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I've spent time living in China and where I was they had these fantastic protected bike lanes. They were double wide lanes that had an island (with a decorative

I've spent time living in China and where I was they had these fantastic protected bike lanes. They were double wide lanes that had an island (with a decorative but still robust and functional metal barrier down the center and attractive plants and trees all around it) protecting it from the traffic. It was like a bike specific roadway that only interacted with cars when crossing at intersections and it felt so safe that riding downtown in crazy Chinese vehicle traffic became a non-issue (they did need bollards at the entrances to these lanes otherwise someone in a smaller vehicle would eventually try to use it to get around the traffic). I wish we had that sort of system where I live in the US.

rahimnathwani 4y ago
they did need bollards at the entrances to these lanes otherwise someone in a smaller vehicle would eventually try to use it to get around the traffic In Beijing, many of these lanes (辅路) double as parking lanes. The side by the sidewalk is full of parked cars, and the side near the island is for bicycles, scooters and cars getting in/out of parking spots. Even though cars may be present anywhere in the 辅路, they're not going fast when looking for parking. So I still felt far safer cycling in Beijing (a city of 20MM people) than I do in San Francisco (sub-1MM).