One of the reasons why I don't like to use bike lanes, at least here in New York, is that motorized vehicles frequently pull in and out, and sometimes park in them. I've even seen drivers use bike lanes for passing.
The problem is that if a car pulls in, or parks, in the lane, there is no room for you to get around it, especially if the lane is "protected", i.e., has a barrier between it and the street. At least, if only a painted line separates you from the street, you can veer into the traffic lane.
Another problem is that drivers often pull into the lane without warning--and, it seems, without looking to see whether cyclists are in the lane. If you are riding in the street and someone makes a sudden turn, you most likely can move over or shift into another lane. You don't have that option in a bike lane--again, especially a "protected" one.
I did not notice such problems when I recently rode bike lanes in Paris and Montreal: Drivers in those cities seem more cognizant that bike lanes are for, well, bikes. That, or the regulations that prohibit motor vehicles are more strictly enforced.
On the other hand, it seems that cyclists in other American cities have experiences with bike lanes similar to the ones I and other cyclists have in New York. Bob Collins, a blogger and news editor for Minnesota Public Radio, offers this: "The biggest problem with bike lanes in the Twin Cities isn't cyclists; it's people who insist on parking their cars in them."
That statement is particularly notable because during the past few years, Minneapolis has stolen some of Portland's, as well as San Francisco's and New York's, thunder as a "bike friendly" city. In 2015, Minneapolis was the only US municipality in Copenhagenize Design Company's index of the world's 20 most bike-friendly cities. Montreal was the only other North American city on the list.
(Copenhagenize's previous indexes were published in 2011 and 2013. I am guessing they will publish another this year, though I have seen no indication of that on their site.)
Anyway, Mr. Collins shows us that there is no end to the ignorance or hostility of lawmakers when it comes to cycling. Some want, or claim to want, to make things safer for us. Others simply don't want to upset drivers, who make up a much larger constituency than cyclists, or see us as renegades, scofflaws or worse.
I don't know which, if either, of those categories includes Minnesota State Representative Duane Quam. Instead of working on regulations to keep motorists from driving or parking in bike lanes--or, for that matter, from texting or talking on cell phones while driving--he has the brilliant idea of limiting access to bike lanes and deterring young people from cycling.
At least, that seems to be the intent of the bill he's filed with the State Legislature. Among other things, it would require anyone who wants to use the bike lanes to take a safety course, register his or her bike and pay an annual $5 fee.
But the most absurd part of that bill stipulates that anyone who rides in a bike lane has to be at least 15 years old. "It's not clear where people under 15--kids going to school comes to mind--are supposed to ride their bikes," Collins wryly notes. He also notes another onerous aspect of the bill: that it applies only to areas with "structures devoted to business, industry or dwelling houses situated at intervals of less than 100 feet for a distance of a quarter mile or more.
In other words, as Collins astutely observes, it is aimed at Minneapolis and St. Paul. Representative Byron comes from Byron, a town of 5063 residents--and no bike lanes.
The problem is that if a car pulls in, or parks, in the lane, there is no room for you to get around it, especially if the lane is "protected", i.e., has a barrier between it and the street. At least, if only a painted line separates you from the street, you can veer into the traffic lane.
Another problem is that drivers often pull into the lane without warning--and, it seems, without looking to see whether cyclists are in the lane. If you are riding in the street and someone makes a sudden turn, you most likely can move over or shift into another lane. You don't have that option in a bike lane--again, especially a "protected" one.
I did not notice such problems when I recently rode bike lanes in Paris and Montreal: Drivers in those cities seem more cognizant that bike lanes are for, well, bikes. That, or the regulations that prohibit motor vehicles are more strictly enforced.
On the other hand, it seems that cyclists in other American cities have experiences with bike lanes similar to the ones I and other cyclists have in New York. Bob Collins, a blogger and news editor for Minnesota Public Radio, offers this: "The biggest problem with bike lanes in the Twin Cities isn't cyclists; it's people who insist on parking their cars in them."
That statement is particularly notable because during the past few years, Minneapolis has stolen some of Portland's, as well as San Francisco's and New York's, thunder as a "bike friendly" city. In 2015, Minneapolis was the only US municipality in Copenhagenize Design Company's index of the world's 20 most bike-friendly cities. Montreal was the only other North American city on the list.
(Copenhagenize's previous indexes were published in 2011 and 2013. I am guessing they will publish another this year, though I have seen no indication of that on their site.)
Anyway, Mr. Collins shows us that there is no end to the ignorance or hostility of lawmakers when it comes to cycling. Some want, or claim to want, to make things safer for us. Others simply don't want to upset drivers, who make up a much larger constituency than cyclists, or see us as renegades, scofflaws or worse.
I don't know which, if either, of those categories includes Minnesota State Representative Duane Quam. Instead of working on regulations to keep motorists from driving or parking in bike lanes--or, for that matter, from texting or talking on cell phones while driving--he has the brilliant idea of limiting access to bike lanes and deterring young people from cycling.
At least, that seems to be the intent of the bill he's filed with the State Legislature. Among other things, it would require anyone who wants to use the bike lanes to take a safety course, register his or her bike and pay an annual $5 fee.
But the most absurd part of that bill stipulates that anyone who rides in a bike lane has to be at least 15 years old. "It's not clear where people under 15--kids going to school comes to mind--are supposed to ride their bikes," Collins wryly notes. He also notes another onerous aspect of the bill: that it applies only to areas with "structures devoted to business, industry or dwelling houses situated at intervals of less than 100 feet for a distance of a quarter mile or more.
In other words, as Collins astutely observes, it is aimed at Minneapolis and St. Paul. Representative Byron comes from Byron, a town of 5063 residents--and no bike lanes.
