One of the criticism hurled by the bike boulevard opposition is that the facility gives road space over to bikes at the expense of cars. Well, yeah. Creating great bike facilities is about getting people to change their transportation choices and what better way to do that than to elevate the desired choice of transportation? Plus, with over 1000 miles of paved roads dedicated to the automobile in Austin, don’t you think we ought to have at least a few miles where bikes and pedestrians are the stars of the show?
What if we could create great facilities that put the beginner or novice cyclist at ease with minimal impact on car traffic? What if we could simply re-arrange the landscape of the street and open up a safer passage for bikes and more public space? Well, that’s what Portland is experimenting with in this video on cycle tracks and buffered bike lanes.
On the Right Track from Mayor Sam Adams on Vimeo.
The buffers are something we have here in places, and while it’s certainly a nice feature, I don’t believe they are nearly as inviting to the new cyclist as cycle tracks will be. The cycle track is actually something very common in European cities, and I’m surprised we haven’t seen more of these in the U.S. Using parked cars as a barrier mid-street seems like a brilliant idea, but I think we’ll need a change in attitude as Americans when it comes to intersections. The video reminds turning drivers to look for cyclists like they do for pedestrians. That works well in the Pacific Northwest where drivers give pedestrians much deference. Here in Texas, I feel like we’re more of an afterthought or target practice.
The launch pad for left turning cyclists looks interesting as well though I feel like I need to see it in person. From the animation, it seems like you are floating in a target box in the middle of the intersection.
Can bikes get the safety and space they need without sacrificing automobile flow? I’m not sure that’s a desired goal, but if we can make more space for bikes with minimal impact on cars in the sport run, I’m for it.
on Apr 16th, 2010 at 8:10 am
Sounds like a great idea to me. We’ll never create a true cycling community until every person regardless of age, gender or skill level feels safe riding a bike instead of driving. I tell my non-riding friends new cycling infrastructure isn’t really for the people who are already riding. Even though they benefit from it as well.
The problem is around here minimal impact on car traffic apparently means zero impact.
on Apr 16th, 2010 at 11:59 am
but, I am sure very likely the track, the buffer zone and the sidewalk will be taken as loading area and/or changing clothes area as it is done today with the bike lanes on Veterans Dr or the bike lane & buffer zone on the drag.
Just a cautionary tale.
on Mar 1st, 2011 at 12:36 am
Interesting on several levels.
(1) the “bike lane” example has the rider in the bike lane in the door zone. Clearly that rider’s position can be improved–and the bike lane didn’t improve it.
(2) the buffered lane–betwen the sidewalk and the parked cars–is designed in a way that puts the cyclist well out of the visual field of the right-turning driver. How do they “solve” this problem? “Hey, driver! Watch out for cyclists like you already watch out for pedestrians in the cross walk!” There’s a reason why pedestrians are at a much greater risk from car traffic than cyclists already. So now, we cyclists are to be placed in the same risky category and thank the planners for that? Oh, one more “accommodation”–a green box to make turning left more difficult than it normally is riding one’s bike like an intelligent operator in traffic. Thanks again, planners.
(3) the “bike lane 2.0″ which is done sort of like what has been painted on Congress between Oltorff and Ben White–since that extra funny striping has been put down, I’ve had several near right-hooks and seveal drivers pull out across my path from my left. That sort of incident was far less frequent with teh former striping–I’ve been riding that route almost daily for years.
on Mar 1st, 2011 at 9:24 am
Jeff,
I too use that stretch of Congress very regularly. I’ve found no such increase in right hooks. In fact, I’ve found drivers to be more aware of me and yielding to me as I approach the light.
I don’t think our individual experiences are a good indicator of the viability of the improvement. It’s too subjective. I venture you don’t care for bike infrastructure so now you are very aware of conflicts while I think these are improvements so I’m probably likely to downplay conflicts in my mind. We need to look at actual accident rates & whether helps increase bike usage to determine that.