Comments on: Streetfilms: Contra-Flow Biking in Boulder

By: Chris in Sacramento

Chris in Sacramento — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 00:42:11 +0000

What's striking is the QUALITY of the facility. Good pavement, buffers, decent width, curves to discourage speeding on this short bikeway, connectivity, trees for shading... So many communities seem willing to install bike facilities that are barely functional or uninspiring.

By: Clarence Eckerson Jr.

Clarence Eckerson Jr. — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 13:59:14 +0000

I was in the vicinity of the contra-flow lane for quite sometime while filming and being out and about in Boulder. I thought for sure it would be used by cyclists to go the wrong way and not use the road. Well, I only saw that once in about 100 cyclists or so.

It really is amazing that in the best U.S. cycling cities, there are so many amenities for cyclists that traffic laws are usually followed. Davis, Calif; Portland, Oregon; Boulder; even Berkeley - to some extent - are examples of well behaved cyclists in regards to the law. Why? I think it is because some of their needs are catered to and when you bike around you feel there are options that have been developed with you in mind. Cyclists know the safest, sanest routes and they use them and are happy there.

By: tps12

tps12 — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 13:20:09 +0000

Andy B, the bike symbol is upside down if you're going against traffic. I don't think anyone can seriously be under the impression that they are supposed to go the wrong way; they probably just don't know which parallel street (if any) has a bike lane in the direction they want to go, and are under the (mistaken) impression that going the wrong way on a street with a bike lane is safer than going the right way on one without. Well done on speaking out against the machinations of Big Helmet, Eric. Cycledom shall not be incarcerated in a cell of plastic and foam!

By: Eric

Eric — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 11:35:12 +0000

The lane is nice, but it really makes me sad to see all those people wearing helmets who have been duped into thinking that they are somehow safer with them.

By: Andy B from Jersey

Andy B from Jersey — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 01:48:56 +0000

Hmmm.... Doesn't NYC already has contraflow bike lanes? Isn't that the reason why there on the left side of the road?

Oh wait. I'm sorry! They're actually not intended for retrograde traffic?

Funny?

I often see people riding their bikes down them as if those left side bike lanes were intended for contraflow traffic. It does seem to be the natural thing to do. You see, anyplace else in the world (with very few exceptions), where there is a bike lane on the left side of a one-way street, it is usually intended only for retrograde bicycle traffic.

So don't blame that German (or the Dutch, Wisconsin, Danish, Colorado, etc.) tourist for riding down that bike lane in the wrong direction. It's just what those crazy people do on a left side bike lane in those wacky places where they are from.

By: john

john — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 18:39:47 +0000

This looks great. Of course its form can be used on any street, not just in a contra-flow design. We're working on a design for a California city with very wide (100') streets that are currently one-way. We're proposing two-way streets, with one-way bike lanes going with the traffic on each side of the street. As in this photo, the lanes are separated from the sidewalk and the street and introduce two additional rows of trees. We also put parking outside the bike lane and trees, and a median with trees in the center -- altogether, therefore, 3 new rows of trees.

By: Urbanis

Urbanis — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 18:39:40 +0000

Is the livable streets movement (and commuting cyclists) better served by supporting bi-directional cycling on one-way streets (via a segregated contra-flow or bi-directional lane) or by simply making one-way streets bi-directional for all vehicular traffic (bikes and cars)?

I'd love to hear others' opinions on this topic.

By: jginsbu

jginsbu — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 17:15:11 +0000

IIRC, Paris has contra-flow lanes which are not physically separated, just striped.

Can anyone confirm that the "Bike Boulevards" in Portland and other cities are at least occasionally bi-directional bike facilities on one-way streets? I believe that's the case.

By: shishi

shishi — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 17:14:20 +0000

I would love contra-flow bus and bike lanes on all the Avenues. Yes, this has not worked in the past, it can easily work now with singage and the correct PR campaign. Get two for the price of one.

By: Urbanis

Urbanis — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 17:06:18 +0000

My criticism of the video is that it did not offer any explicit rationale for a bike lane being contra-flow. Is the idea to support bi-directional cycling on a one-way street? In which case, it does make sense to make the contra-flow lane a segregated facility.

By: Eric McClure

Eric McClure — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 16:38:52 +0000

I agree with Larry about a two-way, physically separated lane on Prospect Park West, one of which would be contra-flow, of course, though I'd also like to see PPW and 8th Avenue turned into two-way street for cars, too, at which point the "contra" lane would no longer be so.

By: Mike

Mike — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 16:06:09 +0000

Connecting the ferry terminals downtown to the greenways. It's almost impossible to navigate the end of South Street, at Whitehall, successfully -- yet the allegedly continuous greenway passes through there.

I second Forsyth. It could easily be the safest route to/from the Manhattan Bridge with a little forethought.

Bridge approaches in general.

Johnson Street, between Adams and Jay.

Lafayette Ave, between Flatbush/Schermerhorn and Fulton. Otherwise there's no good connector from Fort Greene to Boerum Hill.

West Broadway, between Grand and Walker. This was actually proposed in an old NYCDOT study, but never implemented.

Park Row, getting to the Brooklyn Bridge from downtown.

Greenwich Ave, between W 13th and 8th Ave.

By: jginsbu

jginsbu — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 16:03:10 +0000

In our recent petition regarding Bennett Ave in upper Manhattan to CB12, contra-flow bike traffic came up. Besides Bennett, which is one-way going downtown, Broadway is the only street running NS in the valley between Ft George and Ft Washington from 181st to roughly 194th. Many uptown-bound cyclists already ride against traffic on Bennett in order to avoid the dangers of Broadway, but this practice creates hazardous interactions with other street users who aren't expecting contra-flow traffic. In our petition we noted redesigning bennett for bi-directional bike traffic as one of the two options for improving this dangerous situation.

By: Larry Littlefield

Larry Littlefield — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 15:47:20 +0000

Forsythe Street in Manhattan; Prospect Park West in Brooklyn.

I think that lane is wide enough for bike traffic in two directions, or close to it. You just go left to pass, like you do on a two-lane rural highway in an automobile.

I'd like to see a two-way separated bike path at those two locations.

By: Jason A

Jason A — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 15:38:45 +0000

"Where in NYC might contra-flow lanes be useful?"

Queensboro and Williamsburg bridge approaches!