorists are on their side. No matter how close they get, they're not going to get hit. So, yes, most cyclists don't have any problems using bike lanes. Until that day that they suddenly have to swerve a couple of feet to the left to avoid something, just as a motorist is passing them from behind... Ignorance is bliss...
Let me put it this way: one of the big problems with bike lanes is precisely because they allow motorists to treat cyclists in bike lanes "just like any other vehicle driver in his own lane". This is a problem because cyclists in bike lanes are NOT "just like any other vehicle driver in his own lane". Bike lanes are not just any other lane. They are inherently prone to collecting debris which forces the occupant to ride along the edge, and the occupant is a balanced cyclist who needs more passing safety margin than do 4 wheeled vehicles. So treating cyclists in a bike lane "just like any other vehicle driver in his own lane" is a big problem. It's inherently dangerous.
I believe a similar argument may be made for cyclists and bike lanes. I took Road I and the instructor showed the videos of "all the problems with" bike lanes: cyclists moving out of the lane into the traffic, right hooks, etc. I remember chuckling and thinking how ridiculous the objection was at the time. I still feel the same way.
I missed the part where you explained why you thought the objection was ridiculous. Because you thought it was safe for motorists to treat cyclists in bike lanes "just like any other vehicle driver in his own lane" and had not considered the problems with that?