Originally Posted by Serge *******
But my issue really isn't with bike lanes per se, it's really about integration versus separatism.
In the South there used to be laws separating blacks and whites with respect to water fountain use. I don't mean to trivialize the horror of racism, but to a point the analogy works. Back then the courts accepted the argument that such separatism was not violating anyone's rights, because no one was being prevented access to water. Blacks had water, and so did whites. So whose rights were being violated? For these people who accepted this view, the insidious nature of the separatism was not obvious. The problem of course was the underlying assumption that blacks and whites should be separated, and the effect it had on the thinking of people about each other, and their respective roles in society.
This is essentially my problem with bike lanes: the underlying assumption that cyclists should be separated from drivers of vehicles. It is the insidious nature of this underlying separatist assumption of bike lanes that is my greatest concern, and the effect it has on the thinking of cyclists and the public at large with respect to what proper cycling in traffic should be.
Umm, OK, Devil's advocate here. Bicycles are inherently slower than cars in 90% of situations. Black people and white people are basically the same apart from skin color so I disagree with your analogy. What makes a bicycle lane any different from a slower vehicle lane on a big hill for cars? From a transportation engineer's perspective bike lanes make a lot of sense as it lets faster traffic move unobstructed and also allows the slower traffic a space on the road (not that I am a traffic engineer but that is what I would think if someone asked me how to solve the problem of bicycles slowing down traffic). Anyway, sometimes we need to remember that there are more users on the road than just bicyclists too. If a vehicular cyclists causes a traffic jam, then that poses a problem. Granted, if the road had been designed correctly with a wide outer lane and drivers were smart enough to pass correctly without overdoing it or coming to close, it wouldn't be a problem. Then again, do they have special lanes for model t's, horse carriages, and tractors (which are also allowed to use the road as slow moving vehicles)? Then again, how many Model t's, horse carriages, and tractors do you see in your city (assuming it is not rural)?
I have a question for you Serge. If you were forced to ride a section of Interstate for some reason (it is legal most places here in Arizona), would you ride to the left of the white line or the right of it (we will assume traffic is moving 75+)?
For the record I ride highways with 55 mph speed limits with no shoulder fairly regularly and have been buzzed by angry dorks trying to prove a point, but mostly have not had problems. The key is bright clothes and making sure the road has enough visiblity for drivers to see you in time (curvy roads with those speed limits are a very bad idea imho).