Daily for the last few weeks while riding the various roads of Charlotte I have been actively seeking signs of the city's effort to be bike friendly. I have found no less than three places where bike lanes that were never there before begin then end abruptly back into the nothing that was there prior to them being sprayed white on the road. My intrigue deepens as an actual user of these in town cycling improvements when I realize that some designated lanes make no sense at all and are disguised to trick the auto viper into sharing not sharing the road or gutter 18 inches from the curb. I have had a few close calls recently with some big autos, one of them was an American Bailed out cash for clunker in trade of less fuel efficiency Chevy Avalanche being driven by an oblivious human in active blackberry pursuit of 4 million. Upon further reflection I realize that one day someone who knows me will say to another of my friends, "Did you hear Bill was killed by an Avalanche?" That person will respond, "What a shame, where was he,
Shishapangma?" Shaking his head, the answer is blunt, "No, he was on 3rd Street trying to get to the Courthouse." If I am gonna go out by an Avalanche I surely hope that it is not the four wheeled version. This post is digressing faster than the health of the planet so I think I should end it here and get ready to ride.
The Sky is clear and in the south east the sun is rising to create orange, pink, purple and peach colored light filtration of various contrasts apparent. These colors are right in front of me through a big window and will be gone soon. The now however is a bright painting in the sky that I have seen before.
Signage and monies spent expressing the obvious truth. I am curious to know how many cyclists use this lane.
The inevitability of an abrupt ending.
Reverse angle exposes the truth about this bike friendly intersection. The cars on the left turning right as they exit the John Belk usually use the bike lane to merge onto the Avenue. I stood there for 5 light changes and watched this lane sharing behavior of the cars. Out of every five cars, three of the drivers were either on the phone or they were holding one in their hand as they sped by.
The inevitability of an abrupt ending.
Reverse angle exposes the truth about this bike friendly intersection. The cars on the left turning right as they exit the John Belk usually use the bike lane to merge onto the Avenue. I stood there for 5 light changes and watched this lane sharing behavior of the cars. Out of every five cars, three of the drivers were either on the phone or they were holding one in their hand as they sped by.
4 comments:
the sporadic bike lanes are a result of the fact that bike lane creation has to do with road construction, not the bicycle master plan. city code dictates that any major road construction must include a bike lane (which is good), but does not stipulate that safe entrances and exits be built into adjoining sections of road (not good). my favorite example of a pointless lane is the one on providence rd. where is crosses 485. there is a bike lane that crosses the bridge, and that's it. the stonewall/kenilworth lane pictured is however one of the deadliest i've seen, as it exits into a curve on a narrow section of a fast moving high traffic street.
Hey Bill! We have one of the shortest lanes in Charlotte right on our street - can't be more than 15 to 20 feet long! At the intersection of South Blvd. and Ideal Way...
Lee...thanks for the data.
Doug...that sounds like time and money well spent.
Yes, I totally agree... My guess would be that they probably think Ideal Way is a "safe" street to live on - little do they know the amount of cars (and trucks) that think they are still on the interstate - as well as those who think that stop signs apply to everyone except themselves...
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