DropDeadFred

asking that the mods leave this in the 41 for a bit because I specifically want an answer from them then I will go to the safety forum later as well.

I've been pushing our mayor to push for bike lanes* in our city, we currently have zero. She seems to think that we as a community believe we are safer without them. I understand that there are pros and cons but i think the pros far out weigh any of the cons. The awareness it brings to drivers that cyclists belong on the road, the extra room and its amazing how much that white line helps protect us on some of the busier roads.

We have quite the cycling community and more and more people are starting to commute or consider it, the problem is, its quite dangerous. We are in the south (columbus, ga) and full of rednecks who don't understand we pay taxes and have rights to the road as well.



thoughts?

Do you prefer riding on roads without bike lanes* or with??? (I'm not talking about deep downtown where there are tons of parked cars...

datlas 

Do you mean bike lane rather than path?

Aeolis

I hear cyling in the south is a rough time. Someone in the commuter forum had a thread about getting assaulted in a dispute with a southern motorist.

DropDeadFred

right...sorry...fixed...cant edit title..

adamhenry

It sounds like you want bike lanes not paths. We have bike lanes as well as sharrows where we have to share a lane with cars due to parallel parking. I prefer a proper bike lane when they are done correctly. I can deal with either situation but generally feel safer in a bike lane.

DropDeadFred

its not the most progressive region to live in....

10 Wheels

Safer with No Bike Lanes.

IthaDan 

I like bike lanes. They help reaffirm that I have a right to be in the road.

I'll leave the bike paths to families and fogies. I like to cruise at speeds where I feel like I'm going too fast for a MUP.

pdedes

Not a fan of bike lanes. It is not a legal requirement for cyclists to use them although motorists seem to think so. Typically, they're not cleaned of winter debris until June. They collect glass and other pokey bits. I would rather have a one metre (3 foot) rule promoted and enforced, and paved rural road shoulders.

Chickenstrip

I live in Memphis, the city recently started catering to the cycling community a bit more by adding bike lanes. So far they appear to be the most dangerous parts of my rides, so much that I avoid areas with bike lanes. Cagers around here see bike lanes like sidewalks but in the street. They don't pay any attention to what's going on in the bike lanes. They'll turn in front of you, merge on you while preparing to turn, ect..... I'll take my chances in the street. They may be angry that they have to share the road but at least they see me!

Perhaps this will all change as drivers get used to the new bike lanes. For now I avoid them!

Velo Vol 

Don't have enough experience with them to have a firm opinion.

Carbon Unit

Where I ride there are hundreds of miles of bike lanes and bike paths. I much prefer riding in a bike lane than without one. I don't like rubbing elbows with cads. Being in a bike lane tells car drivers that the cyclist has a right to be there.

I feel much safer in a bike lane.

sstang13

I believe that bike lanes would make the commuting decision far more easier to the ones considering it.

Also I find it funny how the government pushes for kids, and people in general to get active, and stay active, yet bike lanes that would make the decision for biking/commuting easier and obviously therefore get people active, they won't allow??? That's idiotic, and the opposite of what they should be pushing towards.

As for me, bike lanes would be helpful when riding on the highway when I need to/riding on any busy streets when I need to, but my city has pretty good drivers that try their best to give me space But when I'm not near the busier streets of the city, it's not so bad because there's not so many cars and it helps a lot for riding in a straight line which will help me in my first race and group rides for not causing stupid crashes.

+1, those are my favourite!

brian416

I don't like bike lanes, it places you in the debris/door zone. With cars driving slow and drafting, riding on 25mph roads in town is no problem.

A better option is a bike path through town or riding through residential streets

LesterOfPuppets

Paved shoulders are fine by me also, doesn't matter if they paint little bike logos in 'em.

Go very far out of town here and you'll end up on a road with narrow 10' wide lanes, 4" shoulder and locals taking all the blind curves @ 55 mph. It ain't no fun out that way.

LesterOfPuppets

Even really wide lanes suit me. Check out the slow lanes on this road. They're so damn wide I usually ride in the slow lane with cars even though there's a marked bike lane.

https://maps.google.com/?ll=45.674376,-122.662835&spn=0.000402,0.000597&t=h&z=21

sstang13

This just reminded me, when I was in Italy last June, I must have seen no less than 200 riders a day. They have to bike on roads that are the size of one lane here with cars and trucks flying both ways. I remember passing a truck on a street where the only way to pass was when our car and the truck both had two wheels off the sides of the road and missed each other by less than a foot. This happens around corners too, that's scary. I think the only reason why it's not so bad for bikers there is because cycling is so much bigger in Europe and people have respect for it.

DropDeadFred

care to elaborate?

10 Wheels

Post 10 and 14 covered it..

MegaTom

I'd rather have wider regular lanes than a dedicated bike lane.

SCochiller

"Do you prefer riding on roads without bike lanes* or with???"

Without bike lanes. Having bike lanes on some roads just conditions cagers to be more dangerous to riders when there are no bike lanes. Also, bike lanes become the de facto shoulders, replete with all the debris and broken glass.

TrojanHorse

I like bike lanes but I don't like how sporadic they are - near me, I'll be riding along... bike lane, bike lane, bike lane, then no bike lane. What? Any time there's a traffic calming measure (little island in the middle, or those things that stick out from the curb) the bike lane is the thing that gets sacrificed.

My preference is to have roads with a wide enough right lane that I can ride there. All this effort to promote bike lanes is great, but what about the roads with no bike lanes? Are we not allowed to ride there as well? What do drivers think when they see cyclists in a bike lane and then see cyclists NOT in a bike lane?

I used to be solidly in the "bike lane" camp but I think now I'd prefer none, just plenty of room. I'd even go so far as to support bike licenses that we can hang under the seat so we can tell motorists to STFU, we paid for our right to be on the road. That would be worth $25 a year to me.

DropDeadFred

were talking about roads with no shoulders that could use some defined separation for cyclists. The lines may seem pointless to seasoned riders but its more for motorists and making them aware they don't need to be so close to the edge of the road, making it safer for us.
The debris will be on the side regardless, it won't become more excessive if you paint lines on the road, I'm in the south and honestly only cyclists know the 3 foot rule. If you make a visible distinction for motorists to separate from the shoulder they are less likely to pass within inches of you
I'm not quite understanding this
again, The debris is on the shoulder regardless, it doesn't become heavier because somebody painted some lines. These roads I'm talking about are 35-45 and 2 even are 55mph through the center of town but would easily facilitate cycling lanes.
We have a bike path that passes from our downtown area straight to our north eastern area but most people live dead north of town (the ones that want to commute), for now if you want to commute you move to our park district which is maybe 20 blocks from downtown and even that is fairly dangerous without a path. My friend that commutes to work and manages our LBS commutes from this area and has had some close run ins..he'd like paths too

DropDeadFred

this seems like something you should take up with your city if they aren't cleaning your streets (which includes the bikes lanes)
and i understand not all roads are suitable for bike lanes, but clearly there are some that are ideal and should have them and make commuting a safer option

DropDeadFred

I have no problems riding on open roads with no bike lanes, especially if they have a nice shoulder but most of ours have those noise making cuts on the side, those are roads you just ride as close to the line as you can, but I'm talking inner city