Quote:
Originally Posted by CliffFletcher
Some cyclists are perfectly comfortable with vehicular cycling (taking a lane of the road just like you're a car). I'm one of them. I keep up with traffic, I'm not intimidated by cars, and I want to get where I'm going as fast as I can.
But most potential bicycle commuters are not. Riding in traffic stresses them out. They're not confident. They're not concerned with getting from A to B as fast as possible so much as they want their ride to be as safe and secure as possible. That's who bicycle lanes are for. And that's why the speed on bike lanes is far slower than experienced vehicular cyclists are accustomed to.
It's a mistake to regard cyclists as a monolithic group. The expertise, riding speed, and expectations of cyclists vary far more dramatically than those of motorists. Many will continue to ride on roads and take a lane, as they have every right to do.
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It is interesting that the article indicates that the European cycling community "openly mocks" the vehicular cycling strategy. I assumed that the larger number of riders in, say, Copenhagen, was at least in part due to cyclists on the road. Sounds more like the fact that they have the separate infrastructure is what allows for greater number of cyclists. While not a huge fan of the bike lanes, I do hope that they are utilized more fully, taking cars off the road and separating bikes/cars/pedestrians.