So, it looks like my post on Wednesday about bike lanes here in Durham just brushed the surface of the discussion and of the topic.
Above: Bike lane on Cornwallis Road. (via BPAC, photo Mary Ross)
In the comments of that post, Adrian agrees with what I was trying to get at: “It’s definitely a hassle when there’s not enough lane width for bikes”.
He also brings up another point: “…adding a stripe doesn’t help in my opinion”. He talks about the bike lane “disappearing at the RR tracks, sending cyclists out of the through lane and then across the freeway exit/entrances”.
Overall, I enjoyed riding in the bike lanes in my ride through RTP (it was on the weekend, so traffic was not bad), but can understand what Adrian is saying. It can be confusing where bike lanes begin and end, and how bicycles should behave in intersections, crossings, etc.
In this accident in December, a dump truck turned at the same time a bike (in a bike lane) was going straight. It clearly exhibits the confusion sometimes presented by bike lanes. I don’t know the full details of the accident, but there was a lot of discussion on the Bike/Ped listserv about how to prevent a car from attempting to turn right at the same time a bike is attempting to go straight. California solves this by requiring cars to move into the bike lane before making a right turn.
Another idea (pointed out by Phillip on the Bike/Ped listserv) is separated bike lanes. These are bike lanes that are physically separated (by a median, barrier, etc.) from traffic. They are created by reversing the parking and the bike lane: placing the bike lane against the sidewalk and separating it from the cars (you could put parking there). There is a great video on YouTube (advocates from Transporation Alternatives, The Project for Public Spaces, and The Open Planning Project join “Gridlock Sam” Schwartz and Enrique Penalosa) which thoroughly presents the case for separated bike lanes in New York City.
Just some ideas… let me know what you think, and your comments on bike lanes here in Durham.