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> You're not allowed to park your car in any random place you like You can probably get away with parking illegally more often than you imagine. (Note that I'm

> You're not allowed to park your car in any random place you like You can probably get away with parking illegally more often than you imagine. (Note that I'm not saying that you should, or excusing bad behavior from dockless bike users.) Take an example from the article: cars illegally parked in the bike lane. In my experience* most drivers who park in the bike lane do so out of convenience, not a lack of options. I imagine the same is true for dockless bikes/scooters. Many people are either oblivious or aware but don't care that others are irritated or harmed. * Which may differ from yours. See here for details: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16603294 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16603294

gamblor956 9y ago
It is not illegal to park a car in the bike lane in California. https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/dmv/detail/pubs/hdbk/traffic_lanes https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/dmv/detail/pubs/hdbk/traffic_l...
- fakename 9y ago
  I'm having a hard time imagining how you could park in a bike lane without blocking bicyclists. "You may park in a bicycle lane if your vehicle does not block a bicyclist and/or there is not a “No Parking” sign posted."
  - Spivak 9y ago
    We have the same law in my city. The answer is that, and I'm honestly not trying to be snarky here, the bike lanes are very often deserted. The seem to be placed in areas and roads that are woefully inappropriate so that some city planner can go to a conference a talk about how green and progressive the city is.
    - btrettel 9y ago
      I'm a cyclist, and I largely agree. I think it might come more down to meeting some sort of quota, but the goal of "looking progressive/green" is still the main motivation. Many bike lanes Austin has added or "enhanced" in the past 5 years I've lived here were wastes of time and money, or even worse than what was present before. The cycle track on Guadalupe is a good example of an "improvement" that was actually worse. It's not deserted, but I almost never use it because it makes cyclists much less visible. Far too often a driver will turn without checking for oncoming cyclists. No thanks, I take the lane. Not that I'm that much slower than traffic there anyway. The speed limit is 35 mph and it's downhill, so going 30 mph isn't that hard. It would have made a lot more sense to add the cycle track on the uphill side of the road, though that wouldn't solve the visibility problem. (The installation of the cycle track also greatly increased the number of wrong-way cyclists. I've found that these cyclists firmly believe that going the wrong way is safer. The statistics show quite clearly otherwise.) I think a better solution is for drivers to get used to cyclists being on the road. Driving slower for a couple minutes at most before you can safely pass a cyclist is nowhere near as bad as most drivers seem to think it is. Some drivers become livid...
- btrettel 9y ago
  My impression is that local laws, not state laws, make parking in the bike lane illegal in many cases. In Austin, TX, parking in the bike lane is generally legal unless the signs specifically say it's not. The city has slowly been changing the signs, but there are many bike lanes where parking is perfectly legal.
- DrScump 9y ago
  "You may park in a bicycle lane if your vehicle does not block a bicyclist and/or there is not a “No Parking” sign posted" You cannot completely block a bicycle lane, but part of your vehicle can partly cover the lane.

gamblor956 9y ago

It is not illegal to park a car in the bike lane in California. https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/dmv/detail/pubs/hdbk/traffic_lanes https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/dmv/detail/pubs/hdbk/traffic_l...

fakename 9y ago
I'm having a hard time imagining how you could park in a bike lane without blocking bicyclists. "You may park in a bicycle lane if your vehicle does not block a bicyclist and/or there is not a “No Parking” sign posted."
- Spivak 9y ago
  We have the same law in my city. The answer is that, and I'm honestly not trying to be snarky here, the bike lanes are very often deserted. The seem to be placed in areas and roads that are woefully inappropriate so that some city planner can go to a conference a talk about how green and progressive the city is.
  - btrettel 9y ago
    I'm a cyclist, and I largely agree. I think it might come more down to meeting some sort of quota, but the goal of "looking progressive/green" is still the main motivation. Many bike lanes Austin has added or "enhanced" in the past 5 years I've lived here were wastes of time and money, or even worse than what was present before. The cycle track on Guadalupe is a good example of an "improvement" that was actually worse. It's not deserted, but I almost never use it because it makes cyclists much less visible. Far too often a driver will turn without checking for oncoming cyclists. No thanks, I take the lane. Not that I'm that much slower than traffic there anyway. The speed limit is 35 mph and it's downhill, so going 30 mph isn't that hard. It would have made a lot more sense to add the cycle track on the uphill side of the road, though that wouldn't solve the visibility problem. (The installation of the cycle track also greatly increased the number of wrong-way cyclists. I've found that these cyclists firmly believe that going the wrong way is safer. The statistics show quite clearly otherwise.) I think a better solution is for drivers to get used to cyclists being on the road. Driving slower for a couple minutes at most before you can safely pass a cyclist is nowhere near as bad as most drivers seem to think it is. Some drivers become livid...
btrettel 9y ago
My impression is that local laws, not state laws, make parking in the bike lane illegal in many cases. In Austin, TX, parking in the bike lane is generally legal unless the signs specifically say it's not. The city has slowly been changing the signs, but there are many bike lanes where parking is perfectly legal.
DrScump 9y ago
"You may park in a bicycle lane if your vehicle does not block a bicyclist and/or there is not a “No Parking” sign posted" You cannot completely block a bicycle lane, but part of your vehicle can partly cover the lane.