What Kinds Of Bike Lanes—And Where?

 When cities build bike lanes, they need to ask themselves what kind of cycling they are trying to promote. Answering that question should, at least in theory, help to determine what kind of lane will be built and where it will be placed.

It would seem that if a city really wants cycling to be á transportation option people would consider in lieu of driving or mass transportation—or in conjunction with the latter (e.g., riding a bike to a train station)—lanes that parallel main road would be the answer. 

Then the question arises as to whether the bike lane can be physically separated from the roadway. On some streets, that may not be an option.  Then one has to wonder whether a “bike lane” that is separated from traffic only by lines of paint would incentivize people to ride.

Also, bike infrastructure planning increasingly includes eBikes: Sales of them have quadrupled during the past five years. So…Should eBikes (and motorized scooters) share lanes with traditional human-powered bikes?  Can a lane be so designed—or would eBikes and other motorized “micromobility” vehicles be prioritized as automobiles have been over pedestrians and cyclists for more than a century?

(Or would there be a situation like we have in New York, where prohibitions against motorized vehicles in bike lanes simply aren’t enforced?)

Photo by Scott G. Winterton for Deseret News

I got to thinking about these questions after coming across this article. Apparently, planners in South Jordan, Utah are grappling with them, and others, as they decide on what kinds of bike lanes, and where, to build. It will be interesting to see what they decide.

I Rode This Once

 Believe it or not, I once rode a bike like this one:

Note that I said “once.!”

Cleaning Up

 Many cities, including my hometown of New York, use “street sweepers”:  slow-moving vehicles with large rotating brushes and, sometimes, a vacuum cleaner. They are designed not only to whisk debris off the streets but also to wash oil and other substances that can make roadways slick.

For some time, I’ve thought there should be a bicycle equivalent of street sweepers to clear trails and paths. 

(Better maintenance would help, too:  Someone once joked that if you ride Brooklyn’s Ocean Parkway lane, when you get to Coney Island you won’t need to ride the Cyclone because you’ve already ridden over so many humps. I could say the same for the Pelham Parkway lane, which I rode this morning!)

They say the great minds think alike. So, in the immortal words of The Brain, someone was pondering what I’ve been pondering. And that person has more engineering ability, or is simply more of a tinkerer, than I am.