Bicycles should and will take a lane when they feel otherwise unsafe. Large sums of debris is swept into bike lanes/ gutters that can and will puncture tires/ c

Bicycles should and will take a lane when they feel otherwise unsafe. Large sums of debris is swept into bike lanes/ gutters that can and will puncture tires/ cause wrecks. Many bike lanes are next to parked cars as well, and being doored is one of the number one ways to get seriously injured on a bike commute. Its a real, valid fear. Even if the lane is safe, often times drivers will completely ignore you, blinking safety lights or not. Once, I kindly took the edge of an uphill slope, no bike lane. On my right, parked cars. On my left, cars going up the slope. Half way up the hill, a car literally pressed me up against the parked cars to my right, while in motion. My right leg was forced against the parked cars, my left against his. I could have reached into his window and turned the wheel for him, he was so close. Its the day someone not paying attention almost killed me. I took the lane on that road from then on. If someone is in the lane, its for a reason. I know it can be a nuisance, but an unsafe biking environment means no one bikes, which means more cars are on the road, which means you'll be more inconvenienced in the long run by worse traffic.