Bikers really need their own infrastructure that's kept entirely apart from where cars are. Bikes and cars sharing the same road is terrifyingly unsafe for both.
That's a little melodramatic. I'm 100% on the cyclist side (don't even have a driving licence) but even I can see mixed traffic is dangerous for both.
What driver hits a bike unexpectedly (assuming no intent) and doesn't react in a potentially dangerous way? People crash cars trying to avoid deer even.
I mean I get your point, but still agree with op. Running somebody over is unsafe and nothing terrifies me more than backing up in parking lots where kids might dart out unexpectedly.
There's bad drivers everywhere, but I'd hazard a guess that most of them do not want to kill a cyclist either..
Even if they're separate, general-purpose lanes and bike paths and sidewalks have to cross sometimes. The biggest problem with the infrastructure pictured isn't the bike lane itself, it's the inadequate intersection treatment.
In particular, the car slip lane should've been removed and a stop bar before the bike lane crossing should've been added.
No, the bike lane should be raised above all of it so that bikes don't have to stop at all.
Great bike infrastructure is when bike riders don't have to stop for car traffic. It should ALWAYS be the other way around, or the paths shouldn't cross at all.
If a city wants to reduce cars on the road, buses/trains/subways yeah that helps a little bit.
But make a dedicated network where it's only pedestrians, bikes and electric vehicles under a certain speed limit. Especially if it's covered in some way,
There a TON of people that would absolutely prefer that over cars
The Woodlands Development north of Houston did this very well in the first phase of development. Bike paths wound through the woods on the backside of property while streets wound through the front. This gave more street facing property while bike travel was typically shorter distances. It was really amazing. It was abandoned for more square property lines and conventional development in later phases.
Defensive scowling has helped save my life against gigantic SUVs on more than one occasion. Did you know that road monsters cannot legally pulp you without your consent?