Okay, so start by bringing the worst places up to at least a standard where biking is a viable option. Then you’ll get more people agreeing that improvements still need to be made.
The problem is that what constitutes a viable option is not going to be the same everywhere, even in the same region, state, or city. Some places merely need to reallocate space for bikes, even if that means on an expanded sidewalk. Other places already have the space for bikes allocated, but car-centric sprawl makes the distances unappealing.
In almost all circumstances though, I would think protected bikes lanes – ie with physical infra like bollards, curbs, planters – should be the standard, since paint is not infrastructure and half-heartedly dedicating road space benefits no-one: not the bicyclists that want somewhere safe to ride, nor the motorists and delivery drivers that gamble whether they’ll get tickets for parking there.
A “bright-line” delineation serves everyone and is unambiguous. Quick build projects around the USA show that protected bike lanes can be cobbled together on the cheap. But if the political wherewithal isn’t there, it’s not happening. And I don’t think there’s enough political capital to bring everywhere up to painted bike lanes, let alone protected lanes.
I don’t live in the space you’re describing. I live in a space where the bike lane is 2 cm. And then there’s a ditch. And the cars go really fast, and there’s tons of huge to trucks too. You literally can’t ride your bike a mile without risking your life every single time. I want to see that fixed. Yeah barriers and all the nice things would be great, but I want to be able to ride a bike. I can’t do that right now. I think we should fix all of those places, even just making it 0.6m /2 feet wide of a shoulder on the road with no other markings or protections would make me ecstatic. So forgive me for not giving a fuck about protected bike lanes at this point in my life.
I think you have to jump all the way to fully protected bike lanes to get a widespread shift going.
A very small improvement in the width of the unprotected bike lanes would not be enough for the majority of potential bike riders. Then, the opponents have the opportunity to point out the lack of use and crow that the whole idea is a waste of time and money.
But a big change would have a big response, and would relieve a lot of commuters from their reliance on cars. Then the argument that bike lanes are worth the cost and space in cities would have some results to back it up.
The problem is that what constitutes a viable option is not going to be the same everywhere, even in the same region, state, or city. Some places merely need to reallocate space for bikes, even if that means on an expanded sidewalk. Other places already have the space for bikes allocated, but car-centric sprawl makes the distances unappealing.
In almost all circumstances though, I would think protected bikes lanes – ie with physical infra like bollards, curbs, planters – should be the standard, since paint is not infrastructure and half-heartedly dedicating road space benefits no-one: not the bicyclists that want somewhere safe to ride, nor the motorists and delivery drivers that gamble whether they’ll get tickets for parking there.
A “bright-line” delineation serves everyone and is unambiguous. Quick build projects around the USA show that protected bike lanes can be cobbled together on the cheap. But if the political wherewithal isn’t there, it’s not happening. And I don’t think there’s enough political capital to bring everywhere up to painted bike lanes, let alone protected lanes.
I wish I were wrong though.
I don’t live in the space you’re describing. I live in a space where the bike lane is 2 cm. And then there’s a ditch. And the cars go really fast, and there’s tons of huge to trucks too. You literally can’t ride your bike a mile without risking your life every single time. I want to see that fixed. Yeah barriers and all the nice things would be great, but I want to be able to ride a bike. I can’t do that right now. I think we should fix all of those places, even just making it 0.6m /2 feet wide of a shoulder on the road with no other markings or protections would make me ecstatic. So forgive me for not giving a fuck about protected bike lanes at this point in my life.
I think you have to jump all the way to fully protected bike lanes to get a widespread shift going.
A very small improvement in the width of the unprotected bike lanes would not be enough for the majority of potential bike riders. Then, the opponents have the opportunity to point out the lack of use and crow that the whole idea is a waste of time and money.
But a big change would have a big response, and would relieve a lot of commuters from their reliance on cars. Then the argument that bike lanes are worth the cost and space in cities would have some results to back it up.