Angled parking vs. parallel next to bike lanes

[Sara R]

I heard on Morning Edition today (NPR) during a discussion of obesity reduction, that Somerville MA was changing parallel parking to angle in parking next to bike lanes because they had several fatalities from dooring..

[John Schubert]

Good that they recognized the dooring hazard, but angle parking won't automatically make the riders safe.  Safety comes from behaviors, and they've only looked at one symptom, not the underlying behavior or its motivation.

Here's why:  what we call "edge" cyclists (that's most cyclists) feel better hugging the edge.  I used to feel this way myself.  ("Better" is some combination of safer, more socially appropriate, less reckless.)

So what are edge cyclists going to do if there aren't parallel-parked cars to skim next to?  Let me count the ways:

-- They ride on the sidewalk.

-- They ride very close to the angle-parked cars, where they're hard to see when a car backs out.  (I have no information about bike/car collisions caused by this configuration.)

-- They ride on the wrong side of the road.  I once worked an accident in which a bicyclist rode on the wrong side of the road, to stay clear of angle-parked cars.  A motorist emerging from a side streeet didn't see the bicyclist and collided with him, and the bicyclist became a quadriplegic.

[Bob Bayn]

While motorists often have to back out of angle parking somewhat blind, it shouldn't be a surprise to approaching cyclists because the backup lights will come on before the car starts backing up.

My friends down in BFC-adoring Salt Lake City have gotten "reverse angle parking" designated in some commercial areas downtown.  While it can be more of a challenge for the un-practiced driver to back into a reverse angle slot, getting out is easy and safe because the driver has a much better view for conflicts before moving forward to merge into the direction of traffic flow.

Some people on bikes are just going to ride on the sidewalks or the wrong side of the road out of fear-driven "comfort" regardless of parking configuration, or no parking at all.  Signs and paint and awareness campaigns aren't going to change them until they will allow someone to mentor them with one-on-one supervision.

Bob Bayn   
Cache Valley, Utah

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From: bicycle...@googlegroups.com [bicycle...@googlegroups.com] on behalf of John Schubert [schu...@aol.com]
Sent: Wednesday, July 25, 2012 3:45 PM
To: bicycle...@googlegroups.com
Subject: [BicycleDriving] Re: Angled parking vs. parallel next to bike lanes

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[Mark Ortiz]

Several fatalities due to dooring in one town?  Or in the metro Boston area?  (Somerville is a Boston suburb, population around 80,000.)  In what time period?

 

Mark Ortiz

 

 

 

From: bicycle...@googlegroups.com [mailto:bicycle...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Sara R

Sent: Monday, July 23, 2012 10:26 PM
To: bicycle...@googlegroups.com

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[John S. Allen]

This might be back-in angle parking which is quite a different thing.

*Several* dooring fatalities in Somerville? I live two towns away and I think I would have heard about that but I haven't.

John S. Allen

jsallen *at* bikexprt.com

http://bikexprt.com

[mark Sauerwald]

If I remember right, there are some parts of the boston Metro area (Beacon St?) where they have angled parking on the left side of the street, with a bike lane on the right curb.   The configuration that I am thinking of has bike lane, travel lane, travel lane, parking, center divide with light rail - travel travel bike lane.

We have some new infrastructure in San Jose where we a one way st, with parallel parking and bike lanes on both sides of the st,  It would have made more sense to me to put angle parking on one side, and bike lane on the other, to allow for the same amount of parking, and no biking in door zones.....

[John S. Allen]

At 04:11 PM 7/26/2012, mark Sauerwald wrote:

>If I remember right, there are some parts of the boston Metro area
>(Beacon St?) where they have angled parking on the left side of the
>street, with a bike lane on the right curb. The configuration that
>I am thinking of has bike lane, travel lane, travel lane, parking,
>center divide with light rail - travel travel bike lane.

See:

http://bikexprt.com/massfacil/brookline/beacon.htm

John S. Allen

Technical Writer/Editor, http://sheldonbrown.com

League Cycling Instructor #77-C

jsallen *at* bikexprt.com
http://bikexprt.com

http://john-s-allen.com/blog
http://bostonbiker.org/streetsmarts

[rod]

I heard that radio spot, and beleved at the time that they were referring to dooring episodes reported in the greater Boston area, not in Somerville per se.

rod

[John Schubert]

Do any of you urban planning experts know what the purported advantages of back-in angle parking are?

I'm guessing that back-in angle parking is touted because when the motorist is leaving the parking space, it's easier for him to see traffic, including bicyclists, on the street.  Isn't that zeroed out by the fact that the motorist has to back his vehicle when entering the parking space?

I have limited experience with back-in angle parking.  I didn't like it.  I was driving our minivan, which is enormous and awkward to park under the best of circumstances, with (sigh) tinted rear windows.  Backing into a narrow space takes more precision than backing out onto the street.

On Monday, July 23, 2012 10:26:06 PM UTC-4, Sara R wrote:

[Bob Bayn]

While we wait for an urban planning expert to respond (are there any on the BD list?), it is my understanding from the SLC implementation that better view of traffic when leaving the space is the sought-after advantage.  And it is clear that it takes more practice and more familiarity with the vehicle to back into a diagonal space than to head in.  But it still isn't as tough or complicated as parallel parking (which has an effective "trick" that I learned in Drivers Ed about 45 years ago).

Bob Bayn
Cache Valley, Utah (near the Middle of Nowhere Olympic site!)

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From: bicycle...@googlegroups.com [bicycle...@googlegroups.com] on behalf of John Schubert [schu...@aol.com]

Sent: Friday, July 27, 2012 10:16 AM
To: bicycle...@googlegroups.com
Subject: [BicycleDriving] Re: Angled parking vs. parallel next to bike lanes

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[Nick Goffee]

I remembered Somerville putting out a brochure about the (purported)
advantages, so I Googled for it and re-found it:

http://www.somervillema.gov/sites/default/files/Back-In-Parking-Brochure.pdf

In the process, I also found:

http://www.somervillema.gov/news/bow-streetunion-square-angle-parking-pilot-shows-early-signs-success

"Traffic radar data indicates that traffic along Bow Street has slowed
by an average of ten percent and bicyclists report that the new bike
lane makes the area safer."

Yes, "bicyclists report," that must make it true...

--Nick

[John S. Allen]

Still, 5 *fatalities*? And in what time period? I'd like to see the data!

John S. Allen
7 University Park
Waltham, MA 02453-1523 USA
781 891-9307
jsa...@bikexprt.com
http://bikexprt.com

[Peter James]

On 2012-07-27 12:16, John Schubert wrote:
>
> I'm guessing that back-in angle parking is touted because when the
> motorist is leaving the parking space, it's easier for him to see
> traffic, including bicyclists, on the street. Isn't that zeroed out by
> the fact that the motorist has to back his vehicle when entering the
> parking space?

When you back into a parking space or stall you can check/confirm that
the space/stall is clear for you to enter.

When you back out of a parking space or stall you can't see what's in
the road or aisleway that you're backing into until you're beyond the
vehicles in adjacent spaces/stalls.

> I have limited experience with back-in angle parking. I didn't like it.
> I was driving our minivan, which is enormous and awkward to park under
> the best of circumstances, with (sigh) tinted rear windows. Backing into
> a narrow space takes more precision than backing out onto the street.

That's what the mirrors are for. You can see the sides and rear corners
of your vehicle and the sides of the vehicles in the adjacent spaces. If
daylight is visible between them and you - you're good to go.


--
Peter James

Patrick Hutber: Improvement means deterioration