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There is a design treatment called protected intersections that slows vehicles turning, increases visibility of bicyclists, and gives them some physically prote

There is a design treatment called protected intersections that slows vehicles turning, increases visibility of bicyclists, and gives them some physically protected buffers. https://altago.com/wp-content/uploads/Evolution-of-the-Protected-Intersection_ALTA-2015.pdf https://altago.com/wp-content/uploads/Evolution-of-the-Prote... Additionally, you can continue the bike lane paint within an intersection. But I don’t recall the data on that. And yeah, those mixing zones are a disaster, especially when the bike facility completely disappears 100 feet before the intersection.

joveian 6y ago
A more basic fix that I've seen is to have a bike light and not let bike traffic and right turning car traffic proceed at the same time (and thus not have the bike lane cross the right turn lane before the intersection). For limited particularly bad intersections this seems to work well. Occasionally they have just prohibited right turns at certain places. I think I've seen one or two of the fancier protected intersections but they are rare around here. I recall seeing an analysis where several of the most deadly intersections were down a hill where cars turn right occasionally. Drivers have trouble figuring out the speed of the cyclists in that situation. I do avoid one local intersection that I would otherwise use frequently because they haven't done anything and a large percentage of the time I pass through it cars get too close to me or someone else. In that case, part of the issue is that cars are effectively going from a freeway to a street level highway that turns into a freeway. Even though drivers here are generally much more chill than any other city I've lived in or visited, put them in a "near freeway but street level" situation and they will try to run you over. Here they have been continuing bike lanes in intersections more often lately. I think they have often just used dotted white lines and do not use them both directions even if there are bike lanes both ways. I wouldn't be surprised if stuff like that and sharrows do nothing at all in any particular location but if there are enough of them all over the place might help remind drivers that cyclists exist. Or maybe they don't really do anything ever :/.

joveian 6y ago

A more basic fix that I've seen is to have a bike light and not let bike traffic and right turning car traffic proceed at the same time (and thus not have the bike lane cross the right turn lane before the intersection). For limited particularly bad intersections this seems to work well. Occasionally they have just prohibited right turns at certain places. I think I've seen one or two of the fancier protected intersections but they are rare around here. I recall seeing an analysis where several of the most deadly intersections were down a hill where cars turn right occasionally. Drivers have trouble figuring out the speed of the cyclists in that situation. I do avoid one local intersection that I would otherwise use frequently because they haven't done anything and a large percentage of the time I pass through it cars get too close to me or someone else. In that case, part of the issue is that cars are effectively going from a freeway to a street level highway that turns into a freeway. Even though drivers here are generally much more chill than any other city I've lived in or visited, put them in a "near freeway but street level" situation and they will try to run you over. Here they have been continuing bike lanes in intersections more often lately. I think they have often just used dotted white lines and do not use them both directions even if there are bike lanes both ways. I wouldn't be surprised if stuff like that and sharrows do nothing at all in any particular location but if there are enough of them all over the place might help remind drivers that cyclists exist. Or maybe they don't really do anything ever :/.