brink said:Out in Riverside, Calif., the city has made a change to one its roads - and
it's recent from what I can tell.
There is now a solid-striped lane on the far right of Magnolia Avenue
approaching downtown. Every several hundred feet, it is signed with *three*
advisory signs:
1) a red-and-white "NO PARKING 7am-9am or 4pm-6pm"
2) a black-and-white "BIKE LANE 7am-9am and 4pm-6pm"
3) a green-and-white "ONE HOUR PARKING 9am-4pm"
Now that is a first... a *restricted* bike lane... restricted by time like
one would often see an HOV lane.
I agree that bike lanes in general are counter-productive, especially
near intersections. In Pennsylvania, the bike lane stripe is often
dashed at intersections, indicating that cars are allowed there, just
when things get interesting. Even worse are the cyclists who turn left
from one of these lanes, or drivers who believe that cyclists have to do
that.
We do have to recognize that cyclists will not be treated as equals on
the road to motorists. They will try to pass without changing lanes,
and will do that on blind curves. Rather than a bike lane resulting in
chaos at every intersection, perhaps somewhat wider travel lanes will
allow bikes and cars to coexist on city streets. Or will that just lead
to wider Hummers?
--
David L. Johnson
Enron's slogan: Respect, Communication, Integrity, and Excellence.