[SDCBC] shared space

[John Eldon]

I would welcome an informed, factual, unemotional debate between Hans
Monderman and Dan Burden. Do WOLs encourage motorists to drive faster than
they do in narrow lanes, or slower? I am reading and hearing diametrically
opposed opinions from purported experts.
  -----Original Message-----


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



  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.

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