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I really think the concept of bike boulevards is one that needs more attention than bike lanes. Take a network of side roads and make them inconvenient for lar

I really think the concept of bike boulevards is one that needs more attention than bike lanes. Take a network of side roads and make them inconvenient for large vehicle through-traffic via bollards and other obstacles. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicycle_boulevard https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicycle_boulevard The result is a quiet, safe setting for 'micro-mobility' bicycles and scooters with decreased bike-car interaction. You don't even need bike lanes, because almost all of the traffic on those roads is bike traffic. The article talks about bus + bike roads, sort of like Market St. in San Francisco, but I don't think that's optimal. For one thing, buses should be able to go much faster than bikes, especially Bus Rapid Transit, and as such pose collision danger. Also, BRT should be upgradeable to light rail, and rails are very dangerous for micro-mobility devices with small tires. Buses and cars coexist easily on the road. Buses should have their own lane, next to the cars.

IshKebab 7y ago
I don't think this would solve much. In the UK at least, side roads are plenty safe enough for bikes. The issue is the big roads that people want to actually cycle on (because they are the fastest route).
- TulliusCicero 7y ago
  Yeah, here in Munich the side roads are generally safe for bikes because they're narrow, much narrower than side roads in the US. But that by itself wouldn't make for a ton of biking if we didn't also have many protected bike lanes on arterial roads, as well as off-street walk/bike paths.
TulliusCicero 7y ago
Bike+bus collision danger can be largely mitigated with protected bike lanes and intersections. Also in practice, the extent to which buses can go faster than bikes is limited. There's a route I take to the local Ubahn Station, and in practice biking is about as fast as the bus, assuming the same starting time. Obviously the bus has a higher top speed, but it also has to stop every couple blocks, which eliminates its advantage. For BRT, probably a different story, but if it has a completely separate lane infrastructure, you can just have the same for bikes.

IshKebab 7y ago

I don't think this would solve much. In the UK at least, side roads are plenty safe enough for bikes. The issue is the big roads that people want to actually cycle on (because they are the fastest route).

TulliusCicero 7y ago
Yeah, here in Munich the side roads are generally safe for bikes because they're narrow, much narrower than side roads in the US. But that by itself wouldn't make for a ton of biking if we didn't also have many protected bike lanes on arterial roads, as well as off-street walk/bike paths.

TulliusCicero 7y ago

Bike+bus collision danger can be largely mitigated with protected bike lanes and intersections. Also in practice, the extent to which buses can go faster than bikes is limited. There's a route I take to the local Ubahn Station, and in practice biking is about as fast as the bus, assuming the same starting time. Obviously the bus has a higher top speed, but it also has to stop every couple blocks, which eliminates its advantage. For BRT, probably a different story, but if it has a completely separate lane infrastructure, you can just have the same for bikes.