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Rethinking Streets for Bikes

rethinkingstreets.com

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Re: Rethinking Streets for Bikes

#41

Post by kartickv »

crote wrote: post #6

I quickly read through this. Context: I'm Dutch and live in Utrecht, The Netherlands. This booklet has one massive flaw: it is constructed using American best-practices. At best, a couple of examples could be considered almost acceptable. Most of them were woefully inadequate and consist of little more than a blob of quickly-fading green paint in ill-considered positions. Worst of all, several examples are clearly fl…

Here are my thoughts on redesigning roads for pedestrians and cyclists: https://medium.com/@karti/redesigning-roads-for-people-e8d74...

Re: Rethinking Streets for Bikes

#42

Post by pmontra »

syndacks wrote: post #32
crote wrote: post #6

I quickly read through this. Context: I'm Dutch and live in Utrecht, The Netherlands. This booklet has one massive flaw: it is constructed using American best-practices. At best, a couple of examples could be considered almost acceptable. Most of them were woefully inadequate and consist of little more than a blob of quickly-fading green paint in ill-considered positions. Worst of all, several examples are clearly fl…

I recently visited Amsterdam and was blown away by the cycling infrastructure there (I live in NYC and cycle daily). I realized, though, that unlike many American cities, Amsterdam came of age way before the automobile. The US has a fetish with cars. Therefore, it's impossible to compare the two countries' cycling infrastructures. The link you shared is so far beyond anything we have in the US; you can't simply say "…

Amsterdam has a different layout than most US cities but it became a car city much like everywhere else. They fought to change. This is what the Dutchs did

https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2015/may/05/amsterdam-bic...

Re: Rethinking Streets for Bikes

#43

Post by analog31 »

runarberg wrote: post #31
gotocake wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Of course places such as the Northeast (USA) are also the worst candidates for the SF dream of bike dominance. Where I’m from (Colorado) the idea of bike-first is something we roll our eyes at, and generally rightly assume that the loudest advocates live somewhere else, don’t have families, and only go back and forth to work. That’s really not the whole country, no matter how much a minority of SV’ers want it to be.…

Cars do just fine in snowy places. I don’t see a reason why bikes shouldn’t. Just throw in the same effort that you do to keep car lanes open, and you’ll be fine. You can even put on pegged tires if the bikelanes tend to stay icy (like they do in Reykjavík), however be prepared to spend like 5x the effort when riding on pegged tires.

Studded tires aren't all that bad. Mine go on in December, and just came off last week. My normally 20 minute commute takes about 30 minutes during the winter, and I suspect it's not just the tires, but also the cold air and heavy clothing. I also spend a few more minutes gearing up before leaving the house.

Re: Rethinking Streets for Bikes

#44

Post by selectodude »

amalcon wrote: post #26
gotocake wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Of course places such as the Northeast (USA) are also the worst candidates for the SF dream of bike dominance. Where I’m from (Colorado) the idea of bike-first is something we roll our eyes at, and generally rightly assume that the loudest advocates live somewhere else, don’t have families, and only go back and forth to work. That’s really not the whole country, no matter how much a minority of SV’ers want it to be.…

I've always thought cities with a snowy season would be great candidates for bike lanes. Bicycling drops dramatically in the winter, so the bike lanes sit mostly unused. This makes them a good place to deposit excess snow.

That’s essentially how it works in Chicago.

Re: Rethinking Streets for Bikes

#45

Post by welder »

syndacks wrote: post #32
crote wrote: post #6

I quickly read through this. Context: I'm Dutch and live in Utrecht, The Netherlands. This booklet has one massive flaw: it is constructed using American best-practices. At best, a couple of examples could be considered almost acceptable. Most of them were woefully inadequate and consist of little more than a blob of quickly-fading green paint in ill-considered positions. Worst of all, several examples are clearly fl…

I recently visited Amsterdam and was blown away by the cycling infrastructure there (I live in NYC and cycle daily). I realized, though, that unlike many American cities, Amsterdam came of age way before the automobile. The US has a fetish with cars. Therefore, it's impossible to compare the two countries' cycling infrastructures. The link you shared is so far beyond anything we have in the US; you can't simply say "…

> I realized, though, that unlike many American cities, Amsterdam came of age way before the automobile. The US has a fetish with cars.

