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#1
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When is a bike lane not a bike lane?
In Melbourne there seems to be an increasing number of what looks to be
a bike lane where the lane is marked with a dashed line and only goes for a few metres but repeats every 50-100 metres. I've noticed them on Studley Rd Kew prior to hitting the "real" bike lane that runs down to Johnstone St. But I've also seem them a lot of other places. I assume this is just a cost cutting measure to save on the costs of doing a full bike lane. But what I was wondering is what protection do these pretend lanes offer. In a real lane it is fairly obvious to car drivers where they should and shouldn't be, but with these pretend lanes are they supposed to swerve out of the way every 50 metres at the markings, and what would be the point. Dave B. |
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#2
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When is a bike lane not a bike lane?
"DaveB" wrote in message
... In Melbourne there seems to be an increasing number of what looks to be a bike lane where the lane is marked with a dashed line and only goes for a few metres but repeats every 50-100 metres. I've noticed them on Studley Rd Kew prior to hitting the "real" bike lane that runs down to Johnstone St. But I've also seem them a lot of other places. I assume this is just a cost cutting measure to save on the costs of doing a full bike lane. But what I was wondering is what protection do these pretend lanes offer. In a real lane it is fairly obvious to car drivers where they should and shouldn't be, but with these pretend lanes are they supposed to swerve out of the way every 50 metres at the markings, and what would be the point. Dave B. As far as I'm concerned, it's not a bike lane on the road. I _never_ use them and feel justified in 'Civil disobedience' by riding (carefully) on footpaths after that poor man was killed in 2001 by the woman who was using a mobile phone at the time. She got off with a two year suspended sentence and lost her drivers lisence for two years - Scott Free. By the same token, why are pedestrians allowed to walk on bike paths? The one by the Esplanade in St Kilda is a hellish experience with people not only walking on the path, but *running* across it from behind bushes etc. |
#3
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When is a bike lane not a bike lane?
"Alan Erskine" wrote in message
news:SjJUb.44464$Wa.29483@news- As far as I'm concerned, it's not a bike lane on the road. I _never_ use them and feel justified in 'Civil disobedience' by riding (carefully) on footpaths after that poor man was killed in 2001 by the woman who was using a mobile phone at the time. She got off with a two year suspended sentence and lost her drivers lisence for two years - Scott Free. By the same token, why are pedestrians allowed to walk on bike paths? The They are probably trying to save themselves from the roller bladers and dog walkers, etc! :-) one by the Esplanade in St Kilda is a hellish experience with people not only walking on the path, but *running* across it from behind bushes etc. Personally, I still find the road a lot safer and a lot more predicatable than any footpath bikelane. Of course, it depends on your speed, but that's what it's like for me. It's just not possible to dodge that unseen car reversing out of their driveway every 10m at 30kph+. hippy |
#4
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When is a bike lane not a bike lane?
Baka Dasai wrote: On Fri, 06 Feb 2004 17:03:01 +1100, DaveB said (and I quote): In Melbourne there seems to be an increasing number of what looks to be a bike lane where the lane is marked with a dashed line and only goes for a few metres but repeats every 50-100 metres. I've noticed them on Studley Rd Kew prior to hitting the "real" bike lane that runs down to Johnstone St. But I've also seem them a lot of other places. I assume this is just a cost cutting measure to save on the costs of doing a full bike lane. But what I was wondering is what protection do these pretend lanes offer. Exactly the same amount as a "real" bike lane. In a real lane it is fairly obvious to car drivers where they should and shouldn't be, but with these pretend lanes are they supposed to swerve out of the way every 50 metres at the markings, and what would be the point. Well, cars have to swerve into the bike lane every time they make a left turn, and bikes have to swerve into the "car" lane every time they make a right turn, so I'm not sure that these pretend bike lanes are any different from normal bike lanes, or from a street with no bike lane for that matter. I think you're missing the point. My question is what is the point in a bike lane that goes for 2 metres? Dave B. |
#5
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When is a bike lane not a bike lane?
"hippy" wrote in message ...
