Salt Lake City is already a very bicycle friendly city, and I am continually amazed at the amount of work and focus this city has invested in cyclists. It truly makes me very proud to live in Salt Lake City and very appreciative of every existing and new bike lane that they have added. I am personally a full time cyclist for the majority of my personal transportation and utilize the city bike lanes every single day. The bicycle lane that I use the most is the one on 200 S when commuting both too and from work and it does not have a shared lane but is a section of road where a cycling lane is shared with a major bus route. I track most of my riding via GPS and after looking over the numbers I have ridden my bike from 1100 East to 600 West (or visa versa) approximately 300 times in 2011 alone. I am a traffic law abiding cyclist that actively rides in all types of traffic without additional level of risk, and not in a fashion that upsets or obstructs drivers. I actually have received more praise than ridicule from car drivers out on the road. With my cycling experience I can confidently say that navigating in traffic with a bus that is making stops, is the most difficult situation to confront as a traffic participating cyclist and equally stressful situation for bus drivers. That being said, I am not so sure that this shared lane is in reality a good idea and may in fact be a very bad idea. I understand that this was done with nothing but the best of intentions; I even would have supported this idea over a year ago. However I strongly feel that they should rethink this design because it is a bus route. Normally, anyplace were cars are traveling faster than cyclist, it is essential that cyclist have a separate bike lane to utilize for both their own safety as well as keeping the traffic flowing properly. However even when utilizing bike lanes the only way to safely ride a bike in traffic is for a cyclist to interact in traffic the exact same way that vehicles do. Creating an atmosphere were both car driver and cyclist are each performing predictable maneuvers according to the same format as means of avoiding one another. With both the maneuvers and the repeated accelerating an stopping needed for buses to make each Bus Stop, present an extremely complex and very difficult situation to navigate safely, specifically for cyclist (although not impossible). Combine that with the current lack of education on what is both allowed and expected of a cyclist in traffic that both the average driver and cyclist typically have, a shared lane between buses and cyclist that is actively encouraging and bringing them together will have the unintended result of a very hazardous environment for everyone using that road. Add the faults perception of confinement for cyclist that this lane will give the rest of the traffic even worsens the situation. The safest option for this specific road used by cyclist would be to keep it as a standard road and add a green path painted in the right lane to remind every one of the rights that cyclist have in all lanes. That way, when buses are making there stops, cyclist can more easily stay with the flow of traffic, utilizing the left lane to practice the correct format of passing on the left and then returning to the right hand lane. I personally feel that with the current state of the car and bicycle relationship, the overall planning and modifications of a city becoming more cycle friendly, should actively attempt to keep buses and cyclist separated and on completely different streets, rather than funnel them together.
I'ma go ride it 10 times and tell you what I think, but first impression is: awesome. Buses will expect/respect you if they know it's the system, and you're free from other traffic. It's the same system as Paris' modal sharing system, and I think it's a great idea.
I've ridden in my share of bus/bike shared lanes (in Paris, DC, and Dresden mostly) and I always feel like I'm playing leap frog with the bus. I never feel super safe biking next to, in front of, or directly behind buses because I don't know if they can see me. I'm very excited for SLC's expanded bike lanes but I think shared lanes compromise biker safety.
Salt Lake City is already a very bicycle friendly city, and I am continually amazed at the amount of work and focus this city has invested in cyclists. It truly makes me very proud to live in Salt Lake City and very appreciative of every existing and new bike lane that they have added. I am personally a full time cyclist for the majority of my personal transportation and utilize the city bike lanes every single day. The bicycle lane that I use the most is the one on 200 S when commuting both too and from work and it does not have a shared lane but is a section of road where a cycling lane is shared with a major bus route. I track most of my riding via GPS and after looking over the numbers I have ridden my bike from 1100 East to 600 West (or visa versa) approximately 300 times in 2011 alone. I am a traffic law abiding cyclist that actively rides in all types of traffic without additional level of risk, and not in a fashion that upsets or obstructs drivers. I actually have received more praise than ridicule from car drivers out on the road. With my cycling experience I can confidently say that navigating in traffic with a bus that is making stops, is the most difficult situation to confront as a traffic participating cyclist and equally stressful situation for bus drivers. That being said, I am not so sure that this shared lane is in reality a good idea and may in fact be a very bad idea. I understand that this was done with nothing but the best of intentions; I even would have supported this idea over a year ago. However I strongly feel that they should rethink this design because it is a bus route. Normally, anyplace were cars are traveling faster than cyclist, it is essential that cyclist have a separate bike lane to utilize for both their own safety as well as keeping the traffic flowing properly. However even when utilizing bike lanes the only way to safely ride a bike in traffic is for a cyclist to interact in traffic the exact same way that vehicles do. Creating an atmosphere were both car driver and cyclist are each performing predictable maneuvers according to the same format as means of avoiding one another. With both the maneuvers and the repeated accelerating an stopping needed for buses to make each Bus Stop, present an extremely complex and very difficult situation to navigate safely, specifically for cyclist (although not impossible). Combine that with the current lack of education on what is both allowed and expected of a cyclist in traffic that both the average driver and cyclist typically have, a shared lane between buses and cyclist that is actively encouraging and bringing them together will have the unintended result of a very hazardous environment for everyone using that road. Add the faults perception of confinement for cyclist that this lane will give the rest of the traffic even worsens the situation. The safest option for this specific road used by cyclist would be to keep it as a standard road and add a green path painted in the right lane to remind every one of the rights that cyclist have in all lanes. That way, when buses are making there stops, cyclist can more easily stay with the flow of traffic, utilizing the left lane to practice the correct format of passing on the left and then returning to the right hand lane. I personally feel that with the current state of the car and bicycle relationship, the overall planning and modifications of a city becoming more cycle friendly, should actively attempt to keep buses and cyclist separated and on completely different streets, rather than funnel them together.
ReplyDeleteI'ma go ride it 10 times and tell you what I think, but first impression is: awesome. Buses will expect/respect you if they know it's the system, and you're free from other traffic. It's the same system as Paris' modal sharing system, and I think it's a great idea.
ReplyDeleteI would like the lane to have the green bike lane inside it to remind the busdriver i call be there...
ReplyDeleteI've ridden in my share of bus/bike shared lanes (in Paris, DC, and Dresden mostly) and I always feel like I'm playing leap frog with the bus. I never feel super safe biking next to, in front of, or directly behind buses because I don't know if they can see me. I'm very excited for SLC's expanded bike lanes but I think shared lanes compromise biker safety.
ReplyDelete