Bike Lanes Advisory Board (Pittsburgh: house, tax, dangerous)

[Forging Steel]

Overall a good idea, most of the people griping on the Post-Gazette comments aren't city residents and won't shop up at the meetings anyhow. This just formalizes a process that's already happening and gives people even less reason to gripe when the plans are ultimately announced for more lanes. Most importantly, it will give business owners a forum to sound-off and hopefully have their fears allayed by hard data that shows these lanes actually have a net positive effect on businesses.

[Enough_Already]

Originally Posted by Forging Steel

Overall a good idea, most of the people griping on the Post-Gazette comments aren't city residents and won't shop up at the meetings anyhow. This just formalizes a process that's already happening and gives people even less reason to gripe when the plans are ultimately announced for more lanes. Most importantly, it will give business owners a forum to sound-off and hopefully have their fears allayed by hard data that shows these lanes actually have a net positive effect on businesses.

I doubt it for downtown. The lanes make traffic worse because they are barely used and traffic and parking are the two things I hear over and over again why people say they refuse to go downtown.

[Enough_Already]

Originally Posted by xdv8

Do you live in the city or do you have a business impacted by any of the bike lanes installed?

I go into the city center several times a week. I see empty bike lines which just serve to make the areas more congested. The fact is far more people in cars would use those lanes than bikes do. That means taxpayer resources are being put to a use which is not economically justified.

[szug-bot]

Originally Posted by Forging Steel

....it will give business owners a forum to sound-off and hopefully have their fears allayed by hard data that shows these lanes actually have a net positive effect on businesses.

I always doubt this, for downtown, anyway. How is this possible? Are you taking your bike down to shop around for a new suit? Are you going to look for light fixtures for the condo? Restaurants - sure, I guess. But a net positive effect? It's likely neutral - without ANY bike infrastructure, the would-be users would just take a bus to town. The bike lanes are not likely to ATTRACT more bodies to town, the way a highway induces business/traffic to exurbs.

[Lost_In_Translation]

Originally Posted by szug-bot

I always doubt this, for downtown, anyway. How is this possible? Are you taking your bike down to shop around for a new suit? Are you going to look for light fixtures for the condo? Restaurants - sure, I guess. But a net positive effect? It's likely neutral - without ANY bike infrastructure, the would-be users would just take a bus to town. The bike lanes are not likely to ATTRACT more bodies to town, the way a highway induces business/traffic to exurbs.

Businesses and residencies help utilize biking. One without the other means empty bike lanes and there isn't much residency overall in the strip district to utilize the lanes, but work is being done to put apartments there. The beauty of bikes is you don't see the traffic the way with cars because of the much smaller footprint. When I was out in the strip district during the summer, the bike lanes seemed plenty utilized, but it's less noticeable because they don't occupy the same space as the cars next to them squeezing through on Penn.

[UKyank]

Originally Posted by WhoIsStanwix?

I would like to see data that backs this claim. It isn't completely preposterous, but take Penn Ave as an example...a parking lane was taken up, not a travel lane.

Penn Ave downtown was reduced from 2 lanes to 1 & changed into a 1 way street.
It's actually made things a big pain around there & is the one bike lane that's created more of a nuisance then anything. It's also fairly dangerous to bike as no one driving looks for bike lane traffic before making left turns off the street.

[Lost_In_Translation]

Originally Posted by UKyank

It's also fairly dangerous to bike as no one driving looks for bike lane traffic before making left turns off the street.

LOL! It's less dangerous to bike than before the bike lane, precisely because traffic isn't in the same lane as the bikes. If cars were patient and accepting of bikes around town there would be less of a need for bike lanes but until then the struggle is real. Drivers simply are not interested in being courteous to bikes yet, despite the Pittsburgh tradition of yielding unexpectedly to other cars.

[Forging Steel]

Originally Posted by Enough_Already

traffic and parking are the two things I hear over and over again why people say they refuse to go downtown.

These changes are not meant to woo the suburban shopper into downtown so they have a convenient place to park the SUV while they run a few errands.

Downtown is being transformed into an actual naighborhood where people live and go out past 5pm. Some amenities (bike lanes) come faster than others (grocery stores) but the population continues to rise and the number of eateries and other destinations continue to increase. The lanes aren't being built thinking of the suburban commuter who needs to quickly park to pick up his suit. maybe it's not the best setup for the suit salesman who gets most of his business from suburbanites but overall, it has shown to be a boon to local businesses within business districts with a bike lane.

[ferraris]

Originally Posted by Enough_Already

I doubt it for downtown. The lanes make traffic worse because they are barely used and traffic and parking are the two things I hear over and over again why people say they refuse to go downtown.

Most people who avoid downtown due to traffic and parking complained about it before the bike lanes too. A few dozen extra metered parking spaces and reverting one street to two-way would not alleviate the traffic and parking problems enough to make them say "Oh, now parking is easy and there's barely any traffic -- I'm going to start going downtown"

On the other hand, a bike lane will make some people say "Oh, now I can go downtown safely/easily".

[norcider]

The advisory board is fine as long as it's well represented and not leaning too much on one side or the other. As another poster mentioned; the lanes wouldn't be necessary if motorists were more courteous. I live in the city limits and frequent town often never have I felt inconvenienced by the new lanes. There's plenty of parking in town and who expects to park right in front of Meat and Potatoes anyhow? Garages, people.