I was shocked on my commute to work last week when a couple blocks worth of bike lane had broken glass strewn about.
I just can't stop wondering if it was on purpose you know? Normally cars are parked or pedestrians are walking in the bike lane so it seems counter intuitive if it was on purpose.
I mean all winter people were shovelling snow directly into the bike lanes so I'm pretty pessimistic at this point.
I love commuting by bike! I just wish it felt safer.
People are assholes, people in the states only care about themselfs and not the environment, so they will throw shit on the ground or out their car no matter how dangerous it is.
In some places there is a lot of hate towards cyclists, so it's very possible.
But it could also be smashed car windows. (Although I believe that should be "security glass" and should not be extremely sharp... I might be wrong)
Unfortunately though, there are many examples I've seen and lived through myself.
Glass, nails, metal wires across the bike path ... I've seen it all.
I used to live in Cork (Ireland) and the hostility from drivers towards cyclists is next to deadly.
I've been purposefully cut off many times in that city.
And on Friday morning, after a so called "students night" the streets are littered with broken glass.
Fun times.
It’s also common that tougher car tires are not affected. When they roll over debris it is sometimes pushed to the side of the street. I ride near the ocean and the bike lane is usually Sandy and much more treacherous.
If it looks like broken bottles, then it's likely intentional (i.e. targeting cyclists). But as others have pointed it, it could also be smashed window glass, which will look considerably different to broken bottles.
Either way, it's honestly a shame that criminals have to ruin it for everyone else.
Not that it's going to prevent every puncture, but I'd consider getting some beefy, puncture resistant tires for your bike.
Just go around, as a cyclist you have to learn to face many obsticles and find ways to evade them. Do a bunny hop over it, or maybe if the road is clear, go around on the road, or go around on the sidewalk not disturbing people or just quickly dismount.