My city recently redid a major road and added a bidirectional bike lane on the south side. It's not part of my normal route but the other day I had an errand to run a decided to try it. It was a miserable experience: cars driving in the bike lane, a bus stopped a whole bus length ahead of the stop line blocking both the crosswalk and the double bike lane,an intersection that said bikes must follow the pedestrian signal that required me to exit the bike lane and go to the far side of the sidewalk to hit the beg button, right hooks and left crosses at multiple driveways. Next time, I'll go the long way to avoid this bike lane.
by thereisnobikelane
30 Comments
They should add concrete pylons to the middle, at least on the ends of it. Just so cars can’t go in
So did you tell your city this? A lot of times they don’t know until you tell them.
If it’s new give people a few weeks to acclimate—granted, yes, no driver should be stupid enough to think they can drive in that lane as their own personal space but, here we are.
It’s also beneficial to use it as much as possible to get drivers used to seeing bikes in it AND so that the city can see usage.
Don’t let the “I never see any bikes use it” NIMBYs win.
Lastly, take notes and pics and videos and submit them to your local public works or precinct or DOT with suggestions on how to fix the issues you are encountering with your own and drivers use.
The more people you can get to submit requests the more usage stats they have.
This day in age with mobility being squandered it’s truly a use it or lose it world. So use it.
In the bike lane, high beams on, just vibing
Call 911 and say there’s a maniac in an Altima trying to run people over in the bike lane. That should get some attention.
It takes some time for drivers to get used to new bike lanes. Same here in KC. They just opened up an extension to our street car line and cars were driving down the separated transit lanes at first. City made some adjustments and it has been better.
r/nissandrivers
Bi-Directional single side lanes are almost always bad design. The principal hazard is being left-hooked by drivers going the same direction as you. It would also be nice so have some soft bollards to fool cars into staying out.
Is this pentagon city?
Bidirectional bike lanes are dangerous and shouldnt exist. No driver will ever look “the wrong way” for an oncoming bicycle, far safer to be traveling the direction everyone expects you to be coming from.
Actually, this looks like a pretty decent bike lane, by US standards at least. I’m still trying to wrap my mind how the Nissan got in there though… maybe since it’s new, the car meant to turn right onto the road and didn’t realize they were in the bike lane til it was too late. I’m actually not proud to admit this but I did a similar thing once years ago in a city I was not familiar with and was freaking out the entire time until I could safely exit haha.
At the very least you guys have traffic pylons and the lane is far enough away from car traffic! My city “installed” a bike lane on a main drag by literally splashing paint down on the shoulder of the road with 0 extra protections. You’re still inches away from traffic, no separation at all, and the shoulder doesn’t just magically not collect glass and debris just because it’s called a “bike lane”! It’s so frustrating. I wrote to my city council about it, that we need more and better otherwise it’s safer to continue riding with car traffic. Months later, no response.
Still, the issue with the beg button blows. But since you’re on a bike, wouldn’t you be able to just follow the traffic light and not need to wait for a crossing signal (since that’s for pedestrians)? Still would be good to have the beg button be more accessible to cyclists since motorists seem to pay more attention to crosswalks when they see the walking guy.
To your point about bikes use ped signal, your direction could be in recall where you don’t need to push the button and potentially a leading pedestrian interval which helps gets bikes and peds in the crossing earlier to be seen before cars get a green. In my area there are sometimes blank out signs with no turn on red during that initial X time of crossing. Give it another shot in a bit and see if your experience changes the 2nd time around.
Why do they only paint the entrance bit green? Why not the whole lane?
Depending on the street, the painted bike lanes function as a double park/Uber waiting area.
Why did the city make the bike lane look like those old racing video games in the 90s where the green stripes were turbo boosts for the cars? 😂 Dude is just trying to win this section
Rainbow road to hell
Location? That stroad looks bad for biking regardless of any bike lane. Too many cars, too fast, too loud, just too unpleasant. Also, I see a crosswalk, and some people walking in the background, but the sidewalk appears disconnected and people walking have to go thru dirt/grass.
That pic looks exactly like the crap designed by traffic engineers who have never rode a bike as transportation. It looks like a local DOT got some outside fed or state money, and so they proceeded with some craptastic checkbox engineering. No thought is given to actual usage by bike riders. No fucks are given by anyone. Not the politicians, not the xDOT manager, not the designers.
I like the bollards, and it’s bi-directional width, but everything else I see signals this bike lane project was doomed for failure before it even started.
If a bike lane really is crap, then it’s no one’s individual responsibility to use it.
Give the “bike lane uprising” app a try — it makes me feel slightly (only slightly) less powerless knowing someone is compiling lots of data, license plate numbers of offenders, etc
it doesn’t look too bad. If I were you I would give it a few more tries to see if you get more comfortable with it. I think it is important for those of us who are already determined to ride our bikes to utilize imperfect bike infrastructure to show there is demand for more and better infrastructure!
I’d still ride there. They’ll get the idea eventually.
In Toronto they are debating a new law that would see e-bikes impounded if they go on the sidewalk. Yet, nothing about cars being on sidewalks or bikelanes. Our priorities are so skewed.
For a second I thought the og was the driver of the car. The audacity to be mad about not being able to drive your car in the bike lane…hahaha..
Fwiw, and this coming from someone who won’t use a lot of the bike infrastructure in Seattle because its badly designed, implemented, and/or maintained, this tends to be more of an issue when a bike lane is new.
As drivers get used to it, because drivers don’t actually pay attention to anything that’s not a risk to their vehicle or them, this kind of thing drops off. Not to zero without barriers, but less.
Report it, complain, and maybe try it again in a month. Then report and complain and repeat.
Utterly sucks.
I know it sucks but not using it makes things worse. Report it to your city every time. Use the lanes and encourage your cyclist friends to do the same. You have to shift the culture of your city to respect the lanes.
In my city when they implemented changes like this it was initially a mess but drivers adjust (especially when they are yelled at) and it will get better.
This seems like an object lesson in why bi-directional bike lanes next to car traffic are a terrible idea. Among other issues:
– The bikers next to the cars are going against traffic, vastly increasing the consequences of a collision.
– Every single turn from the right hand bike lane involves crossing traffic. There isn’t even a way to pull over without crossing traffic.
– Bicyclists are exposed to head on collisions with each other.
– The lane is wide enough for an entire car, so it becomes a very attractive shortcut instead of just being a shoulder.
I hope this idea goes in the garbage where it belongs.
This photo is of an intersection of 2 wide streets. That’s why no bollards here, right? I see bollards in the distance beyond the intersection.
Just proves the old adage,
“if you pave it they will drive”
Flex posts would help but only until they all get run over.
The only thing that keeps drivers out is fear of damage to their vehicles, punishment via fine simply means legal for a fee.
imo it’s too wide, half that would have sufficed. now with that size cars will feel obliged to drive or even park here
Good gods, some people shouldn’t have a license to drive
That’s someone making a right turn across an empty bike lane(s).