4 ms·

I don't see why this is a big deal. Philadelphia has some recently added cycling lanes that I use all the time. If a car is parked you just look and cautiously

I don't see why this is a big deal. Philadelphia has some recently added cycling lanes that I use all the time. If a car is parked you just look and cautiously veer around it. Sometimes you have to wait for a few seconds if there's heavy traffic and the space is narrow. But usually there's even enough room to get around a car without actually going back into the normal lane, since our bike lanes are converted from fully sized car lanes, which are bigger than cars. And of course people park in them short-term with their hazards on. I'm not sure whether it's illegal or not (in Philly people park with impunity long-term in the turn lanes sometimes). But if it is it shouldn't be, there's no better alternative. Park in the non-bike lane, and make other cars go around them into the bike lane? No idling at all?

83457 16y ago
I believe the big deal is that you are asking "regular folks" to weave in and out of traffic on a bicycle on the way to work. Not to mention all of the other hazards with the bike lane, at least in DC area, such as being the wasteland for crap left over after the plowed snow banks melt. I'm usually comfortable on even the worst roads but wouldn't want my wife to bike to work on many of them.
Tichy 16y ago
As a cyclist my feeling is that the risky situations are the ones were you cross into and out of traffic, or do anything unusual. So the cycling lane would be more risky than just driving straight on on the road. In the latter case, at least car drivers can see you from far away and prepare for overtaking you. Maybe our streets are just not as big as yours in Philadelphia.