A small, sidewalk-like, two-lane road specifically for non-motor vehicles, sharing exits, rest stops and streetlights. Could run within 100 yards of major highways/interstates so the bike lane lighting could share powergrid with highway lights. A small bike and foot traffic lane would possibly decrease pollution and make biking a more viable option...some people just don't walk/bike places because it's not possible to get there efficiently or safely on foot or on a bike. Also, thousands of bike enthusiasts would love to be able to bike a direct route safely to a vacation spot for hiking or recreation. Cans of oxygen or breathing masks could be sold in public-profit vending machines (a la downtown Tokyo) in more hot or hazy areas for bikers/pedestrians.
-- naveline, Jul 15 2000

(?) Why Bike Lanes are a Bad Idea http://www.portal.c.../advocacy/bikelane/
An opinion piece in The Vancouver Cyclist. [egnor, Jul 15 2000, last modified Oct 04 2004]

Getting bike lanes ... http://www.connecti...m/~regan/lanes.html
Pro-bike-lane information. [egnor, Jul 15 2000, last modified Oct 04 2004]

Cycling Ottawa: A Critique of Its Bike Paths http://www.mbnet.mb.../cycling/ottawa.htm
Both sides of the issue, for separate bike paths this time. [egnor, Jul 15 2000, last modified Oct 04 2004]

Every place there was an exit you would either have to put an overpass or a traffic light, or else you'd have bicyclists and pedestrians trying to cross the exit ramp.
-- dominus, Jul 15 2000


Bike lanes and bike paths are common in many cities... did you mean something different?

(They usually have to cross a street every time there's an exit, yes.)

Bicyclist friends of mine tell me that it's often better to just ride in traffic than to use a bike path, because on a bike path you have to constantly watch out for pedestrians. (I guess cars are less of an obstacle, or more predictable, or something.) Not being a bicyclist myself, I dunno if it's true.
-- egnor, Jul 15 2000


Bike lanes alongside Rail Lines would do it for me. Historically rail lines bisect entire neighbourhoods and provide fast routes into downtown districts from beyond. Fencing in 4 or 5 feet of bikepath alongside commuter train routes away from car traffic would provice speedy access through neighbourhoods and city streets.
-- dmclachlan, Jul 17 2000


I think you're talking about creating a system of bike "highways." I think it is a great idea. They could be routed along auto highways as you suggest, or along rail lines (as dmclachlan suggests) or rivers. They certainly would have less impact than a whole road would.

As egnor suggests, it is often better, especially in cities, to have separate paths for pedestians and one for wheels (bikes, rollerbladers, etc).

A system like this would be great for connecting bike trail systems of nearby cities, and eventually make it possible to travel relatively longdistances on bikeways.
-- billh, Jul 17 2000


Also better to ride in traffic than on a bike lane. If you're in traffic, motorists will figure you're acting like a vehicle and treat you right. Bike lanes, though, they don't encounter often, and they don't know what to do about them. So they end up doing stupid things like right-turning in front or on top of you. Separate paths would be better, I think.
-- eritain, Aug 12 2000


Eritan, people don't just do stupid things because you're in a bike lane...I've seen people apparently trying to make a game out of 'how close can we come to the bicycle'...
-- StarChaser, Aug 12 2000


Separate bike lanes only work when they run alongside barriers that prohibit side-roads. Paths that run along the seafront, rivers, rail lines etc are moderately OK. Where there are sideroads crossing the path every 100m or so and driveways every few m, something has to give, and that is always the cyclist. They lose momentum, and reduce the efficiency of riding hugely. Riding along the proper road, I dont have to yield to any driver trying to enter or leave the road Im travelling on.
-- MichaelW, Oct 07 2002


Pretty much baked since long time ago in Europe. I was so used to this idea in Finland that,when I started traveling, I was surprised by the lack of bicycle paths in many so called developed countries.
-- Pellepeloton, Mar 22 2008



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