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Bike lanes have sped up car traffic in New York City

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Re: Bike lanes have sped up car traffic in New York City

#31

Post by songshu »

bane wrote: post #13

I'm one of those drivers who hates sharing roadways with bikers. It's not that I have to share, but between slowing traffic down, pure safety concerns for the biker (who I as the automobile driver am responsible for in the case of an accident) and the generally shitty entitled attitude lots of bike riders seem to have (probably earned from dealing with irritated drivers like me) I get my hackles raised every time I s…

I bike, drive and walk in Manhattan frequently and find that I am delayed in each case by all of the modes fairly often, and cars certainly get in the way the most, especially to pedestrians. Whichever delay it is, it's just traffic. Sometimes I'll be upset about it, sometimes not. The attitude of some drivers that certain traffic is better than others is bizarrely entitled.

Re: Bike lanes have sped up car traffic in New York City

#32

Post by soperj »

bane wrote: post #13

I'm one of those drivers who hates sharing roadways with bikers. It's not that I have to share, but between slowing traffic down, pure safety concerns for the biker (who I as the automobile driver am responsible for in the case of an accident) and the generally shitty entitled attitude lots of bike riders seem to have (probably earned from dealing with irritated drivers like me) I get my hackles raised every time I s…

I'm one of those bikers who hates sharing roadways with cars. It's not that I have to share, but between taking up so much of the road, pure safety concerns for bikers(since automobile drivers win every single colition) and generally shitty entitled attitude lots of car drivers seem to have (most likely because there are more of them so they think they own the road) I get my hackles raised every time I see one on the roads. Automobiles aren't bikes no matter how much we debate about it. They shouldn't be sharing the roads with bikes.

I see more people driving break the law every day while driving then I've ever seen bikers do in my entire life. People are jerks regardless of what they use to commute with.

Re: Bike lanes have sped up car traffic in New York City

#33

Post by GFischer »

lotsofmangos wrote: post #16
bane wrote: post #13

I'm one of those drivers who hates sharing roadways with bikers. It's not that I have to share, but between slowing traffic down, pure safety concerns for the biker (who I as the automobile driver am responsible for in the case of an accident) and the generally shitty entitled attitude lots of bike riders seem to have (probably earned from dealing with irritated drivers like me) I get my hackles raised every time I s…

"I get my hackles raised every time I see one on the roads. Bikes aren't automobiles no matter how much we debate about it. They shouldn't be sharing the road with cars." Horses must really piss you off then.

Well, today the entire traffic in a (supposedly) main thoroughfare in Montevideo in which I was driving was slowed to a crawl due to a horse-drawn carriage.

Not to mention they're a huge source of accidents (including mortal ones), when the horse freaks out.

Yes, they're a huge problem.

http://www.bluechannel24.com/?p=23885

http://www.pulsamerica.co.uk/2012/07/02/uruguay-crusade-to-f...

Re: Bike lanes have sped up car traffic in New York City

#34

Post by pg_is_a_butt »

i realized the same thing today as i noticed a brand road in town that was just widened to add bike lanes... traffic was certainly going faster, because around the turns, drivers would drift into the bike lanes to widen turn, allowing them to drive faster around the turn.

i'm sure everyone was looking for bikers, but having people routinely wander into a lane that a bike rider might feel extra confident in, and not as likely to watch out for traffic behind them.

Re: Bike lanes have sped up car traffic in New York City

#35

Post by lotsofmangos »

HCIdivision17 wrote: post #20
lotsofmangos wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"I get my hackles raised every time I see one on the roads. Bikes aren't automobiles no matter how much we debate about it. They shouldn't be sharing the road with cars." Horses must really piss you off then.

I don't know if you're joking, but horses aren't much fun to share a road with either. They're slower than the traffic and literally defecate anywhere. It's positively impressive how much urine can be left behind at a stop light.

Road users come in many types. At one point cities were full of horse shit and now they are full of smog from vehicle fumes. No matter your preferred choice of ride, other people's choices may interfere with your day, but it is your choice if you let that get you angry.

Personally, I think people who become dangerously enraged from having to deal with other forms of transport, should probably not be operating a motorised vehicle on the public roads in the first place.

