We need to carefully plan and design the appropriate infrastructure for each project, not just apply a one-size fits all solution.

Dooring was/is a big problem on Broadway in Portland and I know many people who have been doored there. I had been nearly doored most days along Broadway, no exaggeration.

It is important for bike riders to feel safer, and it is a justifiable reason to re-engineer a street, although that is not the only reason SW Broadway was reconfigured.

Oh, and another thing: cycle tracks don’t automatically “make the situation worse” (the situation of cars turning). There are lots of great ways to increase visibility of cyclists at the intersections – not allowing parking right up to the crosswalk, creative uses of bump-outs, colored pavements, signage, etc. Don’t forget that, given time and education, a lot of people who drive cars can learn to adapt.

I don’t think that anyone is “just building them (cycle tracks) because it makes us feel good about outselves”. MKJ, that’s a rude and uninformed thing to write, and it puts words in the mouths of others.

We DO need appropriate cycling infrastructure everywhere. Whether appropriate is a Class I (separated), Class II (striped), or Class III (signed) bike route is dependent on the characteristics of each locale. Several streets in SE & NE Portland are Class III bike routes, sharing the road with cars, no striping, no separated path, and they work beautifully. Other measures (small traffic circles nicely landscaped, etc.) have been implemented in these locations. I would never recommend cycle tracks for these neighborhood streets. But in some places, I would.

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That is an incredibly shortsighted statement. If the majority of bicycle crashes are at intersections, which most happen to be, cycle tracks can definitely make the situation worse.

Constructing something that makes people “feel” safer but in actuality makes the situation worse, is not the right solution. Each location of a proposed cycle track needs to be looked at very carefully, lets not just build them because it makes us feel good about ourselves.

If bikes are getting run down or doored in the middle of the block, cycle tracks may make bikers safer. And if cars are taking over the lane, a buffer of parked cars may discourage (most of) them.

the reason more people don’t ride is because they are terrified, rightly, of cars. it’s pretty simple, really. cycle tracks make us cyclists _feel_ a bit safer/more comfortable (and may also provide a bit of actual, statistical safety), so we need them, and we need them everywhere. that’s it. there is really no complexity in the situation at all — we need appropriate cycling infrastructure everywhere.

the ideal situation, of course, is to do away with all cars, but until we can make that happen, we’ll have to continue with the proliferation of cycle tracks and other bike-special infrastructure. cars were a horrific idea, and many people knew it from the start. thankfully, cars are slowly going away.

If bikes are getting run down or doored in the middle of the block, cycle tracks may make bikers safer. And if cars are taking over the lane, a buffer of parked cars may discourage (most of) them.

On the other hand, a separated bike lane, blocked from motor traffic’s view by a row of parked cars, may increase the number of right-hook collisions with turning cars. So, if most of the crashes on a street happen on the corners and not in the middle of the block, a cycle track may make things worse.

I’d also expect that cyclists would have to deal with pedestrians stepping into the lane without looking, some of them heading to their parked cars. Motor traffic is not a good thing, in general, but it does force people to look both ways before stepping off the curb (usually). If there are no cars, pedestrians are much less cautious.

A lot of people see the case separated lanes, pro or con, as a religious or ideological issue. I think it’s a pragmatic question. Sometimes they’re a good idea, and sometime they’re not.

I see only one automobile besides the ones parked. Hmmm. Guess that means that cars need at most one lane. I mean, really, why have two car lanes (and there are two) for one car? That is pure stupidity. Actually, let that car go southbound on another street. Close the road completely.

Bikes do use that street, a lot.

There will always be a little grumbling, but the way to avoid conflict is to educate others and make sure planners minimize negative side effects.

Add powered lightweight scooters and possible some light weight, powered three wheelers.