Some cities build dedicated bike paths. This is much nicer as you aren't fighting with cars that way.

Those get even more unhinged pushback! Read any comments section on an article with a bike lane being put in, even if that bike lane takes no lanes from the road!

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lukan 6 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

In some places the only way to make a bike bath is to reduce a car lane.

I am all for it out of general principle, but most car drivers will likely disagree.

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scott_w 6 days ago | parent | next [-]

It makes no difference, I’ve seen people pushback even when that lane doesn’t remove a regular road lane!

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osigurdson 6 days ago | parent | prev [-]

I guess it depends on demand. If bikes are 100-to-1 then make a bike lane, if the other way around maybe not. Need to remember that tax-payers actually fund this stuff so can't just force random stuff on them.

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lukan 6 days ago | parent [-]

That is true, but the thing is, without bike lanes, people won't switch to bikes in certain traffic conditions. Cyclists pay taxes btw. too and a bicycle with its low weight is magnitudes cheaper for the roads, then the SUV tanks.

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osigurdson 6 days ago | parent [-]

I guess it is reasonable to run some experiments, set up some bike lanes for a period of time. If they are used, keep them, if not maybe consider removing them.

Good point regarding the costs. The other advantage of dedicated / purpose-built bike paths is they likely don't have to be built to the same spec as ones designed for vehicle use (I assume - not a civil engineer).

	▲	ryukafalz 5 days ago \| parent [-]
		Careful, this often ends up with cities and towns building isolated pilot bike lanes that go nowhere and then ripping them out when nobody uses them. The value of a bike lane isn't in the lane in isolation, in the same way that the value of a street isn't in that street alone. It's in the ability of that lane/street to get you where you need or want to go.

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nonethewiser 6 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Because bikes on roads with cars suck for both.

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int_19h 5 days ago | parent | prev [-]

It's nicer for the drivers too because you don't have to lag behind a slow-moving bike in a single lane.

And, more abstractly, if a dedicated bike lane means more people taking the bicycle, that also means fewer cars on the road, making it that much more pleasant for those who continue to drive.

Speaking as someone who enjoys driving, I'm all for dedicated bike lanes, even if that means reducing car lanes.