How's the bike infrastructure where you ride?

[leehop71]

i spent some time in austin not long ago; some really great progress in bike lane construction over the last few years... but i found the behavior of drivers absolutely terrifying, and i'm a pretty experienced urban/suburban road cyclist. the kind of things that austin drivers in their trucks did regularly would probably get them in serious trouble out here after a few days! it also seemed that the bike lanes were more geared towards tourism and recreation than actually getting places, but i may have missed a lot of the key routes due to unfamiliarity!

I agree completely with driver entitlement road rage attitudes on the roads today!

I’m 70 and was primarily a truck driver my whole life. I’m now an electric bike enthusiast!

I have have seen more horrific entitlement driving in the last 5 years than EVER BEFORE!

I rarely travel to an intersection today where I don’t see blatant red light violations!!

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

i spent some time in austin not long ago; some really great progress in bike lane construction over the last few years... but i found the behavior of drivers absolutely terrifying, and i'm a pretty experienced urban/suburban road cyclist. the kind of things that austin drivers in their trucks did regularly would probably get them in serious trouble out here after a few days! it also seemed that the bike lanes were more geared towards tourism and recreation than actually getting places, but i may have missed a lot of the key routes due to unfamiliarity!

I'm lucky in that my local drivers are generally pretty good about bikes.

If I had to single out one group as the worst by vehicle type, it would be the pickup truck set. Some like to drive with one wheel in their lane and the other on the striped buffer between their lane and mine. Could be a power or control thing, laziness, distracted driving, lack of skill, fantasy of driving a truck too big for a car lane, who knows?

 

[leehop71]

I agree completely with driver entitlement road rage attitudes on the roads today!

I’m 70 and was primarily a truck driver my whole life. I’m now an electric bike enthusiast!

I have have seen more horrific entitlement driving in the last 5 years than EVER BEFORE!

I rarely travel to an intersection today where I don’t see blatant red light violations!!

Some intersections have cameras and take pictures of red light violators and send them a ticket!

They need to have them at every intersection!

 

[AvalancheRun]

i spent some time in austin not long ago; some really great progress in bike lane construction over the last few years... but i found the behavior of drivers absolutely terrifying, and i'm a pretty experienced urban/suburban road cyclist. the kind of things that austin drivers in their trucks did regularly would probably get them in serious trouble out here after a few days! it also seemed that the bike lanes were more geared towards tourism and recreation than actually getting places, but i may have missed a lot of the key routes due to unfamiliarity!

Oh boy, this is timely. I almost got hit tonight by a driver who crossed into a bike lane.

The driver was a young kid with a car full of friends. Despite the fact that there were many cyclists out, and that we passed each other several times on a half mile stretch, and the three flashing lights on my rig & helmet, he still turned into the bike lane without even looking first.

Texas drivers? Yeah, they are abysmal. Zero respect or thought for anyone outside of a car. They also just lack basic skill and spacial awareness that drivers elsewhere seem to have at a minimum. I've lived and biked in many states and nothing scares me as much as Texas, where massively oversized vehicles meets maximum Carbrain.

One major positive in Austin is the one billion dollar "urban trails" infrastructure plan. Urban Trails are protected hike and bike trails that will serve as recreational and commuter connections.

 

[mschwett]

I'm lucky in that my local drivers are generally pretty good about bikes.

If I had to single out obe group as the worst by vehicle type, it would be the pickup truck set. Some like to drive with one wheel in their lane and the other on the striped buffer between their lane and mine. Could be a power or control thing, laziness, distracted driving, lack of skill, fantasy of driving a truck too big for a car lane, who knows?

agree, drivers in the bay area - and particularly SF and Marin County, are generally very, very aware of cyclists, especially on popular routes. the vast majority give you space and even yield sometimes when they aren't required to at intersections. there's a tiny minority who aren't aware and respectful, and unfortunately that sometimes has tragic consequences.

the absolute absolute worst at the moment, as a group, are rivian drivers, closely followed by any large, lifted, tricked out pickup truck. entitlement plus testosterone plus poor visibility from a vehicle with awful dynamics. steer clear!!

 

[leehop71]

Oh boy, this is timely. I almost got hit tonight by a driver who crossed into a bike lane.

The driver was a young kid with a car full of friends. Despite the fact that there were many cyclists out, and that we passed each other several times on a half mile stretch, and the three flashing lights on my rig & helmet, he still turned into the bike lane without even looking first.

Texas drivers? Yeah, they are abysmal. Zero respect or thought for anyone outside of a car. They also just lack basic skill and spacial awareness that drivers elsewhere seem to have. I've lived and biked in many states and nothing scares me as much as Texas where massively oversized vehicles and maximum Carbrain meet.

