personal safety & signed bike routes in residential neighbourhoods

[OakLeaf]

Traveling a couple of blocks in a separated, bi-directional lane isn't going to change that.

A couple of blocks isn't. But when a cyclist is taught that their place is off the street, they're discouraged from learning traffic skills, and they literally don't know how to behave. It's not that their INTENT is to ride unsafely. More and more, I see riders kitted out on moderately or even higher priced bikes, in helmets and high-visibility jackets, riding on the sidewalks or against traffic or hugging the curb. It's no longer just the stereotypical people who look like they're either homeless or have lost their drivers' licenses to DUIs, people who never rode bikes before and have suddenly found it's their only transportation. It's people riding solely for recreation, trying to be safe, but with no idea how to do so, and in the process endangering everyone, themselves not least, but me as a pedestrian enormously.

I'm with Smilingcat. I've never been much of a fan of graduated licensing for cars only, but I've said for years that no one should get a car drivers' license until they've had a motorcycle license for at least two years, and mandatory bicyclist education before that. Sure my initial reaction to that statement is "good luck with that," just the same as yours probably is, but like I said before, which costs more, hundreds of millions of dollars for these terrifying dangerous separate-and-unequal roads - or hundreds of thousands of dollars to make sure everyone knows how to use the roads we have, and is cited when they don't?

[shootingstar]

A couple of blocks isn't. But when a cyclist is taught that their place is off the street, they're discouraged from learning traffic skills, and they literally don't know how to behave. It's not that their INTENT is to ride unsafely. More and more, I see riders kitted out on moderately or even higher priced bikes, in helmets and high-visibility jackets, riding on the sidewalks or against traffic or hugging the curb. It's no longer just the stereotypical people who look like they're either homeless or have lost their drivers' licenses to DUIs, people who never rode bikes before and have suddenly found it's their only transportation. It's people riding solely for recreation, trying to be safe, but with no idea how to do so, and in the process endangering everyone, themselves not least, but me as a pedestrian enormously.

Unless, there is hard lobbying to change the law for mandatory cycling education....I don't see not having signed, width marked cycling infrastructure, an even better situation. So the upshot of all this ...forget about cycling infrastructure and just stick to the way how things have been and are for vast urban areas in North America: cyclists on road and abiding by our present state or provincial road vehicle legislation.

Then we should never promote cycling for transportation or recreation that involve car roads because really it's too dangerous /risky for most people, correct? No matter how conscientious a cyclist may be, an error by a car driver, is inherently more dangerous and damaging. It's 1 ton vehicle vs. a bike/human being.

We don't even teach pedestrian safety formally and now we have problems, where some pedestrians are texting while they are walking and not paying attention at all sometimes they cross a path intersection, traffic road intersection or on MUPs. I've had this happen as a cyclist and have also watched such pedestrians behave with cars at traffic intersections.

I realize what you're saying Oakleaf because it appears cyclists are sacrificial lambs in separated bike lanes. However the big question to ask those cities: how many recorded accidents are there, that involve cyclist on/leaving/entering separated bike lane? Would make a fantastic research project...

Honest I am a bit intrigued...there seems to be overblown fears here on use of separated bike lanes even IF they have separation barrier that a car cannot easily drive over. Not all separated bike lanes are crappy and a lot of cyclists behind and ahead of me, are ok. Most cyclists coming towards me in the parallel lane beside my bike lane in a twinned bi-directional bike lane, pay attention, stay in their lane and don't look as if they want to plough down any other cyclist. Everyone respects the parent with cycling trailer with child(ren) or tandem attachments. Yes, the hardest design part isn't cyclists within the lane(s), but the transitions entering and leaving a separated bike lane.In my neighbourhood: https://thirdwavecyclingblog.files.w...45-360x480.jpg (Paste in your browser.)

Elsewhere: https://thirdwavecyclingblog.wordpre...ed-bike-lanes/
https://thirdwavecyclingblog.wordpre...own-vancouver/ (now there is a middle pavement yellow strip to separate cyclists in different directions. This 2010 article was opening day of lane to cyclists.)

If your intention is to go quite fast without other cyclists around, then bi-directional separated bike lane may not be for you.

All I keep on thinking is that I got hit by another cyclist a few months ago on a MUP. I shudder if I got hit by...a car!

May I suggest: Ideally, a municipality should respond quickly any photos of cars parked inside a bike lane. Action is taken swiftly in our city: I was in the car on a weekend, with a transportation dept. staff member who phoned in with her iPhone photo of errant truck with license number, to the city. She didn't identify herself as staff since she wasn't working on the job. The truck was removed within an hr. or so. There is actually a bylaw fine for this but I'm not sure if the contractor got fined.