No, Amsterdam also loved cars. It was activism that turned it into a bicycle heaven.

https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2015/may/05/amsterdam-bic...

Re: Rethinking Streets for Bikes

#46

Post by jimmux »

i_am_proteus wrote: post #19
crote wrote: post #6

I quickly read through this. Context: I'm Dutch and live in Utrecht, The Netherlands. This booklet has one massive flaw: it is constructed using American best-practices. At best, a couple of examples could be considered almost acceptable. Most of them were woefully inadequate and consist of little more than a blob of quickly-fading green paint in ill-considered positions. Worst of all, several examples are clearly fl…

One more: if you run a cycle lane along a road for automobiles, run it above the main road's grade, if feasible.

Every incident I've had on a bike would have been prevented if this was the case for bike lanes in my city.

Just two days ago I had to slap a vehicle to let him know I was about to be crushed between him and parked cars, because he casually drove into the bike lane I was occupying without looking or indicating.

This would also encourage safer riding by cyclists. Last year ago I had a serious crash because of another rider cutting across lanes of traffic to get ahead of me. Riders being forced to enter the bike lane at the intersection makes them more predictable.

Re: Rethinking Streets for Bikes

#47

Post by syndacks »

welder wrote: post #45
syndacks wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I recently visited Amsterdam and was blown away by the cycling infrastructure there (I live in NYC and cycle daily). I realized, though, that unlike many American cities, Amsterdam came of age way before the automobile. The US has a fetish with cars. Therefore, it's impossible to compare the two countries' cycling infrastructures. The link you shared is so far beyond anything we have in the US; you can't simply say "…

> I realized, though, that unlike many American cities, Amsterdam came of age way before the automobile. The US has a fetish with cars. No, Amsterdam also loved cars. It was activism that turned it into a bicycle heaven. https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2015/may/05/amsterdam-bic...

Fair enough, but Amsterdam originally loved bikes. From your link:

>At the start of the 20th century, bikes far outnumbered cars in Dutch cities and the bicycle was considered a respectable mode of transport for men and women.

I don't believe this was ever the case in a major US city.

Nonetheless, the activism bit is news for me so thanks for sharing. I'd still argue, though, that the activism is largely due to the fact that that there was a history of bikes before cars.

Re: Rethinking Streets for Bikes

#48

Post by jessaustin »

skookumchuck wrote: post #11
crote wrote: post #6

I quickly read through this. Context: I'm Dutch and live in Utrecht, The Netherlands. This booklet has one massive flaw: it is constructed using American best-practices. At best, a couple of examples could be considered almost acceptable. Most of them were woefully inadequate and consist of little more than a blob of quickly-fading green paint in ill-considered positions. Worst of all, several examples are clearly fl…

Around here they create X crossings, where the bike lane and the right hand car lane cross each other in an X. This is sheer madness.

How would you handle locations where cars are turning right and cyclists are riding straight?

Re: Rethinking Streets for Bikes

#49

Post by aisengard »

csmeder wrote: post #27

Here is a moon shot idea for US cities, by 2050: 1. All car streets need to be under ground in tunnels 2. All vehicles must be 100% electric 3. Over ground traffic is limited to: walking, wheel chairs, bikes, scooters and wide load special permit vehicles. Forget Trump’s plan for going to the moon another time, can we do this instead?

Nice try, Elon.

Re: Rethinking Streets for Bikes

#50

Post by jessaustin »

Steltek wrote: post #28
crote wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Could you give an example of a bike path where this happens? For context, it should end up looking not unlike https://goo.gl/maps/MCzsE6vg1Sr .

I bike commute in Boston. I avoid a 1 mile stretch of grade separated cycle track because there are so many problems with it, I don't even know where to begin. - Cars emerging from side streets don't stop at the cycle track so there's a constant T-bone risk. - Parking (the only parking lane on the road) obscures drivers' vision leading to a high right-hook risk. - The grade separation disappears at driveways and side…

Yeah, for some reason this is the sort of situation I think of whenever I hear calls to "fix" our infrastructure so it's more like the Dutch.
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