Slashdot Mirror
Surprising Result of NYC Bike Lanes: Faster Traffic for Cars
A report at vox.com says that the implementation of bike lanes in traffic-heavy New York City has one possibly non-intuitive result: car traffic was sped up as a result. The bike lanes have caused the lanes for cars to be narrowed, but as a result of the street redesign to accomodate bikes, one big change has especially helped to keep cars moving forward more steadily:
Although narrower streets can slow traffic, that doesn't seem to have happened here — perhaps because traffic in this area was crawling at around 11 miles per hour to begin with.
Instead, the narrower lanes were capable of handling just as much traffic, and one major improvement to intersection design helped them handle more, while also letting bikes travel more safely.
This improvement was something called a pocket lane for left-hand turns: a devoted turning lane at most intersections that takes the place of the parking lane, which gets cars out of the way of moving traffic when they're making a left.
The innovation here is left turn lanes on ONE WAY STREETS. Left turn lanes on two way streets have been around for a long time, but they are rarely used when the street you're turning off of is a one-way street (so you're not crossing oncoming traffic when making a left).
Average speed was 11mph to begin with. The bikes, able to weave between traffic at 30mph for a biker in shape, were not the limiting factor.
I thought it was going to be more like what other cities that have implemented bike lanes and routes have seen- fewer people in cars on the road.
SJW: a person who perceives an injustice, and while correcting it, commits a greater injustice.
"there is no law saying a bicyclist must ride in lane in NYC.. it's only recommended but up to rider's discretion."
This isn't actually true. See below. If there's a bike lane, you're required to use it, unless you're making a turn, or are reasonably trying to avoid conditions. Reasonably is the key word here. Reasonably means "what a typical person in that situation would do," the rider doesn't get to define reasonably based on his/her own standards. Clearly, if there's a car parked in the bike lane, it's reasonable to go around it. If you're still not in the bike lane two blocks later, that's going to be hard to claim.
(p) Bicycles. (1) Bicycle riders to use bicycle lanes. Whenever a usable path or lane for bicycles has been provided, bicycle riders shall use such path or lane only except under any of the following situations:
(i) When preparing for a turn at an intersection or into a private road or driveway.
(ii) When reasonably necessary to avoid conditions (including but not limited to, fixed or moving objects, motor vehicles, bicycles, pedestrians, pushcarts, animals, surface hazards) that make it unsafe to continue within such bicycle path or lane.
http://rules.cityofnewyork.us/...
Roundabouts work. A recent Mythbusters proved it: http://www.wimp.com/testrounda...
NYC cyclist here. The parking lane is still there. They just narrowed the motor lanes a few feet, swapped the bike lane to be on the sidewalk-side of the parking lane ("Parking protected"), and put a left turn pocket at left turn intersections (Every other intersection, since our streets are one-way). The turning pocket only takes up 3 to 4 car lengths, the rest of the parking is still there. There's also parking on the other side of the street.