This is as American as apple pie. In my city, they made the protected bike lanes so small that they can't get street sweepers in so they're filled with years is shit.
this post was submitted on 27 Oct 2024
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Huh. My city invested in bike-lane sized snow plows and sweepers when they installed the lanes and they’re great!
Some places make the bike lanes car lane sized so emergancy vehicles can use them to go around car congestion
I mean, they do fit a car if you don’t mind only having a 1/2” clearance between the curbs. It’s pretty much a car lane with a line down the middle and those bars that can fold down, but lock in the middle to stop cars from entering.
Not sure I’ve ever seen an emergency vehicle in one.
Those are called bollards. [email protected]
I swear I knew that!
:)
barrier=bollard
bollard=foldable
In OpenStreetMap https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Tag:barrier%3Dbollard
I wish I had real bollards. The best my city will do is those floppy white reflective soft ones thay get flattened by a car the moment they're put up
My house came with a real bollard, a 4" diameter steel pipe embedded in concrete, to protect its corner parking lot. It's amazing how scraped up this thing is. I suppose I should put some kind of reflectors on it, but it's more amusing to imagine dumbasses running into it at the same frequency they drive up on my lawn.
Sounds wonderful.
We have practically no bike lanes in my entire county. But there are a couple sections about a hundred feet long in different parts of the county. It's a start I guess?
That bike lane doesn't really look that safe anyway. With the amount of space it took, they could easily have installed more physical seperation like larger curbs, bollards, a line of trees. I don't even see the texturing they use on the asphalt to warn drivers they are exiting their lane. The current design offers no protection against drunk or distracted driving. Even something as simple as a car pulling over for a firetruck could result in a collision with a cyclist.
That white car further down in the picture demonstrates exactly why you need protected bike lanes. For crying out loud you could fit two cars in that lane and they still can't stay inside it.
Also a good argument for that texturing i was talking about. The driver may not be aware of how far over the line they are. With the texturing it is difficult to ignore the lines.
They aren't aware, but I guarantee it's not because of the markings. Probably looking at their phone.
Yes, and if there was texture it would be felt in the car. The markings I'm refering are small bumps on or beside the line. They make the vehicle vibrate and produce a loud noise when a tire drives on them. It might make them look up from their phone
I see now. "Might". I would much like the tree separation you mentioned, not only a physical barrier but a noise and wind breaker. But it would cost more... :(
My understanding is they are very cheap to install relatively speaking. All lanes should really have them, they are really useful even for regular driving. For example if you have to cross a shoulder line or center line it can give the driver a better idea of exactly where the line and their vehicle is. They also help find the shoulder or center line if some snow is covering the paint. If pulling over all the way onto the shoulder, you know when you are completely out the lane after the second set of vibrations.
Which is why I always ride on the sidewalk. In my city the bike lane (assuming there is one) is separated by nothing but a line of paint. You'd have to be suicidal to use that shit.
There's an empty lane RIGHT THERE
So close
fuckcars moment
Why does it say "Lane Bike" on the road? Do people suddenly start reading from bottom to top when they're driving?
Lots of markings on roads follow this pattern. I think the logic is that the closer (bottom) text comes into focus first.
But yeah, when you look at it, it just looks backwards
The problem is that humans are not Xerox machines and we don't read by a direct line moving ahead of us, but instead we focus on objects. If the "LANE | BIKE" sign were separated by fifty feet it would be logical, as each line would be its own distinct object, but by having them so close it actually inhibits attribution.
I would argue that as soon as that's the case and letters have to be spread far and wide, a sign might be more appropriate.
I mean, I didn't even notice it was written backwards until these comments, so obviously some of us have already learned to read it that way.
I think it's how they do it in America (I was watching a video of James May reviewing a cybertruck, and he commented on markings that say things like "Xing Pedestrian"). It makes a certain kind of sense, I suppose.
AVOIDING THIS SIGN
Why am I not surprised that this is Dana Point...
I thought I recognized that road! You see this shit all over OC, but at least there are places to bike.
That bike lane is a place to bike in the same way a tightrope over some rapids is a bridge…
Same kinda genius who programs it with "KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE ROAD", but more dangerous.
especially when they have to go around the sign
“High instances of bicyclists swerving into road in this area”
Classic.
BIKES!