Rowhouses and Belgian block streets

[XRiteMA98]

Jezz, I'm learning something new every day. Initially I thought you were talking about those streetse around Point Bruge, thinking that a block = street. Then I googled the term... why do you call those stones Belgian? Were they invented by Belgians?

[MathmanMathman]

Originally Posted by ctoocheck

I'd like to see the block/brick restored (or installed) in lots of places as both an aesthetic and traffic-calming measure, but with strips of more smooth pavement along the edges for bikes (this could be brick which is relatively smooth, or asphalt/concrete). This would also help delineate bike lanes. So brick/block down most of the center of the street with something smoother nearer the curb.

I wonder if it would work to make the bike lane basically part of the sidewalk and not the road, but have the bicycle traveling in the opposite direction, i.e. contraflow. So the bicycle would be shielded from traffic by a curb and have a better visual at intersections as it faces oncoming cars. In a separate bike lane but going with the flow of traffic, a car might not notice a cyclist when making a right turn. Going in a contraflow direction, there's more space and time for a driver to see the cyclist when making a left hand turn.

So the cyclist would have the safety of a curb to separate him from traffic like a sidewalk does, and better visual contact at intersections as the cyclist would face oncoming traffic. Copious painted arrows would indicate the correct direction for cyclists.

[ditchdigger]

Originally Posted by XRiteMA98

Jezz, I'm learning something new every day. Initially I thought you were talking about those streetse around Point Bruge, thinking that a block = street. Then I googled the term... why do you call those stones Belgian? Were they invented by Belgians?

This reference says, yes.

What is Belgian block? - topics.info.com

BTW, there are probably a few million of them beneath the Zoo parking lot. Heth's Run is the name of that valley, and it used to be about 80 feet deeper than it is. The city used it as a place to dump fill for many years before the Zoological society built the parking lot there.

[ferraris]

Originally Posted by MathmanMathman

I wonder if it would work to make the bike lane basically part of the sidewalk and not the road, but have the bicycle traveling in the opposite direction, i.e. contraflow. So the bicycle would be shielded from traffic by a curb and have a better visual at intersections as it faces oncoming cars. In a separate bike lane but going with the flow of traffic, a car might not notice a cyclist when making a right turn. Going in a contraflow direction, there's more space and time for a driver to see the cyclist when making a left hand turn.

So the cyclist would have the safety of a curb to separate him from traffic like a sidewalk does, and better visual contact at intersections as the cyclist would face oncoming traffic. Copious painted arrows would indicate the correct direction for cyclists.

This sounds sort of like the "bike track" plan they have in place for the Fifth-Forbes corridor. We had a thread on it a while back, but I can't find it at the moment. Basically it's a bike lane with a barrier to the road, like the fences currently along the Fifth Ave bus lane or a jersey barrier.