Well, I hope you appreciate this.
I just spent an hour locating the salient passage in Vanderbilt's "Traffic" book.
Page 198.
This follows a passage on the virtues of unmarked pedestrian crosswalks.
"What white lines do is enable drivers to drive faster and, intentionally or not, closer together. Similarly, several studies in different countries in different countries have found that drivers tend to give cyclists more space as they pass when they are on a street WITHOUT a bike lane. The white marking seems to work as a subliminal signal to drivers that they need to act less cautiously - that it's the edge of the lane, and not the cyclist, they need to worry about. THIS SUGGESTS THAT NO BIKE LANES ARE BETTER FOR CYCLISTS THAN INSUFFICIENTLY WIDE BIKE LANES."
'D - the obvious counter is that this thin right-side strip is not really a bike lane.
Do you suppose that drivers, looking at car-specific driving cues realize this? Consciously or unconsciously? Really? Really!?
Just a year after a cyclist was killed no more than 2 blocks from here- with a whole winter to ponder this- road designers made this stretch.
If the designer harboured a secret hatred of cyclists, then it would make sense.
But this is not intentional. Worse, in some ways - it is simple negligence.
So what are the qualifications of the road designer for Waterloo city?
And what are they worth? Cuz this 'professional' - and I use the term loosely - just designed a .... kill zone for cyclists.
Incredible.
I don't have the words.
1 comment:
To the city- you are gonna get a lot more than a 'i told u so' if this comes to pass. Think about it.
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