“A true bicycle network is one that can be safely used by a child.” – Enrique Penalosa, former mayor of Bogota, Colombia
Yes, Richmond is painting a few bike lanes on a small number of streets. But I believe this is a bad idea. The more I read the more convinced I become that this will neither increase the number of bikers nor significantly improve safety.
The video below is about NYC, but its lessons are applicable here. It’s long, but well worth watching for the numerous arguments made against on-street, non-separated bike lanes. At the very least, watch the first 40 seconds.
Certainly NYC traffic is almost infinitely worse than Richmond’s, but I can imagine if we had a bike lane on Broad St. downtown the results wouldn’t differ dramatically.
This video pushes separated bike lanes- where either concrete barriers, medians, or a simple painted buffer protect cyclists from traffic. It shows a number of cities/countries which have adopted such a strategy:
- Boulder
- Montreal
- Bogota
- London
- Copenhagan
- Holland
- Italy
- Sweden
I’m convinced by the number of hits and comments I get every time I write about biking in Richmond, as well as by the number of cyclists on the street, that we could actually change Richmond if we tried; we need to institute some kind of safe, city-wide biking network.
Who’s with me?
I personally would like to see bike roads, which you can read about here.
December 12, 2007 at 9:42 am
I do most of my biking either indoors or out of town. I have no desire to wander farther than the Fan or downtown and no confidence at all in a painted white lines ability to protect me. I marvel at the daredevil cyclist who take to River Road or Route 5. Getting buzzed by automobiles and trucks represents no kind of fun for me and the risks far outway the rewards. Mixing bicycles and cars will lead to more deaths and injuries. Bicycle only or mixed pedestrian and cylcle paths are the way to go. D.C has miles of off road paths that lead throughout the city. It is one of my favorite biking destinations.
Great video. I can’t wait to watch the whole thing.
December 13, 2007 at 2:19 pm
That’s a great video & says a lot of what I was about to say in my comment… The safest thing for cyclists is to have lots of other cyclists using the road. Good bike lanes encourage that, bad ones make the situation worse. Here in London the design guidelines say that the best solution is roads that cyclists feel safe on without any separation at all – i.e. 20 mph traffic and plenty of room. It’s only after that that solutions such as separated bike lanes should be considered.
March 18, 2012 at 7:20 am
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June 13, 2012 at 7:56 am
I have to say I agree we need bike roads. I am in Chesterfield County and nothing is more frustrating than lanes that start nowhere and end before a decent destination. That complaint aired, the “bike roads’ in my area are so isolated that I feel they are a dangerous place to ride due to increases in predatory crimes. Can’t we find a happy place to go green with our transport? Is there an advocacy group I can join in Richmond VA?