Bike Lanes-Your Opinion?

Question

Do you believe in special lanes just for bicycles? Or just wider roads in general? If there is a problem with a road being too narrow (sub-standard lane width) for cars to pass safely, should the road be widened, or should a line be painted without widening the road?

Many cyclists complain that debris collects in bike lanes, making them unusable. Car traffic blows dust and dirt off the pavement.

(I always use a rear-view mirror , so I don't have a problem with cars coming from behind me.)

Also, the existance of a bike lane creates the impression that bikes are not allowed in the road. Actually the opposite is true, cars are forbidden from using the bike lane.

Bikes are allowed to use any roads (except expressways) and the issue only comes up when the road is narrow. New standards require roads to have lanes at least fourteen feet wide. And bicycles ARE allowed on the Service Road of the Long Island Expressway, even when traffic isn't moving on the expressway itself.

Answer 1

Special lanes for bicyclists can cause problems to the extent that they encourage bicyclists to violate the rules of the road for drivers of vehicles.

Specifically, a bike lane continued to an intersection encourages right-turning motorists to stay in the left lane, not the right (bike) lane, in violation of the rule requiring right turns to be made from the lane closest to the curb.

Similarly, straight-through, or even left-turning, bicyclists are encouraged to stay right.

I see it everyday, bicyclists that dont follow the rules of the road and vehicles that have to move over for them thus causing sometimes an accident with other cars.

If bikes are to be on the roads then they should follow all of the rules and they should be tax, licensed and insured for everyones sake..

Answer 2

I bike in NYC and the suburbs of it. I think that in NYC a protected bike lane, like that on 9th ave in Chelsea and seen in Europe, is the best choice. No traffic is near the cyclist. No matter what, everyday there are cars parked in the regular bike lanes as well as pedestrians walking in them (find the sidewalk!).  The regular bike lanes are better than nothing though because at least they give everyone the impression that bikes really do have a place on the streets, and that cyclists should have the right of way somewhere.

When on country roads, I think that a wider road is fine. It should obviously still have a painted white line a few feet from the edge of the road so that cars know how where their lane ends and to leave room on the shoulder.

in response to UCANTCME: when turning, bikes have the option to either be in the lane closest to the turn as you suggested, or to cross after the light has changed from the opposite side as a pedestrian would. Understand that as a cyclist sometimes it's not always safest to hang out in the left hand turn lane in the middle of an intersection. We're not as easy to see as a car for either the cars approaching from behind or those in the opposite direction.

Answer 3

IMO. they're a waste of space. When I lived in the city, they were everywhere and nobody used them!