Bike Lanes - A Recipe for Butthurt
Jun. 29th, 2010 09:12 pmElsewhere there's a discussion about drivers parking on bike lanes - specifically, short-stop drivers like post vans.
See, this is one of those things that makes cycle lanes daft. The obvious place for anything to stop is the side of the road. Nobody's going to park in the middle of the road, or two hundred metres away. Things stop on roads. A and B are arbitrary points that can be anywhere, after all.
If a cycle lane is drawn on the edge of the road (and it has to be because they're for timid riders who are scared of going too far from the illusory safety of the kerb) then it's always going to be obstructed ad-hoc.
The whole concept is a recipe for butthurt on all sides. Cycle lane users get butthurt because their lane is blocked. Delivery drivers get butthurt because all of a sudden they can't park any more to do their drop-offs. The council get butthurt from both sides.
And I get butthurt listening to "wah sad cycle lane" tales. Use the roads like grown-ups.
See, this is one of those things that makes cycle lanes daft. The obvious place for anything to stop is the side of the road. Nobody's going to park in the middle of the road, or two hundred metres away. Things stop on roads. A and B are arbitrary points that can be anywhere, after all.
If a cycle lane is drawn on the edge of the road (and it has to be because they're for timid riders who are scared of going too far from the illusory safety of the kerb) then it's always going to be obstructed ad-hoc.
The whole concept is a recipe for butthurt on all sides. Cycle lane users get butthurt because their lane is blocked. Delivery drivers get butthurt because all of a sudden they can't park any more to do their drop-offs. The council get butthurt from both sides.
And I get butthurt listening to "wah sad cycle lane" tales. Use the roads like grown-ups.