One major positive in Austin is the one billion dollar "urban trails" infrastructure plan. Urban Trails are protected hike and bike trails that will serve as recreational and commuter connections.

I took the wife on the back of the XP last night looking at Christmas lights. Fortunately there’s not much traffic in our neighborhood. I upgraded to the Premium headlight and it works great!

 

[mschwett]

Oh boy, this is timely. I almost got hit tonight by a driver who crossed into a bike lane.

The driver was a young kid with a car full of friends. Despite the fact that there were many cyclists out, and that we passed each other several times on a half mile stretch, and the three flashing lights on my rig & helmet, he still turned into the bike lane without even looking first.

Texas drivers? Yeah, they are abysmal. Zero respect or thought for anyone outside of a car. They also just lack basic skill and spacial awareness that drivers elsewhere seem to have at a minimum. I've lived and biked in many states and nothing scares me as much as Texas, where massively oversized vehicles meets maximum Carbrain.

One major positive in Austin is the one billion dollar "urban trails" infrastructure plan. Urban Trails are protected hike and bike trails that will serve as recreational and commuter connections.

we had a tragic case here recently of a drunk driver who crossed the center line, went into the opposing lane, all the way into a bike lane (no physical separation) and killed a national cycling champion. not much that anyone can do to avoid it when something egregious like that happens - i'm guessing even a curb might not have done it, the mountable pylons that most new separated bike lanes feature, certainly not.

unfortunately the third part of making cycling safe (after infrastructure and driver behavior) is enforcement. many, many months after the incident, the suspect here was finally indicted.

 

[AvalancheRun]

we had a tragic case here recently of a drunk driver who crossed the center line, went into the opposing lane, all the way into a bike lane (no physical separation) and killed a national cycling champion. not much that anyone can do to avoid it when something egregious like that happens - i'm guessing even a curb might not have done it, the mountable pylons that most new separated bike lanes feature, certainly not.

unfortunately the third part of making cycling safe (after infrastructure and driver behavior) is enforcement. many, many months after the incident, the suspect here was finally indicted.

View attachment 167566

That's just about the same scenario that resulted in the death of Boryana Straubel (wife of Tesla founder J.B. Straubel).

We need to push our representatives for better traffic enforcement and vehicle calming measures. Chat GPT is an excellent secretary for drafting emails.

 

[Prairie Dog]

The truck in the bike lane by an empty sidewalk makes me wonder if you can safely go around it on the left ? The space does not look wide enough to get by.

There likely wouldn’t be enough space to get by that delivery van so one would have no choice but to ride around it or on the sidewalk. In reality, bike infrastructure in Tokyo is severely lacking and with the high number of its people who ride on a daily basis one might think there would be plenty of incidents but that appears to be just the opposite. Everyone just gets along and in Japanese culture there is a high level of tolerance/patience often referred to as ‘Gaman’. With so many people riding bikes, people become more sensitive to the needs of riders. It all seems to work in a coordinated fashion. Also, one is not allowed to bring a bike onto a train without first disassembling it and placing it in a bike bag. It’s difficult enough bringing your luggage on board during rush hour.

 

[Art Deco]

There likely wouldn’t be enough space to get by that delivery van so one would have no choice but to ride around it or on the sidewalk. In reality, bike infrastructure in Tokyo is severely lacking and with the high number of its people who ride on a daily basis one might think there would be plenty of incidents but that appears to be just the opposite. Everyone just gets along and in Japanese culture there is a high level of tolerance/patience often referred to as ‘Gaman’. With so many people riding bikes, people become more sensitive to the needs of riders. It all seems to work in a coordinated fashion. Also, one is not allowed to bring a bike onto a train without first disassembling it and placing it in a bike bag. It’s difficult enough bringing your luggage on board during rush hour.

The train makes sense really, even carrying a backpack onto public transit is bad at rush hour most places. I think I would politely walk the bike around it the first time or two. Until I got pissed off enough to forget...

 

[Kayakguy]

Some intersections have cameras and take pictures of red light violators and send them a ticket!

They need to have them at every intersection!

Our town tried the red light cameras a few years ago, and had to pull them out due to bad drivers protesting them. I see red light runners all the time.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Our town tried the red light cameras a few years ago, and had to pull them out due to bad drivers protesting them. I see red light runners all the time.

Just think that a dozen years ago I was convicted by an administrative court for driving through red lights, and it was only a quarter of a second! I could only have received a ticket but fell victim to the reorganization of the traffic enforcement system at that time

Not funny to see a cop at your front door...

 

[AvalancheRun]

Just think that a dozen years ago I was convicted by an administrative court for driving through red lights, and it was only a quarter of a second! I could only have received a ticket but fell victim to the reorganization of the traffic enforcement system at that time

Not funny to see a cop at your front door...

In many parts of the US right now drivers can run red lights all day without fear of consequence. Drivers here and elsewhere will also just go through red if it’s clear.

