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To me the answer is making dedicated travel roads for bicycles and pedestrians. This idea is ok, in that it slows cars down, and maybe that's enough, but what I

To me the answer is making dedicated travel roads for bicycles and pedestrians. This idea is ok, in that it slows cars down, and maybe that's enough, but what I'd love in a city like San Francisco are dedicated roads that allow bicycles to safely travel across the entire city without having to worry about getting run down at every intersection. There are some streets that are safer than others, but what would be great is if say Valencia, Cortland, Market, Haight, Cole, Columbus and some other roads through downtown (like minna St. and Stevenson) were dedicated to bikes. Some have main bus lines, so maybe allow those to continue to operate as mixed use with bikes and buses. The intention is to make bike thorough fares which are safe from collisions with cars and especially delivery trucks. This in my mind is the fastest way to transition from a car gridlocked city to one where alternative things like bikes, and battery assisted bikes, can operate safely. Most travel in cities is under 2 miles, perfect for biking (I have a bike that has seats for both my kids, which makes it great for families too). Safety is probably the largest reason why more people don't bicycle, and targeting main shopping districts would encourage their use to get to those places, while also increasing the general enjoyment of those areas, with the added benefit of increasing traffic to businesses in those areas.

spraak 10y ago
Yes, the Netherlands has this. The idea is a cycle track, or protected bike lane https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cycle_track https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cycle_track
tbihl 10y ago
Slowing cars down is huge. First of all, probability of someone dying when a driver hits a person dips below 5% right around 20mph. At that point you already invite life back onto the street. Then once you have it there, drivers learn that they can't be distracted. Drivers should not feel comfortable when driving in urban environments. That's not say you shouldn't have good old-fashioned car sewers, but the dearth of accesses should make it abundantly clear that those places are just car-movers, not places where economic activity happens.
superuser2 10y ago
Chicago has a few streets like these and they're great. The bike line is protected from traffic by the parking lane. Parallel parking a car is easier, and the bikes are protected from the driver-side doors as well as traffic. The pedestrian lane is, of course, the sidewalk. You just have to really commit - a few protected blocks is nice, but people may not feel safe until it's the majority of their journey. Left turns are still intimidating. >delivery trucks. I'm extremely perturbed when there are large trucks stopped in the street. Loading docks are a thing - that building's decision to not have one is a classic case of dumping what should be its costs on everyone else. I'm more sympathetic to taxi/uber pickups and dropoffs, since although they also tend to block traffic (and frequently encroach on the bike lane) it's still better than more cars driving and parking.
- bluejekyll 10y ago
  > I'm sympathetic to taxi/uber Not me. In SF at least they tend to block the bike lane and force bikes into vehicle traffic. For confident cyclists this is ok, but for many I can see that they do dumb things like try to pass on the right or not signal their intention to enter traffic. This is why I suggest that the best thing would be to fully dedicate the entire road. As to fully protected lanes, this is good, but like you said, still leaves issues like left turns.

spraak 10y ago

Yes, the Netherlands has this. The idea is a cycle track, or protected bike lane https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cycle_track https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cycle_track

tbihl 10y ago

Slowing cars down is huge. First of all, probability of someone dying when a driver hits a person dips below 5% right around 20mph. At that point you already invite life back onto the street. Then once you have it there, drivers learn that they can't be distracted. Drivers should not feel comfortable when driving in urban environments. That's not say you shouldn't have good old-fashioned car sewers, but the dearth of accesses should make it abundantly clear that those places are just car-movers, not places where economic activity happens.

superuser2 10y ago

Chicago has a few streets like these and they're great. The bike line is protected from traffic by the parking lane. Parallel parking a car is easier, and the bikes are protected from the driver-side doors as well as traffic. The pedestrian lane is, of course, the sidewalk. You just have to really commit - a few protected blocks is nice, but people may not feel safe until it's the majority of their journey. Left turns are still intimidating. >delivery trucks. I'm extremely perturbed when there are large trucks stopped in the street. Loading docks are a thing - that building's decision to not have one is a classic case of dumping what should be its costs on everyone else. I'm more sympathetic to taxi/uber pickups and dropoffs, since although they also tend to block traffic (and frequently encroach on the bike lane) it's still better than more cars driving and parking.

bluejekyll 10y ago
> I'm sympathetic to taxi/uber Not me. In SF at least they tend to block the bike lane and force bikes into vehicle traffic. For confident cyclists this is ok, but for many I can see that they do dumb things like try to pass on the right or not signal their intention to enter traffic. This is why I suggest that the best thing would be to fully dedicate the entire road. As to fully protected lanes, this is good, but like you said, still leaves issues like left turns.