Comments on: There’s Safety in (Bike-Specific) Infrastructure http://www.streetsblog.org/2009/11/04/there%e2%80%99s-safety-in-bike-specific-infrastructure/ Covering the New York City Streets Renaissance Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:07:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Larry Hogue http://www.streetsblog.org/2009/11/04/there%e2%80%99s-safety-in-bike-specific-infrastructure/comment-page-1/#comment-149551 Larry Hogue Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:48:40 +0000 http://www.streetsblog.org/?p=84611#comment-149551 Lost a long comment due to forgetting about the spam protection, so here's the short version: Studies about safety may be good, but apparently this literature review is flawed. Here's Forester's critique: http://johnforester.com/Articles/Safety/Infrastructure%20Impact.pdf In addition to logical errors about the safety of bike lanes, the reviewers left out a major study that contradicts their claims, from Copenhagen: http://tinyurl.com/3dlkbm That study showed a 10% average increase in injuries and crashes on cycle tracks. However, maybe safety isn't the most important thing for bike advocates to look at. The Copenhagen study also showed a 20% increase in cycle traffic due to cycle tracks, and a 10% decrease in vehicle traffic. Seems to me that that kind of increase in cycling outweighs the safety declines. The Copenhagen study authors come to a similar conclusion. Lost a long comment due to forgetting about the spam protection, so here’s the short version:

Studies about safety may be good, but apparently this literature review is flawed. Here’s Forester’s critique:
http://johnforester.com/Articles/Safety/Infrastructure%20Impact.pdf

In addition to logical errors about the safety of bike lanes, the reviewers left out a major study that contradicts their claims, from Copenhagen:
http://tinyurl.com/3dlkbm

That study showed a 10% average increase in injuries and crashes on cycle tracks.

However, maybe safety isn’t the most important thing for bike advocates to look at. The Copenhagen study also showed a 20% increase in cycle traffic due to cycle tracks, and a 10% decrease in vehicle traffic. Seems to me that that kind of increase in cycling outweighs the safety declines. The Copenhagen study authors come to a similar conclusion.

]]> By: BicyclesOnly http://www.streetsblog.org/2009/11/04/there%e2%80%99s-safety-in-bike-specific-infrastructure/comment-page-1/#comment-148251 BicyclesOnly Wed, 04 Nov 2009 15:59:38 +0000 http://www.streetsblog.org/?p=84611#comment-148251 It's wonderful to finally get a scholarly, peer-reviewed meta-analysis of the data concerning the impacts of dedicated bicycling infrastucture. There is always a place for cyclists' anecdotal observations (whether offered in blogs by individual cyclists like me or even in monographs by "authorities" like <a href="http://www.johnforester.com/" rel="nofollow">Forester</a>), but such observations are hopelessly subjective. This article goes a long way to proving what I have (subjectively) believed all along: that bike lanes and paths and the best was to improve cycling safety. I hope other investigators will design studies to specifically address the dearth of data concerning straightaway cycle tracks, such as those recently installed in Manhattan. It’s wonderful to finally get a scholarly, peer-reviewed meta-analysis of the data concerning the impacts of dedicated bicycling infrastucture. There is always a place for cyclists’ anecdotal observations (whether offered in blogs by individual cyclists like me or even in monographs by “authorities” like Forester), but such observations are hopelessly subjective. This article goes a long way to proving what I have (subjectively) believed all along: that bike lanes and paths and the best was to improve cycling safety. I hope other investigators will design studies to specifically address the dearth of data concerning straightaway cycle tracks, such as those recently installed in Manhattan.

]]>