Bike Lane Cops

Posted by Eric de Place

06/02/2008 02:10 PM

Treating bike traffic like it's traffic.

sharrow I've been lazy. Today was the first day this year that I've ridden my bike to the office.* After what was nearly a nine-month hiatus, it was interesting to observe things with fresh eyes. Here's what I realized:

Riding to work is awesome. Why don't I do it every day?

There are a ton of people biking these days. I doubt it's the weather. Could it be gas prices? Or the more-crowded buses?

Seattle's bike infrastructure is really improving. We've got generous newly painted bike lanes, bright "sharrows" on the roadway, some nifty new "green lanes," and other goodies. For some reason -- perhaps because of the better markings -- drivers seemed exceptionally respectful this morning.

Bike lanes still aren't treated like car lanes. On my five mile ride I encountered the following, smack in the middle of the bike lane: 1) a moving van; 2) construction equipment with a "cherry picker" bucket; 3) a delivery truck; 4) a car edging out to get a clear look in order to turn left; and 5) a hose clamp. Apart from those last two, it's inconceivable to imagine these things planted in the middle of a car lane, especially during commute hours. They'd be ticketed and towed in nothing flat, and they might even be risking arrest.

In truth, it probably wouldn't occur to most people to put a vehicle in the middle of a lane of car traffic; everyone knows that's crazy. That it seems like an okay idea in a bike lane is evidence of what Alan calls "car-head" and, equally, that bike lane violations aren't enforced well enough. That's a shame because it's dangerous and annoying (to both cyclists and cars), when a stream of riders is forced to swerve left into car traffic to avoid obstacles. There's no reason this should be.

That's not to say that city cops should be staking out my bike route. There are bigger fish to fry. (Though it doesn't seem too much to ask that the cops who keep obstructions out of car lanes should keep an eye on the bike lanes too.) But I wonder why we don't have parking enforcement vehicles dedicated to policing bike lanes. It seems pretty simple to patrol the few major marked bike routes -- especially those heavily-trafficked ones that lead into downtown -- and start handing out tickets. Add a steep fee for repeat offenses and I think folks would get the picture.

* I had a vacation day on Bike To Work Day. Honest.

Sprawl & Transportation

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Comments

Posted by jonathan 06/02/2008 06:06 PM

I was out today also. I agree, there are some nice improvements and the sharrows work pretty well (and are a lot better than a bike lane with parked cars right alongside).

The SLUT tracks on Westlake are a huge step backward though. Westlake is a natural bike route and it has been made ridiculously hazardous - in future I will take large detours to avoid Westlake.

I think it would be incredibly stupid to run more streetcar tracks around the city.

Posted by eldan 06/03/2008 12:02 PM

Jonathan: I share your anger about the Westlake Ave streetcar tracks, and agree that making more streets into the image of that would be a terrible thing, but they don't have to be that way. If the streetcar is just put into the middle of a 4-5 lane road, as with the SLUT on Fairview, it's both out of the way of bikes and less affected by idiots parking in its path or slow traffic in general.

Posted by Michael 06/04/2008 09:29 AM

I recently wrote about the same issue, pretty interesting how the police didn't react the they should've. Upsetting to think the "meter maids" might be on the take from an apartment manager (I don't actually think they are though).

http://crankedmag.com/2008/05/31/no-parking-anytime/

Moving trucks repeatedly parked in a popular Fremont bike lane. I've talked to copious people parking in this lane and have even gotten one to actually move his vehicle. They all claim there's no other place to go, and act as if I'm in the wrong.

Where's the logic, where's the enforcement?

Posted by Jonathan 06/04/2008 11:52 AM

Hi Eldan, thanks for your comment on my comment...

I don't see how Fairview is better though. I think there is no safe bicycle access on Fairview due to narrow lanes and high traffic speed (hello SPD?). One has to ride on the sidewalk or through parking lots.

True, it was like that before the SLUT also, but I still think streetcar tracks compete directly with non-motorized travel for road space.

Posted by khooper 09/09/2008 07:24 PM

One problem with the bike lane or not issue seems to be the way urban planners and developers design new residential and commercial areas. It is not like car lanes that has super speed movement. Autopartswarehouse fanatics also wants to be safe on driving whether it is a car or bike.