How to ruin a buffered bike lane

[Serge Issakov]

(Due to wide distribution please do not reply-all)

Outstanding must-read food-for-thought article about cycle tracks vs buffered bike lanes from CyclingSavvy co-founder Keri Caffrey. 

https://cyclingsavvy.org/2024/06/how-to-ruin-a-buffered-bike-lane/

Serge

[Karl Rudnick]

All - I am sharing Danile Powell's comments after reading Keri Caffrey's article. Daniel is an original BikeWalkSolana member and is the recent serious injury victim of ill-placed flex posts at the northbound Camino Del Mar / Jimmy Durante diverge mentioned in the article.

"Very well written article. As a self-described “Urban Road Warrior” cyclist, with over 100,000 miles ridden over 50+ years in all sorts of conditions and roads, I can unequivocally say “NO Random Obstacles anywhere near bike lanes.”

It’s safety theater, not real safety. I do know one thing for me: no bollard= no injury.

I’ve said for many years that cycling is the most dangerous thing I do. I thought my greatest danger was a distracted driver, or an angry driver. I still do. But a close second is bad roads, including glass , rocks and obstacles in bike lanes and any vertical (non)“protective” barrier, that just creates an obstacle when one did not previously exist. The Del Mar traffic engineer told me the solution: “Don’t cycle near the bollards” Brilliant. That’s what traffic engineering school must teach you: create barriers; tell people to avoid them. 

I kinda think action will only be taken for REAL SAFER roads for cyclists (rather than safety theater) is when there is a substantial payout to an injured cyclist or a dead cyclist’s family. 

There are three types of lies: 1.) lies, 2.) damn lies and 3.) statistics

Up to 53% is one of those “statistics”. I doubt if it was any more than plucked from thin air. 

As long as all the city traffic engineers believe the “statistics”, and they sit around and hold hands and agree that obstructions are “best practices” and they have their ‘plucked from thin air statistics’ to back up lame designs, they have immunity.

I started a non-profit many years ago to allow cyclists to travel from any point to any point safely and conveniently (because riding was neither safe nor convenient in many/most areas). I’m going to add confidently to my first two desires. I have become less confident riding with random obstacles. One more thing to consider. "

-- Karl

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[Scott Mace]

On this past Sunday, I was driving through Tehama County in northern California and encountered the following buffered bike lane, a variety I had never seen or heard about before:

I didn't linger to examine this, but it is speculated by those who've seen my photo that this is pattern-embossed and painted cement, not real bricks.

I will try to get back there later in the summer to further investigate. Or does anyone here know for sure?

This is on a brief stretch of State Highway 99 in the village of Los Molinos. I'm curious how Caltrans dreamed this up, and whether they or anyone else has used it anywhere else.

Scott Mace

[Pete van Nuys]

Ah, yeah... that's not expensive.

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