Bike lane near home

[shootingstar]

...it's being proposed and there's a huge wad of documentation for the public to read. Huge, frickin' signs advertising by road, another bike path, on public consultation sessions this month. City probably wants to make sure public is made aware and invites all feedback.

I think there might be a big public fight over this one. It is the first 2-way, proposed on road bike lane. There are several in Vancouver BC already. But not in the prairie city, where I am now. The problem is, that there won't be a true barrier to separate cars from bikes.

So do you live near a bike lane. Was there a huge public outcry over it?

[shootingstar]

Am I that unique to live near a (proposed) bike lane within TE forums?

[tulip]

I live near a proposed bike lane that extends into a rural area. Lots of public meetings, lots of support, lots of opposition. It will get built eventually. The process is messy and long, but necessary.

[spokewench]

I've been on the bike advisory cmtee in my town for years. It is just the public process - have to be transparent and every municipality has to have the public input. After all, it is government and they represent the people - at least in the US!

We do not usually have much opposition to bike lanes because we have a very pro bike town - with miles of FUTS trails, bike lanes, etc. People seem to have embraced that bike trails and lanes are beneficial to the town and the quality of life. But, of course, this is a small mountain town where a lot of people move here for outdoor activities.

[Catrin]

My city has greatly expanded bike lane miles in the last couple of years. The only real problems we have had with them was for two reasons: lack of public education on what the markings meant and some of the lanes were poorly designed while others are fine. It takes time, but everyone is learning the best approach to this. Kudos to my city for putting in these lanes, and more are planned, but it hasn't been a bump-free process. It has been a learning curve for everyone, and that is part of it.

[tulip]

My city has greatly expanded bike lane miles in the last couple of years. The only real problems we have had with them was for two reasons: lack of public education on what the markings meant and some of the lanes were poorly designed while others are fine. It takes time, but everyone is learning the best approach to this. Kudos to my city for putting in these lanes, and more are planned, but it hasn't been a bump-free process. It has been a learning curve for everyone, and that is part of it.

Your city is a topic of one of the sessions at next week's National Bike Summit. I look forward to learning more about it.

[Geonz]

What are the politics and people involved?

Our city council listens to facts, and we have a well-considered "bicycle master plan," so that when a couple of business owners put up a stink about putting bike lanes on Main Street, others had facts to address their concerns. Seems the one lady thought that car parking was being sacrificed for the bike lanes and I don't think she's ever been convinced otherwise... and "somebody" told other business folks that with the bike lanes would come restrictions on when loading and unloading could happen and a few other things that were, um, lies. There were also studies showing that there wasn't a parking shortage (but people didn't know where it was)... some of teh business folks outright changed their minds at that meeting... and they're planning to go ahead with them.

... then there was the bike lane on Washington -- citizens came out to say that traffic would get more congested because the lanes would get narrower. Since the council had information about our traffic counts that said otherwise (we weren't even reducing the number of lanes; just the speed, a **good** thing for safety for everybody), and since the other arguments went along the lines of "the children in my neighborhood aren't smart enough to stay on the quiet roads; if there is a bike lane they will go ride on the busy road and get hurt" ... welp, that bike lane is there (tho' I don't care for it; cars pass me closer as if the line were a genuine barrier).

How well designed is the bike lane? How busy is the road it's on? There are some rather sad excuses for "bike infrastructure" out there... but if it's done well, it will get more folks out riding. (We have our own issues with vocal vehicular cyclists who have their very own strong opinions about bike infrastructure that are occasionally based on reality but often based on their own little conclusions... they write long articles and cite each other and consider that "evidence.")


It's helpful to know what the real issues are (people thinking things will get congested -- and then they learn otherwise, assuming they're right -- or people not wanting to lose parking, or being afraid Some Kind Of People They Don't Like WIll Be In Their Neighborhoods...)

...it's being proposed and there's a huge wad of documentation for the public to read. Huge, frickin' signs advertising by road, another bike path, on public consultation sessions this month. City probably wants to make sure public is made aware and invites all feedback.

I think there might be a big public fight over this one. It is the first 2-way, proposed on road bike lane. There are several in Vancouver BC already. But not in the prairie city, where I am now. The problem is, that there won't be a true barrier to separate cars from bikes.

So do you live near a bike lane. Was there a huge public outcry over it?

[shootingstar]

The (free) car parking loss claims and congestion tends to be the claims. And "too" many dangerous fast cyclists.

I've lived near bike lanes in 3 different cities in the past 20 yrs. Just the city where I am now, they've never had a separated bike lane downtown....I mean with barriers to separate from cars. It's huge deal for those travelling in our area.

Anyway, it will be interesting to witness the outrageous claims and lessons to be learned. City is installing counters to track the cyclists...a good thing to collect objective data on usage.