Commuting in Paris surpasses USA
 

Parisians! smarter than their American counterparts with regards to road systems!

I'm kidding but not. This is advanced. like Amsterdam.

Cyclists know getting out ahead of traffic before the light turns green is a safety measure - you don't want a car tailgating you, especially in this country where cyclists are run down everyday.

but lawmakers here in the US are far from persuaded. Voters and lawmakers are motorists for the most part and don't understand how cycling works, much less how cycling benefits their communities - in terms of walking safety and yes, even motorist safety.

when will the US wake up to data?

Paris to let cyclists skip red lights - BBC News

Should cyclists be allowed to jump red lights? - Telegraph

Yea But You are in Brooklyn, NY when its immensely profitable to the Investor Rentier classes ..

Breukelen in Holland is probably Nicer , (stoplights on the bike paths where they cross the Highway).

Something I've noticed reading (for example) web forums for my locale: A lot of car drivers seem to be especially enraged by the belief that cyclists are a privileged class. Obeying laws is an imposition on our freedom, not a way to cooperate towards a better society. Anything that makes it easier for us will be dismissed, even if it also makes driving a car more convenient. For instance, getting out in front of a green can often be safer for the cyclist, but also more convenient for the car driver because it's easier to pass a cyclist when you're not both in an intersection.

Everything is better in Paris. The dream is to move there. Also they have a great metro system, a very widespread bikeshare, and all the bread, wine and cheese you could possibly desire

The title's of the two articles are rather incorrect. Paris is not letting riders skip or jump red lights at all, it's giving them their own signals that gives them a green when others directions/lanes have red. No different than a left turn arrow or a pedestrian green/white.

Bicycle specific signals are quite common in Europe. Nearly every signalized intersection in The Netherlands, Denmark, and Finland have them and most in Sweden. They are also quite common in Norway, Spain and Luxembourg as well as many cities in Italy and increasingly in Belgium.

U.S. roads are the most dangerous per mile driven of any road system of all developed nations (and that includes Greece). And by a wide margin. It's not just Paris that's more advanced than our traffic engineers but every traffic engineer in the developed world is more advanced than U.S. traffic engineers. We are dead last.

I have never biked in Paris, however, I'm pretty happy with the commuting situation in my little part of the USA.

Online Maps | Thurston Regional Planning Council, WA

I've seen continuous improvement in the cycling infrastructure over the last 8 years. Some really amazing projects that have included new paved trails, bridges over busy roads (including the freeway), lots of new bike lanes, and better demarcation of bike lanes at intersections. The planning and funding continues on into the future.

mostly i was not surprised by this:

"In London, something like 4pc of pedestrian casualties related to red light jumping involve cyclists jumping red lights [the other 96pc are motor vehicles]."

London seems to have the same perception problems just like ours does:

"It's like in this country we see cyclists as the causes of problems rather than seeing cyclists as victims," she says. "It's a perception problem. We don't properly think about what we can do to protect people cycling."

It's just convoluted public perception because we are the minority and voiceless in our local and state governments. it's very frustrating. almost as frustrating as being a woman and a person of color around here. If people just saw us as people and just tried to see things from in our shoes for a minute, it probably wouldn't be as bad as it is now.

in Manhattan we do have a stretch of awesome lights on pike slip which turns into allen street. right before the Manhattan bridge. lights for bikes and cars become green while left turners for cars have red so we don't get mowed down. it's really smart! but they don't have these everywhere. just there and the west side highway. it's not in Brooklyn. i haven't seen them anywhere else. it would make things so much safer for cyclists peds and cars, giving peds and cyclists the green light first before cars. it takes time to come up with a good plan and effort to carry it out, and money though. things NYC does not have.

exactly this!

that is exciting for you. bike paths on bridges that are busy roads? we just got one on greenpoint ave. in brooklyn (pulaski bridge). there are so many more that we are waiting for. verrazano bridge (brooklyn to staten island) is no where near happening. also whitestone and throgs neck bridges. no tunnels are accessible by bikes. altho we are getting goethals bridge sometime in a few years time (bridge that connects staten island to NJ) http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/...icle-1.1326769 - and the GW is a hot mess but at least we have access. hopefully in due time!

No, not bike paths ON bridges that are busy roads... the bridges are over busy roads... and there are no motorized vehicles allowed on the bridges... it's basically pedestrians and bikes. There are three major roadways that you can cross on these bridges (one of them is Interstate-5) without stopping to wait for traffic or traffic signals - you simply ride over the top on the bridge as the traffic passes below you.

http://www.trpc.org/314/Bridging-the-Gap

The project has been completed now.

https://d1u1p2xjjiahg3.cloudfront.ne...498c83f1_l.jpg

the link above is the last of the 3 bridges to be built. It was completed within the last year.