Re: [Ebbc-Talk] In America's 'Most Bikeable' Cities, Bike Lanes Rule : NPR

1999 Brit! Paris has had a cycling revolution since then with the Vélib'
bike sharing being introduced in 2007. Traditionally, Parisians watched
cycling on TV. They did not ride. They have subsequently developed a network
of bike facilities and people are seen all over the place on the Vélib'
bikes. Copenhagen is another place that that had to retrofit bikes in to its
autocentric design, and again to great success. This all bodes well for NYC,
LA and Chicago that are trying to turn biking into a de facto mode. "Cycle
tracks and shared facilities sometimes need a change need a paradigm change
for cyclists used to fighting for space on the street. The "tortoise and the
hare" comes to mind. 

-----Original Message-----
From: [email protected]
[mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Brit Harvey
Sent: 19 May 2012 07:32
To: 'Len Conly'; [email protected]
Subject: Re: [Ebbc-Talk] In America's 'Most Bikeable' Cities, Bike Lanes
Rule : NPR

I rode on a couple of "parking-separated cycle tracks" in Paris. They did
not make me feel safe. People getting out of cars constantly cross your
"track" and sometimes unload packages, babies, etc. into the "track", since
it is safer than the car side. Getting doored from the left side is a risk
unless the "track" is quite wide. Pedestrians cross mid-block, slipping
between cars and are hard to see. The bicyclist is trapped in the narrow
"track" with little room for evasive actions. There are commonly large
street trees immeidately adjacent to the "track", which along with parked
cars, make it likely that a falling bicyclist will hit a fixed object. The
car parking has to end well before any cross-streets or the bicyclists will
be dealing with impaired sight lines for both seeing and being seen by
turning vehicles. I only noticed two of these "tracks" in Paris in 1999. I
don't know whether they were experiments, whether they still exist, or
whether there are more of them now. I do know that I would rather ride with
the motor vehicle traffic than in one of these "tracks". 

Brit Harvey 

-----Original Message-----
From: [email protected]
[mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Len Conly
Sent: Friday, May 18, 2012 7:32 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: [Ebbc-Talk] In America's 'Most Bikeable' Cities,Bike Lanes Rule :
NPR

> Lerner says that despite its hilly geography, San Francisco tied with 
> Portland on the strength of its extensive network of bike lanes.
>
>
> New York made the Top 10 list primarily for its efforts to build new, 
> and safer, bike lanes.
>
> "For example, they have what are called parking-separated cycle 
> tracks, where there's a barrier of parked cars between the traffic and 
> the bikers - and that's a really great way to make bikers feel safer."
>
> As Lerner tells NPR's Melissa Block, Walk Score recently assigned a 
> Bike Score to U.S. cities based on four criteria: the number of bike 
> lanes and hills; the nearness of destinations; and the number of bike 
> commuters...
>

http://www.npr.org/2012/05/18/153029914/minneapolis-portland-ore-top-
bikeable-cities-list





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