Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Edge Lane Roads a.k.a. Advisory Bike Lanes

advisorybikelanes.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

31–40 of 92 posts

Re: Edge Lane Roads a.k.a. Advisory Bike Lanes

#31

Post by calderra »

ITT: People who've never done any research on this issue making very American conclusions.

Confusion about how these roads work is actually good. It may seem paradoxical at first, but easy to understand roads with ample signage actually breed high speeds, congestion, complacency, and dead pedestrians. Many dangerous intersections have found that removing signage and leaving it up to drivers drastically reduces speeds and improves safety.

Mentally taxing roads slow cars down, make people take alternate routes, and force people to look for pedestrians. You can't juggle your Starbucks and your iPhone when you're navigating unfamiliar roads - AND THAT IS GOOD.

The purpose of a city is not to breed cars, nor is it to allow lazy car drivers a chance to justify their miserable commute.

I mean what, if the drive to work sucks people might just find work closer to home, or lobby for public transportation. Who wants that?

Re: Edge Lane Roads a.k.a. Advisory Bike Lanes

#32

Post by travisd »

As a Seattleite who uses a bicycle as the primary means of transportation (but not a bike enthusiast or “bike person”): these are nice (experienced them a bit in Ann Arbor) but the only way to truly make biking safe is going to be to remove cars from the equation in 90%+ of circumstances. No bike gutters (a derogatory word for bike lanes that are only protected by paint), dedicated bike infrastructure.

Re: Edge Lane Roads a.k.a. Advisory Bike Lanes

#33

Post by notatoad »

eyelidlessness wrote: post #26
notatoad wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

the only reason the "share the road" signage is accepted in america is because drivers interpret it to mean that cyclists should give way to motorists. "other road users should share with me" rather than "i need to share with other road users" try going to a community meeting and suggesting that a "share the road" sign be replaced with a "cyclists may use full lane" sign and see how much pushback you get.

I’m not particularly concerned with the wording on the sign, but this sentiment is exactly why I prefer “sharrows”[1] over designated bike lanes. They very clearly indicate that cyclists are expected to be a part of traffic. In my experience—at least in Seattle which is more bike friendly than baseline in the US but certainly not on par with Portland—drivers are far more likely to yield to cyclists with these marking…

When installed correctly - that is, in the very center of the lane - sharrows are slightly better than a "share the road" sign. Too often, cities install sharrows on the very edge of the lane, creating a suggestion that cyclists are only permitted to ride on the edge of a lane and that drivers should continue passing without giving adequate space.

My towns main street has sharrows directly in the "door zone" between the street parking and the traffic.

And of course all the normal criticisms of sharrows hold. Mainly that they're much more visible to cyclists than to cars, creating a false sense of security where cyclists feel entitled to a lane while drivers disagree.

Re: Edge Lane Roads a.k.a. Advisory Bike Lanes

#34

Post by julianlam »

blenderdt wrote: post #27
cowmoo728 wrote: post #9

I recently did a few consecutive full day bicycle trips around the Netherlands and rode on many roads like this. I felt safe and drivers were respectful and patient when passing. I would never ride on one of these in the US. I can already imagine the Amazon delivery van or work truck parked in the bicycle section, forcing me into the center. I can also imagine the impatient drivers accelerating way beyond the speed l…

I don't know the rules in the US but in the Netherlands the car is always at fault in case of an accident, unless it is proven the cyclist was at fault. This makes the roads a lot safer for cyclists. When this law was introduced years ago the Dutch also made fun of it: https://youtu.be/ivY06w83fKU

You don't know the rules, but you can probably hazard a guess.

In Toronto, a driver took their eyes off the road, reached for a water bottle on the floor, hopped the curb, hit and killed a pedestrian, and was found not guilty.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/gideon-fekre-sentence...

Re: Edge Lane Roads a.k.a. Advisory Bike Lanes

#35

Post by aqme28 »

blenderdt wrote: post #27
cowmoo728 wrote: post #9

I recently did a few consecutive full day bicycle trips around the Netherlands and rode on many roads like this. I felt safe and drivers were respectful and patient when passing. I would never ride on one of these in the US. I can already imagine the Amazon delivery van or work truck parked in the bicycle section, forcing me into the center. I can also imagine the impatient drivers accelerating way beyond the speed l…

I don't know the rules in the US but in the Netherlands the car is always at fault in case of an accident, unless it is proven the cyclist was at fault. This makes the roads a lot safer for cyclists. When this law was introduced years ago the Dutch also made fun of it: https://youtu.be/ivY06w83fKU

In New York at least, drivers are almost never prosecuted for hitting cyclists or pedestrians, even if the driver is at fault.

Re: Edge Lane Roads a.k.a. Advisory Bike Lanes

#36

Post by nicwolff »

blenderdt wrote: post #27
cowmoo728 wrote: post #9

I recently did a few consecutive full day bicycle trips around the Netherlands and rode on many roads like this. I felt safe and drivers were respectful and patient when passing. I would never ride on one of these in the US. I can already imagine the Amazon delivery van or work truck parked in the bicycle section, forcing me into the center. I can also imagine the impatient drivers accelerating way beyond the speed l…

I don't know the rules in the US but in the Netherlands the car is always at fault in case of an accident, unless it is proven the cyclist was at fault. This makes the roads a lot safer for cyclists. When this law was introduced years ago the Dutch also made fun of it: https://youtu.be/ivY06w83fKU

The laws in the US are a patchwork of state and local regulations – but the rules are "fuck you, I'm drivin' here", and "yeah I'm parked in the bike lane, whaddaya gonna do about it?"

Re: Edge Lane Roads a.k.a. Advisory Bike Lanes

#38

Post by PhineasRex »

occz wrote: post #2

As a staunch supporter of everything that reduces the amount of cars, I can't say that I'm particularly excited about this particular type of bicycle infrastructure. What benefits does it have over a configuration with a properly separated bicycle path? Are the benefits purely economical/space-related? If someone knows more, I'm more than happy to hear you out.

This configuration is for streets without enough room for a dedicated bike lane. An edge-lane road is as wide as a standard two-way with no bike lane.

Re: Edge Lane Roads a.k.a. Advisory Bike Lanes

#39

Post by TulliusCicero »

svnpenn wrote: post #20

> The center lane is dedicated to, and shared by, motorists traveling in both directions. This seems like a great way to produce head on collisions.

The first street I lived on in Munich had only enough space in the road for one lane of traffic + one lane of parking. This meant the road was safer, not more dangerous -- the very fact that it was so narrow meant that cars traveled down it quite carefully.
Post reply on HN