How NYC does protected bike lanes
Interesting in light of the ongoing discussion in Albany about protected bike lanes: Over at Gothamist there's a look at the design -- and arguments for -- a new protected bike lane that's to be built along Sixth Ave in Manhattan. Obviously, it's a very different situation than Madison Ave in Albany, but some of the discussion will sound familiar. (And there are also some interesting bits about NYC tracking crash data before and after changing the design of intersections.) [Gothamist]
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The good news for Albany is that there are a lot of case studies across the country, from big, mid and to small cities and the preponderance of evidence points to a lot of win-win’s for all users of public infrastructure and gains to small business that run along protected bike paths and complete street infrastructure. Additionally, despite all this reconfirming evidence, Albany isn’t digging deep and looking to broadly plant protected bike paths all across the city, therefore, if we happen to be the exception that proves the rule and it doesn’t pan out, we can step back and assess. I’m a strong supporter of this, so I find it frustrating that despite the evidence, some folks are staunchly against this. I do think it’s important to think things through and not hit go too early, but this has been discussed for close to 2 years and is ready for execution. Part of me thinks that if Jennings had used more foresight and implemented complete streets design when maintenance to infrastructure was performed (e.g. when a sidewalk needed replacing, implement a bump out to slow down traffic and decrease pedestrian crossing distance), we would now have some more imperial evidence to demonstrate how these efforts make our roads safer and more efficient, and may have made the Madison Road Diet (with bike lanes) a no brainer.
... said Rich on Feb 9, 2016 at 9:04 AM | link
I commute by bike often and appreciate well thought out ways to keep cyclists safe.
Anyone know the plan on how they will keep the bike lane free of debris, garbage, snow, ice, salt, sand and the like?
... said Cyril on Feb 9, 2016 at 1:25 PM | link
Cyril- They won't. Based on comments made in several articles about this subject, the big advocates for this don't seem to think this is a problem. They seem to mostly not be cyclists, but rather people who want to bike more and are currently too scared to ride in traffic. My prediction is that if these lanes actually happen, most of these people will take their families out on a couple nice summer weekends for a pleasant ride on Madison, visiting several businesses, etc. They'll then go home and blog about what an amazing experience it was, then stash the bikes away in the garage for the rest of the summer. Having to walk the bikes around a couple piles of glass won't be that big a deal for them. Commuters will see it differently.
Now, the quick response to this might be "it's still better than nothing, right?" I'm not so sure. I'd rather ride with traffic than deal with such problems and I can already hear the angry screams of drivers being inconvenienced with my presence in "their" lane. At least the alternative road diet plans allow a wide enough roadway for both bikes and cars.
Perhaps Rich has a point though, it's just one section of one street. If it doesn't work, no others have to be built.
... said Blech on Feb 21, 2016 at 2:49 PM | link
@Blech - Evidence from other cities demonstrates that your prediction wouldn't pan out. Protected Bike Lanes (PBLs) bring out record numbers of people choosing to ride bicycles in city after city.
A few things to check out on the subject:
- Feb 8 Streetsblog post about how PBLs get more people cycling: http://www.streetsblog.net/2016/02/08/new-evidence-that-protected-bike-lanes-get-people-cycling-more/ -- includes nearly a 300% increase of people riding bicycles after PBLs went in on one Toronto street!
- 2014 People for Bikes post on Washington D.C. ridership growth: http://www.peopleforbikes.org/blog/entry/how-high-can-they-go-dc-bike-counts-show-continuing-surge-in-protected-lane
- NYC DOT analysis of Prospect Park West PBLs showing a 190% increase in weekday ridership, with 32 percent of those biking under age 12. http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/downloads/pdf/2012_ppw_trb2012.pdf
Read a whole compilation of statistics about how PBLs have tremendous economic and safety benefits (for people who walk, ride bikes, take the bus and drive)... and it's what people want... here from the Green Lane Project's Statistics Library: http://www.peopleforbikes.org/statistics/category/protected-bike-lane-statistics
Oh, and as a parent -- the *only way I would let my 16 year old daughter ride anyplace but the sidewalk is if we built PBLs. Period.
Hey -- I'm happy that you ride a bike -- let's work together to increase bicycle ridership in our city!
... said Leah Golby on Feb 24, 2016 at 8:48 AM | link