On an American road it makes sense. You want to claim more space for your own safety. Which should be fine, in most places in the us bicycles are legally no different from a truck when it comes to traffic rules.
Exactly. I’m a cyclist, and the bike lane is often unsafe because there are parked cars right next to it and it’s nigh impossible to tell if someone is going to open a door right in front of you. I don’t want to be in the main traffic lane, but I’ll do it if it’s safer for me, and plugging up a lane is much better than swerving into traffic to avoid colliding with a door.
If you look up Carmel Indiana, and the surrounding towns, there are many examples of raised paved multi use trails. They’re actually really nice, but the cities don’t install most of them, the cities are mostly responsible for maintenance. They’re actually installed by housing developers because the cities require it in their zoning. Unfortunately, this can result in a Swiss cheese-like network full of holes and gaps. It’s been getting better over the last couple years as some of those cities (Westfield) took on the responsibility of connecting the neighborhoods, and updated their zoning to require the new neighborhood trails to connect to existing ones.
A road network does need to be consistent. It’s not an exact analog, but it’s kind of a “weakest link” situation. It’s needlessly dangerous and frustrating for everyone to have to deal with bad infrastructure, even if it’s just one weird street that everyone still has to cross.
I have one on my way to work. I just get off my bicycle and walk because the alternative is going trough a tonne of traffic in an intersection of two highways.
We have a dedicated walking path right next to my house, and part of it runs right next to the road. It’s super nice, though the only physical barrier is either a bit of gravel, but it’s way better than what we used to have.
The gravel is plenty, it’s an intuitive border between where the cars are supposed and not supposed to go. Even sleepy drivers will stay off of the walking path that way.
There’s much better options, but it’s good to have something
:::
And yet the traffic rules don’t stop cyclists from riding the wrong way down my one-way street a dozen times a day. I’ve nearly hit them with my car door or walked in front of them with my dog because I’m checking the other direction, where cars would be coming from. No cop is going to pull over a bicycle so they just ignore the rules.
In my state bicycles that are riding on the road must obey all traffic laws as if they were a motorcycle. I see cyclists break those laws every day and there will never be consequences.
I shouldn’t have to anticipate that someone might be breaking the law. It’s hard enough to cross the street or open my door when I’m only dealing with law-abiding traffic. Maybe those people should anticipate that they’re going to get knocked off their bike by a car door when they willingly and knowingly break traffic laws.
On an American road it makes sense. You want to claim more space for your own safety. Which should be fine, in most places in the us bicycles are legally no different from a truck when it comes to traffic rules.
Exactly. I’m a cyclist, and the bike lane is often unsafe because there are parked cars right next to it and it’s nigh impossible to tell if someone is going to open a door right in front of you. I don’t want to be in the main traffic lane, but I’ll do it if it’s safer for me, and plugging up a lane is much better than swerving into traffic to avoid colliding with a door.
I’ve recently been seeing news of some American neighborhoods actually getting bike lanes though. As in: a second “mini road” next to the main road.
Let’s hope further progress can be made!
If you look up Carmel Indiana, and the surrounding towns, there are many examples of raised paved multi use trails. They’re actually really nice, but the cities don’t install most of them, the cities are mostly responsible for maintenance. They’re actually installed by housing developers because the cities require it in their zoning. Unfortunately, this can result in a Swiss cheese-like network full of holes and gaps. It’s been getting better over the last couple years as some of those cities (Westfield) took on the responsibility of connecting the neighborhoods, and updated their zoning to require the new neighborhood trails to connect to existing ones.
A road network does need to be consistent. It’s not an exact analog, but it’s kind of a “weakest link” situation. It’s needlessly dangerous and frustrating for everyone to have to deal with bad infrastructure, even if it’s just one weird street that everyone still has to cross.
I have one on my way to work. I just get off my bicycle and walk because the alternative is going trough a tonne of traffic in an intersection of two highways.
We have a dedicated walking path right next to my house, and part of it runs right next to the road. It’s super nice, though the only physical barrier is either a bit of gravel, but it’s way better than what we used to have.
The gravel is plenty, it’s an intuitive border between where the cars are supposed and not supposed to go. Even sleepy drivers will stay off of the walking path that way.
There’s much better options, but it’s good to have something :::
Yeah, it’s way better than the bike lane with cars parked in it or a sidewalk. I’ll take what I can get.
And yet the traffic rules don’t stop cyclists from riding the wrong way down my one-way street a dozen times a day. I’ve nearly hit them with my car door or walked in front of them with my dog because I’m checking the other direction, where cars would be coming from. No cop is going to pull over a bicycle so they just ignore the rules.
Rules often allow cyclists to go either way on one way streets
In my state bicycles that are riding on the road must obey all traffic laws as if they were a motorcycle. I see cyclists break those laws every day and there will never be consequences.
Well, at least you know where to check now
I shouldn’t have to anticipate that someone might be breaking the law. It’s hard enough to cross the street or open my door when I’m only dealing with law-abiding traffic. Maybe those people should anticipate that they’re going to get knocked off their bike by a car door when they willingly and knowingly break traffic laws.
You’re right, you shouldn’t have to. That doesn’t mean you can’t use your brain and consider the situation. No need for violence