Brilliant Move --Dedicated Bicycle Lanes in Downtown (San Diego, Ramona: 2014, fence)

[elchevere]

As if downtown is not already crowded and getting more traffic day to day, I now see there are dedicated bicycle lanes on Broadway and G Street in downtown (might be another street or two I am missing as well).

I have no problem sharing the road with bicyclists, but why must they be given dedicated lanes which gives them the right to right in the middle of the lane if they choose to....whereas I exercise common sense and would stay as far right to the sidewalk as possible if I were riding my bicycle, no doubt some cyclists will exercise their right to ride wherever they want to within the lane thus slowing down traffic and increasing their risk of injury. Considering there are only 2 lanes in each direction on Broadway, this makes absolutely no sense....what's the City Government going to do next, approve permits for 500 more pedicabs?

Brilliant move City Council. Maybe they're trying to create more revenue for the city by encouraging SDPD to ticket motorists driving to close to a bicyclist (i.e. one who is in the middle of the road) or trying to change lanes and pass one--which many will try and do. For a downtown that used to be non-congested, the City Council is doing their best to change that and create more gridlock.

[1AngryTaxPayer]

They tried using markings that show bikes get to use the whole lane because there isn't room but idiots that don't know what the painted guy on a bike (or bike) means were honking and threatening riders so they really don't have a choice. All it took was threat of one lawsuit. It's going to happen more if drivers don't chill out and figure out what these mean. Riding right next to the cars means you are eventually going to be doored by someone who doesn't look before they open the door.

Bottom line, if there isn't room for a bike to ride safely they either get the lane if needed or will have a dedicated bike lane made.

[elchevere]

hopefully, the bicyclists will ride to the right when there is nothing impeding their progress,

The street you pictured above appears to be far more residential than Broadway in downtown...I am hoping there is an occasional bike rider who will cause an occasional slowdown in the flow of traffic; however, I think I might have read where San Diego is moving to a bike share program as they currently have in NYC and Miami Beach--in which case the traffic flow will definitely be impacted (at least downtown).

[futbol]

This could be related to the new 2014 'give me three' law that requires vehicles passing bicyclists 3 feet of space.

[1AngryTaxPayer]

Originally Posted by elchevere

hopefully, the bicyclists will ride to the right when there is nothing impeding their progress,

The street you pictured above appears to be far more residential than Broadway in downtown...I am hoping there is an occasional bike rider who will cause an occasional slowdown in the flow of traffic; however, I think I might have read where San Diego is moving to a bike share program as they currently have in NYC and Miami Beach--in which case the traffic flow will definitely be impacted (at least downtown).

That was the only pic of what I needed. It's not from around here.
I used to ride way to the right too but on some streets like Mission Bl that just invites people to try and pass you while staying in the lane There is not room for that.

Originally Posted by futbol

This could be related to the new 2014 'give me three' law that requires vehicles passing bicyclists 3 feet of space.

It's exactly why. I believe last year had the highest number of bicycle vs car accident numbers here in history. The bike rider loses EVERY time. Plus, I believe they changed some laws years ago that said someone opening their car door isn't at fault anymore if they take out a rider.

We are trying to go green but hard to do when riding is so dangerous. You can imagine the uproar if they tried to widen some of those streets by taking out parking downtown.

[futbol]

Originally Posted by 1AngryTaxPayer

...
It's exactly why. I believe last year had the highest number of bicycle vs car accident numbers here in history. The bike rider loses EVERY time. Plus, I believe they changed some laws years ago that said someone opening their car door isn't at fault anymore if they take out a rider.

We are trying to go green but hard to do when riding is so dangerous. You can imagine the uproar if they tried to widen some of those streets by taking out parking downtown.

There is a criminal trial going on right now for a man in Ramona who witnesses say drove on the shoulder to pass some cars and hit a cyclist with his mirror, then took off. I think it was a road rage incident, but the cyclist was the victim.

Yep, the cyclist loses every time.

[1AngryTaxPayer]

Originally Posted by futbol

There is a criminal trial going on right now for a man in Ramona who witnesses say drove on the shoulder to pass some cars and hit a cyclist with his mirror, then took off. I think it was a road rage incident, but the cyclist was the victim.

Yep, the cyclist loses every time.

As in dead?

[T. Damon]

Originally Posted by elchevere

As if downtown is not already crowded and getting more traffic day to day, I now see there are dedicated bicycle lanes on Broadway and G Street in downtown (might be another street or two I am missing as well).

I have no problem sharing the road with bicyclists, but why must they be given dedicated lanes which gives them the right to right in the middle of the lane if they choose to....whereas I exercise common sense and would stay as far right to the sidewalk as possible if I were riding my bicycle, no doubt some cyclists will exercise their right to ride wherever they want to within the lane thus slowing down traffic and increasing their risk of injury. Considering there are only 2 lanes in each direction on Broadway, this makes absolutely no sense....what's the City Government going to do next, approve permits for 500 more pedicabs?

Brilliant move City Council. Maybe they're trying to create more revenue for the city by encouraging SDPD to ticket motorists driving to close to a bicyclist (i.e. one who is in the middle of the road) or trying to change lanes and pass one--which many will try and do. For a downtown that used to be non-congested, the City Council is doing their best to change that and create more gridlock.

You've obviously never been "doored" before; while bicycling as close as you can to the right to make sure motorists never for a moment feel inconvenienced by your presence and having someone open a door right into you from a parked car that didn't look before opening.
and you are absolutely required by law to check in the mirror first to make sure the coast is clear before opening your door into traffic

Bicyclists are still going to ride to the right as safely as possible. This is just so motorists have a little more awareness (and hopefully carefulness) while sharing the road with other legal vehicles. If it's unsafe for a cyclist and a car to travel side by side in a narrow lane in a certain section it certainly behooves that cyclist to travel in the middle to discourage a car from forcing him/her into an unsafe situation. That marking is just a reminder.

I'm betting you really are gonna be irked when you notice the dedicated bike lanes on sections of 4th and 5th avenues (and in a few other areas) which took away a whole car lane from those long suffering motorists.

[Rumble On Rose]

If San Diego actually wants to attempt to be bicycle friendly, the first the they should do is put up concrete barriers between the 56 bike path and the adjacent traffic going 80 miles an hour. Maybe then no more bicyclists or joggers will have to risk getting killed in order to use it. The chain link fence might as well not even be there. Duh!

The second thing they should do is open the Del Mar Mesa "tunnel" trails to mountain bikes. These are some of the best trails in San Diego if not all of SoCal, but they're off limits. Stop with the power trips/ego trips and just open them. I sorry, but what the hell is wrong with you people anyway?

Until this happens, San Diego is an absolute farce and an embarassment as far as being a bicycle friendly city is concerned.

[JohnAlt]

Originally Posted by T. Damon

Bicyclists are still going to ride to the right as safely as possible. This is just so motorists have a little more awareness (and hopefully carefulness) while sharing the road with other legal vehicles. .

I suppose legal is a relative term. Most bicylists I see can't be bothered with a stop sign, and quite a few will blow through a red light if there is no cross traffic. It's always fun to have to navigate around the same rider multiple times who keeps getting ahead by ignoring the rules of the road.