In 2020, New Orleans planned to install bike lanes on 75 miles of streets, reducing the capacity of those streets to move cars. The residents of the first neighborhoods where they were installed strongly protested and are happy to report that, in late July and early August, all newly installed bike lanes have been or are being removed. Concrete barriers that once separated bicycles from autos have been ground away and stripes separating bicycles from autos have been replaced by signs reminding auto drivers to share the roads with bicycles.
Although strongly supported by many bicycle advocacy groups, bicycle lanes have questionable benefits for bicycle riders. The lanes are designed to safeguard bicycle riders from being hit from behind by automobiles, but this kind of accident is rare. Instead, most bicycle-auto collisions take place at intersections, and bicycle lanes usually disappear at the intersections. By creating an illusion of safety, bicycle lanes may increase cycling on busy streets and effectively put more bicycle riders in harms way by encouraging them to cross intersections where they are more likely to get hit.
Bicycle lanes are supposed to be good for the environment. A covert goal of the bike lanes is to increase traffic congestion, which is supposed to give people incentives to get out of their cars and onto transit or bicycles. But if reductions in vehicle miles traveled are accompanied by increases in congestion, the increased fuel in stop-and-go traffic more than makes up for the decline in miles of driving. The result is more greenhouse gas emissions, not less.
After the first bikeways were installed in New Orleans, neighborhood resident Denise Davila began circulating a petition to have the lanes removed. One of the petition signers, Freddie King III, ran for city council, making the bike lanes a major issue in his campaign. He won the election and the first thing he did on taking office was to ask the council to review the bike lanes. The council agreed to do so, and the result of the review is that the lanes have been removed in two different neighborhoods.
Rather than create an illusion of safety with bike lanes that increase congestion., bicycle advocates should focus on programs, such as improved intersection designs, that actually do make bicycling safer without necessarily hampering auto driving. Unfortunately, too many city planners and bicycle groups are stuck in the “automobiles are evil” mentality and anything that hurts autos is regarded as a win for bicycles even if it results in more bicycle riders being injured or killed.
This was the car crash that soured and raised awareness to put to improve a lot of the bicycle facilities in the City. Also, why is the AP creating a false dichotomy either you should focus on creating safe bicycle facilities on streets or at intersections but you’re not allowed to do both. Btw this crash was on a street.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/03/03/new-orleans-mardi-gras-crash-cyclists-pedestrians-2-dead/3048530002/
Waiting to redesign streets until the agency has “proof of concept” sounds like a wise strategy. It’s also a pathetic excuse to avoid the fear of public failure, and a way to disappear in the herd to avoid specific criticism. The politician who takes credit for “insert program” in this case, Bike Lanes; Is also responsible if it fails.
STREET DESIGN influences driving behavior
20 lane highways: MAD MAX
6 lane stroads: RACE TRACK
2 Lane roads with shoulder pull over: BE CAREFUL
Segregated safely protected cycle lanes? Government: NAW that’ll take years of endeavor and study
Safety barriers for cars going 100 mph….give us 10 days
https://www.nbcsports.com/nascar/news/how-nascar-chicago-street-race-track-cup-barriers-fences-geobrugg
The built environment can remedy physical & mental ailments. The treatment is appropriate infrastructure that promotes physical activity and social connections.
Be it Young or old, wealthy or poor, strong and vulnerable. We all benefit from healthy infrastructure.
Thats why tourists flock here…
https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3613/3648430412_fa4358a9d4.jpg
And not here.
https://static.wixstatic.com/media/75e033_c1bd052c7a774141b59d09f0ce5a3d34~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_479,h_461,al_c,lg_1,q_80,enc_auto/75e033_c1bd052c7a774141b59d09f0ce5a3d34~mv2.jpg
From the US CDC …
Deaths and Injuries
Nearly 1,000 bicyclists die and over 130,000 are injured in crashes that occur on roads in the United States every year.3
Cost
The costs of bicycle injuries and deaths from crashes typically exceed $23 billion in the United States each year.3 These costs include spending on health care and lost work productivity, as well as estimated costs for lost quality of life and lives lost.
https://www.cdc.gov/transportationsafety/bicycle/index.html
One could make the case that the only safe application for bicycles is for transportation in an environment completely separated from cars such as a warehouse — and even then, three wheels would be better than two.
Better yet, a Segway — don’t knock it until you try it.
“…$23 billion in the United States each year.3 These costs include spending on health care and lost work productivity, as well as estimated costs for lost quality of life and lives lost.”
In other words, way less than $23B. 🙂
Who is doing all that bike riding in New Orleans anyway? Isn’t it a humid swampy mess down there?
btreynolds, bike lanes make sense where the weather is consistently pleasant like Denmark or the Netherlands, but less so where the weather is always bad like New Orleans or Los Angeles.
bicycle lanes have questionable benefits for bicycle riders.”
Said No European ever.
Biking is one the best ways to get around New Orleans. It’s an old city, A city that was traditionally designed; before cars were conceived, compact, flat, confined by geography. More importantly blessed by warm weather, While summers are oppressive and Sauna-esque, Autumn and winters are mild and Springs ideal.
consider yourself a traffic safety advocate?
Bicycle helmets aren’t the issue. Motorists are the issue.
Traffic is worse, Road fatalities are worse.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/ErohS04W8AAiVsa?format=jpg&name=medium
One of the things that get me about the bike lane crowd is how they always seem to default to the most expensive and frankly least workable solution. As an avid road biker simply having a 2-3ft paved shoulder that is not chip sealed and occasionally swept would make a huge difference whether it is rural or urban riding. such a shoulder would also have safety benefits for motorists as well since it would keep cyclists out of their travel lanes and provide a safer place to pull over. As with many of these projects, they seem like they are designed to consume money rather than to achieve a policy goal in the most efficient way possible.
It’s said to be good for attracting businesses and the creative class to do well in the Bicycle Friendly Cities ratings (yes, that’s a thing). You get points for ‘miles of bike lanes’. Improve intersections or build non-motorized traffic bridges/tunnels across freeways/rail lines/rivers? You don’t get points for that.
New Orleans is sinking and I don’t want to swim
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAZUsCONjIQ