Originally Posted by pcook489

No new posts in over 7 months. Long live the King....the King is dead.

Originally Posted by flangehead

Yes, the Party will brook no disagreement or criticism:



Newly built road with bike lane.

Barely safe position in bike lane.

Originally Posted by Miele Man

Now, if the car door had been opened then people would see precisely why a door zone bicycle lane like that is so dangerous. For those who don't know, it's because an opening car door can hit your handlebar or bike or you and deflect you down and into traffic to your left. I refuse to ride in any door zone bicycle lane if there are parked vehicles next to it.

Cheers

Originally Posted by AlmostTrick

Because the camera man standing in place is extremely unlikely to run into an opening door.

Originally Posted by mr_bill

FWIW, if it’s too dangerous to ride in that bike lane, why is it safe to stand in it taking a picture of your shadow? -mr. bill

Originally Posted by mr_bill

NOTE, “cyclists fair best when they act as the driver of vehicles.” -mr. bill

Originally Posted by mr_bill

Why didn’t the “camera man” take the lane?

Originally Posted by Jim from Boston

“I don't think I like physically separated bike lanes.”

As a decades-long urban commuter and road cyclist, on a societal policy basis, I was impressed by this opinion by @B. Carfree

Quote:

Originally Posted by B. Carfree

…Some people, mostly people who are relatively new to cycling, think we should use the few dollars that can go towards improving conditions for cycling by building a few miles of separated infrastructure and place it mostly on urban roads (with the inevitable intersection failures).

Other, more experienced riders, think we would be better served by funding traffic law enforcement and putting in many more miles of proper, six to eight foot bike lanes (not in the door zone) and only putting in separate facilities where there are long stretches of high-speed road without appreciable numbers of intersections.

This difference of opinion wouldn't be such a big deal, but many of the segregationists have been making their public case by convincing everyone that cycling is too dangerous to be done anywhere except on a segregated facility.

Not surprisingly, this has an impact in terms of how many people are willing to even try riding a bike since there is no way to get anywhere in the US without riding on a road.

Oddly enough, these people are called and consider themselves "bicycling advocates". If one were to design a fifth-column assault to keep cycling participation down, it would look just like the pro-separation folks.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maelochs

I hate the idea of walled-off lanes, myself ... I don't want to be penned in with a bunch of cyclists ... worst group of people ....

Originally Posted by speyfitter

the take rate of cycling as a mode share for transportation has been done a significant disservice by the concept of vehicular cycling,.

i don’t need to develop this statement any further as the proof is in the pudding,.

Originally Posted by jim from boston

"so what's your beef with multi-use pathes?"

...i posted earlier on this thread ”getting somewhere” is the essence of a vehicle, be it pleasure, touring. Utility, commuting etc (by bike) yet “vehicular cycling” on a road is derided in comparison to separated bike infrastructure.i think of vehicular cycling in a technical sense as lane positioning on the road..."take the lane." but as @b. Carfree also commented: :historically, back in the 19th century when cycling was a new, innovative mode of transportation, advocates like the league of american wheelman were powerful enough to agitate for better roads, as multi-use pathes, with the horses and pedestrians. Then the automobile came along and new advocates could further agitate for even more and better roads, and cars became the predominant and overwhelmingly powerful users.

So now in these days i think it is unlikely that cyclists’ desire for an extensive segregated (and likely costly) bike system that serves many destinations will ever be fulfilled, unless:

Originally Posted by Miele Man

Two-door cars parked next to a painted door zone bicycle lane like that are even more dangerous than the car shown in those images. That's because most doors on two-door cars are much longer and thus would project even further into the bicycle lane.

This video shows the distance needed with a four-doorr car.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPA-ZcYGT94&t=66s

This video is apparently with a two-door car.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlOnnDvr9Uw

Look at how far away you need to be to be safe from a suddenly opened door.

Cheers

Originally Posted by genec

So here's the thing... they were not showing this on a street with typical tire tracks... So it becomes a bit difficult to verify this in their video format...

