When I lived in Oakland, I rode countless times in this suicide lane.
Paint on pavement creates nothing but the illusion of safety for cyclists and feelings of virtue and self-satisfaction for ideologically rigid biking activists.
Bike lanes, if that's what they're supposed to be, should (ideally) be two-lane, two-way routes, and in all cases they need to be separated from motor traffic by permanent physical barriers. They also need to be off limits to parking or idling cars and trucks, pedestrians, runners, people pushing baby strollers and/or walking dogs, and riders of e-scooters, skateboards, and motorcycles.
If you have no choice but to ride on an urban street that has an ignorantly designed door-zone bike lane, the safest thing you can do is to leave the suicide trap and TAKE THE FUCKING LANE, just like a car, for as long as necessary, so that vehicles behind you can see you and will have to slow down and/or change lanes, passing you (one can hope) with enough space to avoid clipping you.
RIP, little Maia, and may her family members find some comfort as they grieve.
This story is disheartening on so many levels. RIP Maia.
My community is much, much smaller than Oakland or many of the heavily populated areas thought of when discussing bike lanes. But, I see small children on bicycles ridden by their parents all the time. In many cases the bicycle riders are riding in a manner that is unsafe, or indicative of an inexperienced rider. The push to get everyone riding bikes is ramping up the risk factor, and bike lanes seem to be creating a sense of false safety. While I believe a parent riding with a small child can be a joyous endeavor, the physical location of that child high above the street makes any mishap amplified in the potential to cause great harm. Unfortunately, I do not believe many people take the height and force generated in a fall into account. Cycling can absolutely happen without crashing, but I feel many commuters never take into consideration that a fall is a possibility. Even something as simple as a rapidly deflating tire can cause a crash.
Where I live and ride (recreationally, my commutes would be far too long) there are some dedicated paths (only cyclists) and some bike lanes positioned in the "dooring" zone. Some of those lanes are adjacent to roads with speed limits of 45 mph, with many drivers exceeding 55 mph. Taking the lane in those situations can be deadly. Most cyclists swerve when they look back over their shoulder, so even checking the lane can be an issue. When I was younger, I used to ride all over the place in the lane of traffic, but as traffic volume has increased, and driver tolerance of cyclists has decreased, being on the road has become more dangerous in my experience. The number of times I get buzzed closely by cars going extremely fast, whether I am in the bike lane or in the lane of traffic has grown exponentially. Even as an experienced cyclists there are time when it scares me to the point of swerving.
By the City of Oaklands own admission, they have added 30 miles of bike lanes. I assume these lanes are not continuous, and it isn't possible they could account for every commuter and every location. I do not pretend there are easy answers to any of these issues, but the "road diet" seems like an easy way for the city to pat themselves on the back without really doing much of anything. What about all the other areas with cyclists? Many existing roads and commuting routes do not accommodate a "road diet." For many cyclists, even a designated, painted bike lane is not going to make them comfortable on the road, for good reason. A separate bike lane, as expensive and challenging as it would be to create, seems to be the best option, if increasing commuters exponentially is the goal.
I obsess about clearing the path to my rear, when opening my Jeep’s door, but this article put a hitch in my breath - I need to clear 100% of the time.
Like military intelligence, the current generation of traffic engineers makes the term an oxymoron.
When I lived in Oakland, I rode countless times in this suicide lane.
Paint on pavement creates nothing but the illusion of safety for cyclists and feelings of virtue and self-satisfaction for ideologically rigid biking activists.
Bike lanes, if that's what they're supposed to be, should (ideally) be two-lane, two-way routes, and in all cases they need to be separated from motor traffic by permanent physical barriers. They also need to be off limits to parking or idling cars and trucks, pedestrians, runners, people pushing baby strollers and/or walking dogs, and riders of e-scooters, skateboards, and motorcycles.
If you have no choice but to ride on an urban street that has an ignorantly designed door-zone bike lane, the safest thing you can do is to leave the suicide trap and TAKE THE FUCKING LANE, just like a car, for as long as necessary, so that vehicles behind you can see you and will have to slow down and/or change lanes, passing you (one can hope) with enough space to avoid clipping you.
RIP, little Maia, and may her family members find some comfort as they grieve.
I’ve been hit by a car. It hurts for a long time, if you survive. I’ll never do it again. Cars are too big, too hard and too fast.
This story is disheartening on so many levels. RIP Maia.
My community is much, much smaller than Oakland or many of the heavily populated areas thought of when discussing bike lanes. But, I see small children on bicycles ridden by their parents all the time. In many cases the bicycle riders are riding in a manner that is unsafe, or indicative of an inexperienced rider. The push to get everyone riding bikes is ramping up the risk factor, and bike lanes seem to be creating a sense of false safety. While I believe a parent riding with a small child can be a joyous endeavor, the physical location of that child high above the street makes any mishap amplified in the potential to cause great harm. Unfortunately, I do not believe many people take the height and force generated in a fall into account. Cycling can absolutely happen without crashing, but I feel many commuters never take into consideration that a fall is a possibility. Even something as simple as a rapidly deflating tire can cause a crash.
Where I live and ride (recreationally, my commutes would be far too long) there are some dedicated paths (only cyclists) and some bike lanes positioned in the "dooring" zone. Some of those lanes are adjacent to roads with speed limits of 45 mph, with many drivers exceeding 55 mph. Taking the lane in those situations can be deadly. Most cyclists swerve when they look back over their shoulder, so even checking the lane can be an issue. When I was younger, I used to ride all over the place in the lane of traffic, but as traffic volume has increased, and driver tolerance of cyclists has decreased, being on the road has become more dangerous in my experience. The number of times I get buzzed closely by cars going extremely fast, whether I am in the bike lane or in the lane of traffic has grown exponentially. Even as an experienced cyclists there are time when it scares me to the point of swerving.
By the City of Oaklands own admission, they have added 30 miles of bike lanes. I assume these lanes are not continuous, and it isn't possible they could account for every commuter and every location. I do not pretend there are easy answers to any of these issues, but the "road diet" seems like an easy way for the city to pat themselves on the back without really doing much of anything. What about all the other areas with cyclists? Many existing roads and commuting routes do not accommodate a "road diet." For many cyclists, even a designated, painted bike lane is not going to make them comfortable on the road, for good reason. A separate bike lane, as expensive and challenging as it would be to create, seems to be the best option, if increasing commuters exponentially is the goal.
I obsess about clearing the path to my rear, when opening my Jeep’s door, but this article put a hitch in my breath - I need to clear 100% of the time.
A terrible danger. RIP Maia 😇. It’s why I nor my family don’t ride bikes on city streets. People in cars are too oblivious.