[SDCBC] Joggers in the Bike Lane - WTF

[John Eldon]

Shared space is a great idea where traffic speeds are very low and can be
kept that way. I would not want to try this social experiment on Palomar
Airport Road or on the Orange County road in question. The increase in the
rate of rightward drifts coincides with increasing vehicle speeds,
increasing driver isolation in vehicle design, and increasing levels of
sleep deprivation among the general public.

John E.
  -----Original Message-----
  From: sdcbc-bounces at bikesandiego.org
[mailto:sdcbc-bounces at bikesandiego.org]On Behalf Of Serge Issakov
  Sent: Thursday, March 06, 2008 10:58 AM
  To: trevorspoke at cox.net
  Cc: sdcbc at bikesandiego.org
  Subject: Re: [SDCBC] Joggers in the Bike Lane - WTF


  Good points, Trevor.  Also, if either the jogger or the motorist (or both)
was paying less attention to what was on the other side of the bike lane
stripe because they subconsciously assumed that the stripe would do what it
normally does - keep separated lines of traffic separated - then they would
be paying more attention if the bike lane stripe had not been there, and
perhaps yet another bike lane tragedy (which easily could have involved a
cyclist) could have been avoided.

  I believe the concept of shared space pioneered by Hans Monderman applies
here:

  (more below)

    Shared space is a term used to describe an approach to the design,
management and maintenance of public spaces which reduces the adverse
effects of conventional traffic engineering. The shared space approach is
based on the observation that individuals' behaviour in traffic is more
positively affected by the built environment of the public space than it is
by conventional traffic control devices (signals, signs, road markings,
etc.) and regulations.[1] This approach is considered to have been pioneered
by Hans Monderman.[2]

    The philosophy
    Safety, congestion, economic vitality and community severance can be
effectively tackled in streets and other public spaces if they are designed
and managed to allow traffic to be fully integrated with other human
activity, not separated from it. A major characteristic of a street designed
to this philosophy is the absence of traditional road markings, signs,
traffic signals and the distinction between "road" and "pavement". User
behaviour becomes influenced and controlled by natural human interactions
rather than by artificial regulation.

  There is a tradeoff between traffic throughput and the slower
speeds/lesser throughput implied by shared space, so I'm not a proponent of
removing all stripes, signs and pavement (Wade, to answer your question from
a few days ago: I think fog lines and shoulder stripes have their purpose
too - but I'm wary of riding to the right of them just as I'm wary of riding
to the right of a bike lane stripe), but in the case of bike lane stripes I
think bicyclists (and joggers) are much better off if the outside lane is
one big attention-enhancing "shared space" (a.k.a. Wide Outside Lane, or
WOL) rather than the attention-inhibiting "stripe separated space" (a.k.a.
bike lane).  The relatively minor reduction in throughput (caused by
motorists perhaps having to slow a bit because they're being more careful
due to the lack of separating stripe) is a valuable tradeoff, for the
increased attention, lower speed differentials and better safety.

  These tragedies are practically unheard of in shared space WOLs, and are
all too common in bike lanes.  I believe this is because everyone
(motorists, bicyclists, peds and joggers) pays more attention in shared
space WOLs, and less attention around bike lanes, and every time yet another
person dies in a bike lane from yet another "inadvertent drift" into an
unnoticed occupant of the bike lane, I am only more convinced that bike
lanes cause create more harm than good for cyclists.

  Serge

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