Re: Bike lanes have sped up car traffic in New York City

#36

Post by Pxtl »

bane wrote: post #13

I'm one of those drivers who hates sharing roadways with bikers. It's not that I have to share, but between slowing traffic down, pure safety concerns for the biker (who I as the automobile driver am responsible for in the case of an accident) and the generally shitty entitled attitude lots of bike riders seem to have (probably earned from dealing with irritated drivers like me) I get my hackles raised every time I s…

My list of pet peeves

As a cyclist: motorists

As a motorist: cyclists

And MSBuild.

But yeah, studies have found that when it comes to cyclists, there are three categories: Die-hard fearless ninjas that would bike through an active firefight, bike-haters that would never bike in a million years, and casual cyclists who would bike if they felt it were safe.

Protected bike lanes are they key to getting #3 on the road.

Re: Bike lanes have sped up car traffic in New York City

#38

Post by RyanMcGreal »

shiftpgdn wrote: post #18
bane wrote: post #13

I'm one of those drivers who hates sharing roadways with bikers. It's not that I have to share, but between slowing traffic down, pure safety concerns for the biker (who I as the automobile driver am responsible for in the case of an accident) and the generally shitty entitled attitude lots of bike riders seem to have (probably earned from dealing with irritated drivers like me) I get my hackles raised every time I s…

A cyclist is just a brief inconvenience. It's the same as a school bus or slow driver in a lane requiring you to go around. Every bike on the road is one less car causing traffic. It's crazy to want infrastructure for JUST cyclists when the road is a perfectly good way to travel.

Sorry, but John Forester was wrong - not about the mechanics of vehicular cycling, but the psychology. I'm a year-round, go-anywhere cyclist who rides in mixed traffic on side streets and major arterials alike, and I understand that this puts me in an extreme minority: more than 99% of people simply will not ride a bike unless they have a safe-looking, physically protected space in which to do it.

North America spent the past four decades telling people it's safe to ride a bike in car traffic. Several European cities spent that time building continuous networks of dedicated, physically protected cycle tracks. All you need to do is compare how the modal splits have changed over that time to know which approach was more successful.

Re: Bike lanes have sped up car traffic in New York City

#39

Post by kazinator »

Zarathust wrote: post #25
kazinator wrote: post #4

The "before and after" picture at the bottom of the page shows that both "before" and "after" have bike lanes. The bike lane has grown from 5' to 6" and is separated by a buffer, but it was there before. What has sped up traffic is the creation of left turn pockets in the parking lane. But these could have been created in the "before" situation, by carving them out of the 8" curb-side parking lane. So, the claim that…

This article is horrible. The author also states that > One is that, for the most part, driving lanes weren't actually eliminated when they bike lanes were built — they were simply narrowed. But there is nothing to support the claim that narrower lanes speed up traffic. Also this phrase is copy pasted verbatim further down the article.

This comes from simple fluid dynamics. When a fluid is forced into a narrower pipe, it goes faster. (Venturi also tells us there is a drop in pressure, but it's not clear how this advanced aspect is applicable here.)

Re: Bike lanes have sped up car traffic in New York City

#40

Post by mindslight »

msandford wrote: post #29
bane wrote: post #13

I'm one of those drivers who hates sharing roadways with bikers. It's not that I have to share, but between slowing traffic down, pure safety concerns for the biker (who I as the automobile driver am responsible for in the case of an accident) and the generally shitty entitled attitude lots of bike riders seem to have (probably earned from dealing with irritated drivers like me) I get my hackles raised every time I s…

> Bikes aren't automobiles no matter how much we debate about it. They shouldn't be sharing the road with cars. While I understand the sentiment you need to understand that cyclists are put in a pretty awkward legal situation themselves. They exist in a no-mans-land between pedestrians and vehicles. Sidewalks are often too narrow, too close to blind corners, etc for safety. They're often VERY bumpy. At 2mph a sidewal…

> The police tend to look at cyclists the way you do, and many times don't find fault with drivers even if cyclists are KILLED much less injured or have their bikes destroyed.

I mostly drive these days, but I'm no friend of cars in general or police for that matter. However it's important to keep in mind that injustices occur both ways, and forming blanket statements is a great way to end up just talking past one another.

Many drivers do stupid things (eg right turns, doors), many bikers do stupid things (eg ride on wrong side of road, sidewalks). That doesn't indict either group.

If 'bane is worried about being wrongfully found at fault for an accident with an irresponsible biker, I would say the best approach would be to get a dash cam (or five).

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