Texas outlawed red-light cams, and generally speaking I believe it’s difficult/impossible to charge a person for other moving violations unless caught in the act on scene. Video of the vehicle with license plate is not enough.

Even though it might seem like overkill, I’m ready for serious traffic enforcement. Cars kill and maim too many people.

 

[steve mercier]

I'm lucky in that my local drivers are generally pretty good about bikes.

If I had to single out one group as the worst by vehicle type, it would be the pickup truck set. Some like to drive with one wheel in their lane and the other on the striped buffer between their lane and mine. Could be a power or control thing, laziness, distracted driving, lack of skill, fantasy of driving a truck too big for a car lane, who knows?

You said it....when we are riding in a group we warn each other by shouting " F**k up truck" whenever we see one approaching from the rear stradling the right lines on the shoulder, or speeding or just generally driving in an aggressive way.

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

San Diego infrastructure update:

San Diego gets $2.25M grant for pedestrian, bicycle safety

This is the second consecutive year that San Diego has received funding from the program. Last year, the city received $680,000 to develop a Comprehensive Speed Management Plan, Historically Disadvantaged Community Quick Build Program and Slow Streets Program.

www.kpbs.org

This is most welcome. I gave the infrastructure here in North County an 8/10 here, but the parts of downtown I'm familiar with would get a 5/10 at best.

That big step down in infrastructure and sense of safety is a big barrier to exploring this beautiful, vibrant city and bay by bike. And it's easy to throw the bikes on the train to get there.

Just a taste of the views from Shelter Island and Point Loma.

 

[steve mercier]

San Diego infrastructure update:

San Diego gets $2.25M grant for pedestrian, bicycle safety

This is the second consecutive year that San Diego has received funding from the program. Last year, the city received $680,000 to develop a Comprehensive Speed Management Plan, Historically Disadvantaged Community Quick Build Program and Slow Streets Program.

www.kpbs.org

This is most welcome. I gave the infrastructure here in North County an 8/10 here, but the parts of downtown I'm familiar with would get a 5/10 at best.

That big step down in infrastructure and sense of safety is a big barrier to exploring this beautiful, vibrant city and bay by bike. And it's easy to throw the bikes on the train to get there.

View attachment 167994
View attachment 167991View attachment 167992View attachment 167993
Just a taste of the views from Shelter Island and Point Loma.

I spent a month down there a few years ago....I would have rated it a 3 at best.

 

[PedalUma]

Our City is seriously considering taking the speed limit in residential areas down to 20 mph, similar to what Amsterdam just did city-wide.

 

[BlackHand]

Our City is seriously considering taking the speed limit in residential areas down to 20 mph, similar to what Amsterdam just did city-wide.

That's what it is in Seattle.

Know the limit: 20 MPH on all residential streets, 25 MPH on most arterials (streets with a yellow line down the middle) in Seattle.

 

[PedalUma]

That's what it is in Seattle.

Thanks, I will pass that on. It is good to know there is a working precedent domestically.

 

[Paris]

Q: On a scale of 0 to 10, how would you rate the bike infrastructure where you usually ride?

Please share the area being rated and give us some idea of the reasons for your rating. If you have a helpful comparison, please share that, too. I'll start....

Coastal San Diego County, California: At least 8/10 overall north of San Diego proper — i.e., Del Mar to Oceanside.

Wide, well-marked bike lanes on all major and many lesser roads, some with physical barriers; many well-marked shared bike/car lanes where necessary; many MUPs; some totally separated bike paths. Bikes everywhere.

Drivers here are generally used to the bikeways and respect them. Pedestrians and runners are often the biggest threats — especially in touristy areas. Runners seem determined to take over some of the dedicated bike paths — even when they have dedicated pedestrian paths to run on.

Of course, the infrastructure here's not as impressive as Amsterdam's, but top-notch by US standards. In contrast, almost NO bike infrastructure where I am at the moment — Concord, CA, at the NE corner of the San Francisco Bay Area. Decided NOT to a rent a bike here for that very reason. Very few bikes on the streets.

I always feel lucky because my region of Northern Virginia has a very good system of dedicated bike paths. I live about seven miles west of Mount Vernon, and if I go not more than a quarter mile from my home riding through a suburban neighborhood, I will find myself on beautifully paved bike path which connects to the Mount Vernon Trail which is another well-paved bike path along the Potomac River. That goes for fifteen miles before connecting to another paved trail which leads to the C&O towpath, which after one-hundred and eighty-five miles connects to the GAP trail in Cumberland, Maryland, which goes to Pittsburg. Although I have never yet done it, I could go from my home to Pittsburg, almost four-hundred miles away, without traveling more than a half a mile on anything but an off-road, mostly well-surfaced, bike path.