Comments on The Urban Country Bicycle Blog: Bike Lanes: A Motorist Invention?

The term "vehicular cycling" was NOT inv...

2011-12-28T09:05:32.983-05:00

The term "vehicular cycling" was NOT invented by John Forester. It was invented by a CalTrans engineer (and cyclist with the Los Angeles Wheelmen) named Harold "Hal" Munn in a paper he read before the American Society of Civil Engineers in November, 1974, and was then published in their journal in November, 1975 under the title "Bicycles and Traffic."

As late as December, 1973 John Forester was still advocating specialized bicycle facilities, in the form of "Bicycle Boulevards." He read a paper to this effect before the American Society of Civil Engineer's MAUDEP Conference in Orlando that month. The boulevards were eventually installed several years later under the direction of Ellien Fletcher.

I can understand that, I have a switch to hybrid d...

2011-06-28T21:39:53.720-04:00

I can understand that, I have a switch to hybrid drive a car when necessary and cycling. And all I want bike lanes for cyclists that makes it easier for motorists to avoid insurance claims and accidents prevented. Is it wrong to want a comprehensive strategy of the street for all users? If car drivers understand the benefits more bike lanes to the security of their own vehicles, they can get behind.

Gridlocked motorized traffic is a failure. A failu...

2011-02-06T02:41:54.444-05:00

Gridlocked motorized traffic is a failure. A failure of politicians, traffic and urban planners, engineers and the common citizen. It is a waste of resources and a direct source of both tailpipe and power plant emissions directly into the blood and brains (and wallets!) of cyclists riding nearby (or not). When cars cannot move and the bikes can, it makes the latter seem heroic or wonderful or something. But, no, unless it is aliens visiting the planet, these people are the citizens who are letting gridlock happen, whether or not they voted for or against this season's asshole politician. It is not a good idea to force people out of their cars, but taxing them to a certain extent is fine. Still, they are driving. We have not changed their minds. We have failed.

As a former resident of Florida, I would guess the...

2011-02-05T20:10:49.269-05:00

As a former resident of Florida, I would guess there is another reason for slow uptake of cycling in Orlando despite bike lanes: it's HOT and humid most of the year. The central part of FL doesn't get a sea breeze like the coasts. Just unlocking your bike is enough to make you sweat. I'm not kidding. Even slowly cruising along on my cruiser from place to place I would get sweaty. Heck, just standing at a bus stop makes you sweat. Combine that with the sprawling distances in Orlando and nobody would consider cycling an option. Floridians like their weather but live indoors in their AC a good chunk of the time.

http://bikeportland.org/2010/06/11/hit-and-run-on-...

2010-06-11T18:45:45.679-04:00

http://bikeportland.org/2010/06/11/hit-and-run-on-se-division-leads-to-serious-injuries/

a line of paint doesn't protect you.

(shaking head) all you people on here are telling ...

2010-06-11T18:36:42.226-04:00

(shaking head)
all you people on here are telling me John Forrester is Wrong?!!?

My brain hurts.
JAT in Seattle

typo: "per say" = " per se"

Thanks for alerting me to your article on Forester...

2010-04-09T03:06:47.869-04:00

Thanks for alerting me to your article on Forester, James. Good job interviewing Mighk.

Looking at Google's Bike There of Orlando, Despite having some bike paths shooting out into the suburbs, the downtown has been slashed by big highways and doesn't have a tight-knit network of bike lanes in the core.

A big reason why Orlando has a low cycling share, in my humble opinion, is that the city is sprawling, pedestrian-unfriendly.

I can understand this, I myself am a hybrid commut...

2010-04-06T20:54:37.828-04:00

I can understand this, I myself am a hybrid commuter who drives a car when necessary and rides a bicycle. And as much as I want bike lanes for cyclists, it does make it easier for car drivers to avoid insurance claims and preventable accidents. Is it wrong to want a complete street strategy for all road users? If more car drivers understood the bike lane benefits to the safety of their own vehicles they may get behind them more.

Mr. Forrester is simply wrong about cycling in the...

