Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
The OP makes perfect sense, where do you think those bike lanes come from? At the expense of lanes for cars. Seattle has a history of "road diets" where they remove both parking and driving lanes for the tiny number of bike riders and then seem amazed when congestion is worse. Only to bike riders does it make sense to sacrifice 25% of road capacity to support 2% of commuters who use bicycles.
You don't have to remove a car lane for a bike lane - you can widen the road and add the bike lane. Of course, in some locations, there's no room to expand, so you have to compromise. Lots of municipalities will narrow a lane for a quick fix, but they won't remove a lane unless they deem it acceptable. That said, if you don't support a dedicated lane for a vehicle that on average goes 10 mph, don't complain when you're stuck behind that vehicle in the general-purpose lane you have. Remember, bikes are entitled to the full lane and are road vehicles by law.
Regarding bikes and bike lanes, just because you don't use a feature, doesn't mean it should be removed. With that thinking, everyone in a car should clamor for the removal of buses too. They take the whole lane and come to frequent, complete stops, holding up everyone when they don't have a dedicated space.
I do agree that parking can be lost to new bike lanes, but this brings up an important question. Is the primary function of roadways transportation or in some cases should vehicle "storage" take precedent? Also is it the function of gov't to provide a subsidized place for you to park or should parking be dealt with by the private sector, off the street?
Another thing to think about is that being able to afford a car might become a thing of the past. Certainly the middle class is dying is many parts of the country, and driving a car can cost thousands of dollars a year with gas and insurance and repairs.
Why not prepare now for our upcoming poverty by putting in bike lanes, so we can more softly transition as the economy turns to crap?
Of course the bike riders like to hug the left lane of their lane thus pushing further back into the car lane. Can't they just ride the middle. If anything for their self preservation.
This just doesn't make any sense to me. Why are they putting all these Bicycle Lanes in the major streets in the city? It slows down traffic flow, causes MORE congestion, promotes ill-will between motorists and bicyclists, and is a major safety concern! It also takes up a perfectly good traffic lane and reduces parking space.
Bicyclists belong on the Side-Streets or on bike paths, NOT along major thoroughfares! Next they'll want to allow bicyclists along the Interstate!
I personally would be afraid to ride my bike down a busy main city street.
Yeah. You'll get to work a lot faster if those bicyclists don't have bike lanes, and instead are directly competing with you for position in the motor vehicle lanes...
We get it. You just don't like bicycles, and they're inconveniencing you by existing. But no more than you're inconveniencing them by existing. And it's not all about you, you know. Right? You do know that, yes?
Quote:
Originally Posted by RosemaryT
I've wondered about that myself. In the Midwest, bike trails are old rail lines and run through some of the most beautiful scenery in this country.
Those are generally scenic trails, not commuting trails, although Minneapolis has a major bicycling thoroughfare - the Greenway - built on a former railbed. But Minneapolis has a lot more bicycle lanes on streets, not dedicated bike trails. So does Chicago. So does the small southern Minnesota town where I live - all in the Midwest.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pretzelogik
Ahhhh but it is soooo politically correct.
So, you have no idea what the term 'politically correct' even means, I see (other than some vague though nonsensical notion that since you don't like it, any idea you don't like stands a good chance of being 'politically correct'... ).
Quote:
Originally Posted by louie0406
I don't mind bicycle lanes so long as police enforce bike laws which they don't seem to be doing!
I live in NYC and bicyclists here have to be the absolute worst! They ride in your lane, their lane, against traffic, and don't obey the traffic lights. Then when they end up roadkill the family wants to sue the driver.
So you think they're annoying because they're like any other user of the roads. Except, of course, a lot less lethal - after all, getting t-boned by a Schwinn at 25mph generally just scuffs your door, as opposed to getting t-boned by pretty much anyone in pretty much anything with four wheels. Got it.
Wonder if the day will come when bicyclists are required like car drivers to have drivers licenses, registration tags be required to carry insurance and be required to follow rules of the road like stopping at red lights and stop signs..
The OP needs to visit Copenhagen and see how well bikes and cars with their own lanes work. I really enjoyed commuting by bike there once upon a time. We need a system like they have there. It is a near perfect system for moving both cars, buses, and bikes, and pedestrians as well, all at the same time.
Another thing to think about is that being able to afford a car might become a thing of the past. Certainly the middle class is dying is many parts of the country, and driving a car can cost thousands of dollars a year with gas and insurance and repairs.
Why not prepare now for our upcoming poverty by putting in bike lanes, so we can more softly transition as the economy turns to crap?
Personal automobile ownership is certainly not about to become a thing of the past.
I do think we may see per capita ownership decline some, but that is because it is increasingly impractical to own an automobile in some of the most heavily urbanized areas of the country. The areas are just too congested for personal ownership and use to really be practical.
Which, ironically, is why there is increased attention being paid to creating bike lanes.
The OP needs to visit Copenhagen and see how well bikes and cars with their own lanes work. I really enjoyed commuting by bike there once upon a time. We need a system like they have there. It is a near perfect system for moving both cars, buses, and bikes, and pedestrians as well, all at the same time.
I'm sure there are cities in climates where commuting by bicycle is a great idea, but really, very little of the U.S. is accommodating to this on a year-round basis. Snow, sleet, heavy rain, high winds, freezing cold and blistering heat, along with average commuting distance further than the average commuter could manage even on a good day, all make it difficult to impossible for the vast majority of potential commuters to make year-round use of this option. And if it can't be used year-round, you still need the infrastructure in place to accommodate 100% auto use.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.