Comments on: Drivers Ed. Campaign to Accompany Portland Bike Boxes

By: Michael

Michael — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 14:39:12 +0000

Candy,
No offense but if you read the story they didn't eliminate the right turn. Only the right turn on red. You could still turn right after the light turns green.
I think it's a good idea,but what concerns me is,I am a motorcycle rider and am concerned with the paint covering the whole lane. It could be extremely slippery when it rains and cause accidents for motorcyclists. I have a problem sometimes already with the painted stripes causing me to slip. I hope they have some type of slip reduction technique in the paint.

By: Candy

Candy — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 13:33:16 +0000

These bike boxes are unnecessary overkill. The city eliminated the right turn at the intersections where they painted the boxes, so drivers can no longer turn right. That alone would be enough to eliminate the type of driver and cyclist crashes that were occurring where the driver turned right without seeing the cyclist approaching. If the drivers can only go straight and the cyclists are in the bike lane to their right, why is the green box necessary? Why do drivers have to stop and wait for cyclists to go first if they can only go straight, anyway? These will cause a huge traffic slow-down, especially since the elimination of the right turn will already be adding to the city's traffic congestion.

By: ddartley

ddartley — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 19:39:38 +0000

I'm not really familiar with conditions anywhere else, but where I ride in Manhattan, not even these would help as much as they'd appear to.

What would help a lot more would be a green light specifically for bikes/human powered vehicles, that turns green before the cars' green. That would give much more of a necessary head start, which is what cyclists really need.

Of course you could also always have both...