> If bike lanes really are that dangerous, we need to get rid of them.
That's correct. This is precisely what Forrester has been saying for years. Bicycle lanes that co-exist with vehicular traffic are simply too dangerous. Separate lanes inevitably have to merge with traffic lanes in order for bicyclists to turn left. Therefore, bicycle lanes are simply not practical for most transportation. At best, they reinforce the notion of a bicycle as suited only for recreation. At worst, they lead to fatal accidents.
> bikers ride with lawless abandon, ignore common courtesy,
As opposed to the saints known as motorists?!?
I mostly obey the law, but you'll see me dismounting and walking my bicycle across a crosswalk on the same day that I see you doing this with your passenger car or motorcycle. If there's a conflict between the law and keeping myself (relatively) safe, the law loses every single time. Assuming that other vehicle operators are batshit insane is a very good idea (regardless of whether you are on a bicycle or not!), as is the assumption that the cops can't do much. At the end of the day, the reason SUVs were so popular is that you're pretty much on your own out there.
I much prefer downtown traffic to suburbs or country roads; rush hour is much more predictable and it's hard for drivers to quickly make bad decisions when they're gridlocked. On suburban streets you get to deal with distracted soccer moms in 5-ton SUVs trying to adjust the radio, smack the kids, and pass at the same time. Odds do not favor bicyclists.
> This is precisely what Forrester has been saying for years. Bicycle lanes that co-exist with vehicular traffic are simply too dangerous.
Except Forrester is wrong. You'd be hard pressed to find cyclists here on the SF Peninsula who don't love the bike lanes we have. In other words, reality triumphs theory here. The only time Forrester is right is in those communities that do a poor job of implementing/maintaining their bike lanes (something that is not uncommon).
> As opposed to the saints known as motorists?!?
Yes, I find it (not) amusing when a newspaper article writes about a cyclist's death they feel the need to regurgitate rants about lawless cyclists. As if the cyclist is somehow responsible. And as if "cyclists" are a single entity (an 'other'), rather then being largely composed of weekday commute motorists who when riding are now called cyclists and, when they do something wrong, all cyclists get branded with this. I like to turn those bike rants around and describe how many more dangerous and/or absent-minded moves I see from motorists every week then from people on bikes.
That's correct. This is precisely what Forrester has been saying for years. Bicycle lanes that co-exist with vehicular traffic are simply too dangerous. Separate lanes inevitably have to merge with traffic lanes in order for bicyclists to turn left. Therefore, bicycle lanes are simply not practical for most transportation. At best, they reinforce the notion of a bicycle as suited only for recreation. At worst, they lead to fatal accidents.
> bikers ride with lawless abandon, ignore common courtesy,
As opposed to the saints known as motorists?!?
I mostly obey the law, but you'll see me dismounting and walking my bicycle across a crosswalk on the same day that I see you doing this with your passenger car or motorcycle. If there's a conflict between the law and keeping myself (relatively) safe, the law loses every single time. Assuming that other vehicle operators are batshit insane is a very good idea (regardless of whether you are on a bicycle or not!), as is the assumption that the cops can't do much. At the end of the day, the reason SUVs were so popular is that you're pretty much on your own out there.
I much prefer downtown traffic to suburbs or country roads; rush hour is much more predictable and it's hard for drivers to quickly make bad decisions when they're gridlocked. On suburban streets you get to deal with distracted soccer moms in 5-ton SUVs trying to adjust the radio, smack the kids, and pass at the same time. Odds do not favor bicyclists.