2010-02-14T10:34:27.651-05:00

Mr. Forrester is simply wrong about cycling in the Netherlands. He seems to be a strict integrationalist, but he makes no compelling argument for why it would be wrong to segregate. I agree that shoving cyclist to the side of the road on a crappy lane is a bad idea, but what's wrong with a high quality separated facility?

I think both segratation and integration should be used, in the places best suited for them. My point would be that the entire design of the street should clearly communicate to all road users what is expected. This should include road design, pavement materials, placement of buildings, placement of parking spaces, curve radius, etc.
The best thing you can do is "not send mixed signals". So in low speed residential streets, don't segregate bicycles and don't use tarmac, because that signals "high speed". Let the steet itself clearly communicate how road users should behave, and road users will behave.

Car drivers never cease to advocate for their full...

2010-02-02T07:03:40.500-05:00

Car drivers never cease to advocate for their fully-segregated infrastructure.

Proper bike infrasturcture is much, much cheaper than building fully-segregated car-only expressways.

The problem in Toronto is that the cycling infrastructure is crappy. "Door zone" bike lanes without physical separation from cars, intersection conflicts with cars and pedestrians, failure to clear snow and ice from bike lanes, etc, etc.

Dutch cities have proper fully-segregated bike lanes with conflicts engineered out and promptly cleared of snow and ice.

We can easily do the same in Toronto, it is just a matter of political will.

Look, for example, at how long it took to build half of the new RailTrail. And the fact that the other half is going nowhere.

You might find it a strange idea, but it is correc...

2010-02-02T03:18:59.155-05:00

You might find it a strange idea, but it is correct.

``Between 1926 and 1928 firm demands were made to remove cyclists from the roadways through the construction of cycle tracks. The first bible of cycle track construction, “The economic significance of cycle traffic and the construction of cycle tracks,” was published by Dr. Henneking in 1926. This brought about the development of the “Guidelines for creation of cycle tracks” by the Study Group for the Construction of Roads for Automobiles in 1927. In contrast to the example of England, from this time the construction of cycle tracks intensified in Germany, so that cyclists finally come “off the streets”''

http://www.galwaycycling.org/history-of-cycle-tracks/http://www.galwaycycling.org/history-of-cycle-tracks/

Cycle paths can be useful, usually they're not.

This idea that motorists invented bike lanes is ve...

2010-02-02T02:01:48.224-05:00

This idea that motorists invented bike lanes is very strange. Here in the Netherlands, the first cycle path definitely came about due to a cycling organisation - albeit one which changed itself into a motoring organisation at a later date.

Anyway, what does it matter who came up with the idea ? If it was discovered that the heart bypass was invented by someone who beat his wife, would that make it a less useful procedure ?

Cycle facilities should be judged on their usability, their suitability for purpose and ultimately how well they achieve their goal (of increasing cycling).

I have not ridden in Orlando, but if it is true that cycling is such a minority pursuit as you've said, really true that just 0.5% of adult commuters (the easiest demographic to attract to cycling) cycle, then that is clear evidence that they haven't got it right.

Forester had a point, once. And so does Bertrand R...

2010-02-02T00:59:02.041-05:00

Forester had a point, once. And so does Bertrand Russell (see "Power").

Feeling powerless on the roads to bullies with two-tonne killing machines often makes advocates out of cyclists, therefore some will band up together and attempt to get bike lanes.

In some places, cycling is so rare, and also so culturally foreign, that only a very few will ever ride a bike.

But in many other places, like Toronto, we see more people being attracted to cycling every year. And, for many reasons, we want to encourage more to cycling. In these places there exists a latent demand for cycling infrastructure. In these places, the efforts that cyclists make to get some infrastructure attract more cyclists. More cyclists, in turn, encourages more infrastructure.

We see it Toronto, in NYC, and in Montreal, as well as in Portland and Vancouver (BC). And we see it in The Netherlands, and even in Paris and London.

Older, denser, cities are the ideal candidates for cycling. These are places where commute distances are reasonable (to cycle), and there are plenty of potential stops along the way.

Cycling infrastructure would likely not be as successful in sprawling, newer, cities like Brampton. But that's not to say that I wouldn't want them to even try, because, like you, I think that reducing car use as much as practical is all for the better.