But they ARE talking about maintaining a 12-13 foot distance from parked cars... Where does that put you in a typical travel lane that doesn't have a bike lane? Right about in the grease stripe.

If I am on a road that does not have a bike lane, yet still has cars parked along the side... I tend to ride in the right tire track. That right tire track is often suggested as a "good" place to ride... yet here we see that is not the case. And yes, if a driver throws open a car door on a street like I have described, that door will be taken off by a passing car.

So, do we ride instead in the left tire track? Well, that is often seen as a signal that we intend to move more to the left.

I have no solution... I just offer these comments as a taste of the reality of the roads today.

Originally Posted by Miele Man

I posted the links to those two videos primarily to show how dangerous a door zone bicycle lane is. When I'm riding in traffic I simply make sure that I'm NOT riding ina door zone. I figure that I just need to be outside the area/arc that a suddenly opened door would occupy. I've never bothered to stop and measure that distance but I doubt it's 12 - 13 feet.

Cheers

Originally Posted by Miele Man

....
Look at how far away you need to be to be safe from a suddenly opened door.

Cheers

Originally Posted by Miele Man

I posted the links to those two videos primarily to show how dangerous a door zone bicycle lane is. When I'm riding in traffic I simply make sure that I'm NOT riding ina door zone.

I figure that I just need to be outside the area/arc that a suddenly opened door would occupy. I've never bothered to stop and measure that distance but I doubt it's 12 - 13 feet.

Cheers

Originally Posted by Bicycle2Work

Hi Everyone!

I'm a long-time bike commuter who has started a YouTube channel that's about bike commuting. I'm going to initially be making videos for newbies and beginners who are thinking about bike commuting. Content such as

• what type of bike do I need for bike commuting?
  
• is bike commuting safe?
  

X Tips for Cleaning Up after Biking to Work

But for you long time commuters...is there any content that you would be genuinely interested in watching that is related to bike commuting? Maybe short interviews of bike commuters and their experience?

Looking for help and suggestions! Thanks

Originally Posted by Jim from Boston

"Cheering on New Bike Lanes...".

There is a current thread on the A&S forum, “I almost got doored - yet most drivers blame me. How do we improve car culture?,” with a big brouhaha about riding along parked cars… do or don’t; be watchful, or install new technology in cars.

I was mindful of that thread when two days ago I rode my bike from downtown Boston South Station (Railroad), about five miles out to the Brighton neighborhood. The first quarter mile is through a dense commercial maze with heavy auto and pedestrian traffic, then less than a quarter mile on car-free Boston Common.

Next was about a mile on one-way Beacon Street with parked cars on both sides. That used to be a hazardous ride IMO until a while back this bike lane was installed, safe from traffic, but still beset with more predictable hazards of intersections, pedestrians, salmoning cyclists, but with a buffer zone from opening passenger side doors.





Then a short segment through Kenmore Square to Commonwealth Avenue (“Comm Ave”), with a prominent presence of Boston University with a heavy cycling population, as well as a commercial thoroughfare. It is in the vicinity of a few cycling fatalities in the recent years.

Much to my delight I found this new, beautiful separate bike lane with a similar one on the opposite side.



The last mile of my trip was on a typical bike lane I thought was wide enough to comfortably accommodate riding on the left side to avoid sudden door openings.



Later on my return trip, cycling traffic was heavier, and the faster cyclists did use the auto travel lane, but traffic is calmed by fairly closely spaced traffic signals.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim from Boston

Earlier this year,

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim from Boston

Just this morning (3/8/19) on the 6-7 AM segment of the Jeff Kuhner talk show on WRKO, he discussed proposals by mayor Marty Walsh to decrease the speed limit in Boston to 20 mph, and increase the number of bus and bike lanes…

So I was pleased with this progress to make cycling safer in Boston, especially since I have previously posted:

You Tube

Originally Posted by AlmostTrick

Haha, thanks for the modified Hot Rod Lincoln video, Jim from Boston .

Originally Posted by flangehead

I'm impressed by the motorist at 1:52. He didn't quite plant the landing so not a 10, but he ought to get a pretty good score.