LexRides

[Myke Dronez]

Get out your flamethrowers....I know everybody is always saying how much bike lanes are needed. They can be convenient but they can also be dangerous by alienating a cyclist from the flow of traffic. It seems like I've had many close calls riding in bike lanes, and have been hit before by someone turning right across a bike lane (while the person in the right turn lane waved them over). The false sense of security that BLs provide is abruptly shattered by impacting side of a vehicle that didn't see you and wasn't looking in the first place. It seems most Lexington drivers are pretty oblivious and the safest way to ride is right in their face. Bike lanes make people feel good like recycling and driving hybrids but I kind of think they're really just romanticized as some sort of end all be all. It would be nice to see mixed use lanes or proper bike paths with no cars at all. In the end I feel like BLs are more of a convenience for cars than bicycles- that 4" strip of paint makes a high speed flyby so much more comfortable. God forbid a car slow down to safely pass a cyclist who they are sharing a lane with. The road is there - just take it. And not in a "I am cyclist, hear me roar" way, but just what you need. There is a happy medium between passive and critical mass-esque buffoonery... (hope those have gotten better)
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"If you don't want stupid answers don't ask questions."

[brokebike]

I agree with you on all your points. Bike lanes make me feel less safe than riding in traffic does. Personally, I hate the fact that most bike lanes just create larger shoulders for trash, broken glass, rocks, and other road debris to inhabit... and nearly all of my flats have been because I was riding in a bike lane and ran over a huge chunk of glass or metal.

However, there are a lot of people out there who ride only in bike lanes; where bike lanes are present. Otherwise, they ride on sidewalks, which to me is exponentially more dangerous for everyone when compared to the other two options.

I've always just taken the altruistic stance that if they get more people on bikes that wouldn't normally be on bikes, then they can't be a totally bad idea... despite the many flaws that bike lanes have.... and I say that as a traffic rider.

[elzie5000]

I agree with most of those points, but there are some situations where bike lanes are an improvement.

Richmond Rd for example, given the speed of traffic and shoulder design (or lack thereof) I think is a lot safer now than it was before the bike lane. Most notably on the inbound side between Shriner's and Idle Hour.

The thing I hate most about bike lanes are the people who ride in them against traffic. I try to give them a cheerful "wrong way a-hole!" and force them into oncoming traffic.

[jkizzle]

i feel like if there was more signage, such as stoplights for bikelanes etc that you see elsewhere around the world, they would become much safer. i think that it is just a matter of education. it took a long time before my girlfriend realized that it could be me she was smashing into by not checking bike lanes before merging or turning, but after a few weeks of yelling at her anytime i was in the car with her, she got the idea.

i think that goes to ways as well. ive seen alot of people who obviously arnt really comfortable on their bike racing past cars with their turn signals on slowing to turn or going the wrong way in bike lanes almost get the blacktop special.

i feel like some better education or signage, maybe some PSAs on tv or something would help. maybe not, who knows.

[Myke Dronez]

Yeah, aside from the debris hazards, I think the dangerous thing about bike lanes is that most drivers are oblivious to them- not everyone has a cyclist around to promote awareness but like G.I. Joe says 'knowing is half the battle'. I noticed in Chicago there was mixed use lanes that were full size and integrate cyclists with traffic more than a standard BL. While this concept might still make some casual cyclists uncomfortable, it's not false advertising. When a bike lane is sectioned off on a Lexington street it is supposed to be a safe space but is destined to become a gutter full of trash and potholes- whenever there is any roadwork done in a BL, they always do the most piss poor repair jobs creating more opportunities for wrecks, pinch flats etc. It's not that I hate BLs I just wish they were more like a real lane and not a glorified shoulder. I'm really just playing devil's advocate and venting some of my frustration with the 'system' that 'the man' is trying to impose. Now get on your bikes and ride!!!!!
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"If you don't want stupid answers don't ask questions."

[mcrib]

Often times the bikes lanes, and I am mostly talking about the ones on Euclid, just get used as parking spots. The bands that play at the god damn fish tank always park in the bike lane to load their shit and it always pisses me off so one day I told them it was a bike lane not a parking spot and you would have thought I'd smeared shit on their face. I really thought they were going to get in their car and drive after me. So yes I too have many problems with the bike lanes.
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Albert Einstein trembled when he found out time was water. Seeping through the rafters to put out this burning world.

[willard]

I usually use bike lanes and traffic lanes simultaneously. I will ride in the in BL during long stretches of road where there are not many intersections or side streets, and merge over into the driving lane to pass through stoplights. This helps ensure you don’t get hooked by someone turning right. The rest of the time I am in the bike lane I just adjust my speed to stay out of driver's blind spots.

If there is no bike lane I don't hesitate to take a whole lane. I think wobbling in the gutter only invites cars to squeeze past you and clip you with a mirror. You get some honkage, but I think my safety is worth pissing a few people off.

So far I have never been hit or really even had a close encounter, so I have had pretty good luck with that riding style.