Mike Klassen over at City Caucus does a nice piece on “Why are separated bike lanes so controversial? – with an especially good summary on conflicts around the globe.
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i can speak for NYC:
they’ve been laid out very aggressively with very little focus on how to deal with cyclists who don’t care to follow the law. Although complaints from drivers grab headlines, most complaints are actually from pedestrians who are now dealing with a more a brazen, empowered set of cyclists – some of whom seem to think that the rules of the road don’t apply to them.
and also, as someone eloquently put it on another blog, “i really don’t have a problem with the idea of bike lanes, but why do you guys (cycling advocates) have to be so f***ing obnoxious about it”…
True, usually those who get preferential treatment don’t rub it in the noses of the rest of the masses. i.e. VIP lines, handicapped parking, assured loading on BC Ferries, airplane loading, etc.
“those who get preferential treatment”…
Surely you’re not suggesting that one separated north/south and east/west bike lane in the entire downtown core is “preferential treatment” for cyclists? That’s an awfully modest bit of infrastructure compared to the dozens of km of sidewalks and who-knows-how-many acres of asphalt and parkades for cars…
@Ron
Surely you are joking. Cyclists are finally starting to get equal treatment on a small fraction of the roads in Vancouver and you call that “preferential treatment”. Ridiculous. I suggest riding a bike around the region to see how poor conditions for cyclists actually are.
“Preferential” just meaning “exclusive” right-of-way as opposed to “shared” roadway. The same would apply to HOV lanes. The lanes are reserved for particular users (to the exclusion of others) – I suppose whether or not that’s “preferential” is arguable.
@Ron
So Highway 1 from North Vancouver to Abbotsford which excludes, cyclists, pedestrians, horses and farm implements would be that.
As well, so are parking lanes for that matter. This public space can only be used by people with motor vehicles. This preferential treatment for motor vehicles would also apply to all lanes but the right lane on roads as cyclists are required to stay to the right.
Pedestrians are not allowed to walk in most roads either and motor vehicles are not allowed on sidewalks. Is this preferential as well.
As is the case with separated bike lanes, all this is really not preferential treatment, it is just the reality that different modes of transportation that involve vastly different speeds should have their own space. It is safer and just works much better.