"Alan Erskine" wrote in message news:SjJUb.44464$Wa.29483@news- As far as I'm concerned, it's not a bike lane on the road. I _never_ use them and feel justified in 'Civil disobedience' by riding (carefully) on footpaths after that poor man was killed in 2001 by the woman who was using a mobile phone at the time. She got off with a two year suspended sentence and lost her drivers lisence for two years - Scott Free. By the same token, why are pedestrians allowed to walk on bike paths? The They are probably trying to save themselves from the roller bladers and dog walkers, etc! :-) one by the Esplanade in St Kilda is a hellish experience with people not only walking on the path, but *running* across it from behind bushes etc. Personally, I still find the road a lot safer and a lot more predicatable than any footpath bikelane. Of course, it depends on your speed, but that's what it's like for me. It's just not possible to dodge that unseen car reversing out of their driveway every 10m at 30kph+. hippy I'm with you on that one, hippy. The footpath and most bikepaths are very dangerous at 30+kph. Of course it doesn't make the road any safer, but at those speeds I prefer to take my chances on the road. Thanks also the Sydney's train stoppage earlier this week. The ensuing traffic jam was the worst I've seen in an evening commute - and I left at 7pm. The risks that motorists take in such circumstances is mind boggling, especially when they gain only a few car lengths in the process. The taxi that decided to escape the jam by turning sharply (w/o indicating) into the side street gave me a chance to execute an emergency left turn. This is an extremely useful maneuver, without which I would have become part of the passenger side door. Hopefully Sydney trains can get back to normal (crap but still sort of working) so I have half a chance on the roads again. Ritch |
#6
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When is a bike lane not a bike lane?
"Alan Erskine" wrote in message ... "DaveB" wrote in message ... As far as I'm concerned, it's not a bike lane on the road. I _never_ use them and feel justified in 'Civil disobedience' by riding (carefully) on footpaths after that poor man was killed in 2001 by the woman who was using a mobile phone at the time. Crikey, we will have to drive cars carfully on the footpath as mobile phones have been responsible for passenger deaths as well. Pete |
#7
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When is a bike lane not a bike lane?
Just spent the weekend in Melbourne. Hired a bike and rode with my so
along the Yarra Trail to Studley Park Rd and then back through Richmon to Burnley using the bike lane. These are fantastic. Even though ther was heavy traffic, no one infringed the well marked lane, apart fro intersections where things got a bit dodgy for us, but no real dramas These bike lanes are a fantastic idea, as is the trail along bot sides of the Yarra. When I was a young guy at school in the 70's th Yarra banks were infested with blackberries, at least you can sea th river now In Hobart we have a poor excuse for a bike lane near Taroona, but it' not much wider than about a metre, of which 30cm is taken up with th gutter. The road is windy and smooth so travelling at anything more tha about 20kph it's pretty hard to stay in the "lane", which is full o stones and glass. That's when I'd say that a bike lane isn't a bik lane. But hey - it's the only one in the whole damn city, apart from th bike track.:mad - |
#8
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When is a bike lane not a bike lane?
Baka Dasai wrote:
On Sat, 07 Feb 2004 08:33:03 +1100, DaveB said (and I quote): Baka Dasai wrote: Well, cars have to swerve into the bike lane every time they make a left turn, and bikes have to swerve into the "car" lane every time they make a right turn, so I'm not sure that these pretend bike lanes are any different from normal bike lanes, or from a street with no bike lane for that matter. I think you're missing the point. My question is what is the point in a bike lane that goes for 2 metres? No, I get your point. I think you're missing my point, which is that there is little point to any bike lane, seeing as both motorists and cyclists have to ignore the bike lane at the parts of the road where the vast bulk of collisions occur - intersections. -- A: Top-posters. B: What's the most annoying thing on usenet? It really does seem like a token effort rather than a practical one.. i mean the only people that notice those dashed lines every 50 metre with the bicycle symbol are the cyclists!!??!! It is a little bette than nothing However it seems to be quite unfortunate that the quality of the roa within these 'part-time' bike lanes is often far below many of th dedicated (and badly made) bike paths around. Does Bridge Rd in Richmon ring a bell here? Nothing quite like riding on bluestone circa 1920's Also, has anyone noticed that a number of these dashed lines and symbol were blacked out i.e. gone over with black paint? Whats with that Cheers, Tro - |
#9
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When is a bike lane not a bike lane?
ftf wrote:
Also, has anyone noticed that a number of these dashed lines and symbols were blacked out i.e. gone over with black paint? Whats with that? Cheers, Troy Dunno, maybe it's VicRoads practising the mysterous Black Art of archaic traffic planning, painting weird and confusing runic symbols on the road... For more about on-road bicycle lanes, consult the oracles; BV - Bike lanes and cars: http://bv.com.au/content.cfm?submenuid=64&contentid=467 Footpath cycling: http://bv.com.au/content.cfm?submenuid=64&contentid=242 VicRoads info, more smoke and mirrors: http://www.vicroads.vic.gov.au/v- rne/vrninte.nsf/alldocs/7696A57ED0F32A0ECA256B980003D610?OpenDocument&A- rea=[Cyclists] -- |
#10
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When is a bike lane not a bike lane?
When is a bike lane not a bike lane....
When its coated in glass/metal/car bits and anything that could damage my bike...that includes bluestone! |
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