Bike Lanes in and around DTR

Not even trying to leave some of the bike lane open.

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I was waiting to hear/see the results of this before posting this to this forum:

https://twitter.com/WabekaHS/status/1685712076918886400

I had been hounding them for about a week looking for results here with daily postings of the bus sitting in the bike lane. It wasnā€™t difficult at all to take these pictures since I walk by on my morning, mid-day, and afternoon walks. There was a bus parked there pretty much every single time.

I was pleasantly surprised that they had a discussion about this that quickly (considering the feedback I and others had received).

However if theyā€™re going to continue in this fashion, I say just remove the bike lane. No bike lane is better than an unsafe one that is there to make the city feel good about itself. As of right now, this bike lane only exists as virtue signaling that could get someone killed.

staff reminded all of us that this bike lane was installed as a temporary bike lane

If this is the case, everything on that road is temporary. That sentence doesnā€™t just pertain to the bike lane. Make it safe, get rid of it, or make some fucking changes.

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Absolutely. Any cyclist familiar with this area is taking the lane on this stretch anyway. This bike lane will only serve to get an inexperienced cyclist injured or killed.

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Pfff, canā€™t you see they installed plastic bollards.

Thank God too, what an improvement, now the bus has compensated for driving around them and positioned itself further into the bike lane.

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In addition to restriping the faded bike lane markers, looks like weā€™re also getting some sharrows on Hillsborough St. between Pullen and Gardner.

While I still think that some of the parallel parking ā€“ at a minimum ā€“ should be removed here in the long term, the sharrows are a good idea because riding in the middle of the lane is absolutely safer than in the deathtrap of a bike lane.

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as a former raleigh resident im not sure. a few miles helps a fewā€¦likely in special areas. better and safer neighborhood connections to necessities for living and connections to ā€˜painted bike routesā€™ for better usabilityā€¦ie, recreation, utility and exploration seems valid to me.

years back in raleigh mopeds were a short lived rage in raleigh, no insurance or license requiredā€¦78 to 83 ish or so. for a modest grocery run it was better than a car if you had baskets on it. (historical warning) my raleigh times paper route was done by moped and i had no issues in the starmount/brentwood area.

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if its camped there and impacting numerous cyclistsā€¦sure, thatā€™s a problem. if its a 10 second stop with a lane with very few cyclistsā€¦eh, not that bad.

Question from a driver. At intersections solid bike lane lines turn into broken lines. For a right hand turn, does that mean I merge into the bike lane prior to making my turn? Or do I stay outside the bike lane completely? The latter seems like Iā€™d be crossing a lane of traffic to make that right turn.

So hereā€™s the fun thing in that: Iā€™m not traffic engineer, but I believe you are supposed to go into the lane so you can make a right. This may block a bicyclist, but itā€™s supposed to prevent you from crashing into a bicyclist on the right as well since you are now in the lane. The bicyclist can then pass on the left, but now weā€™re back into the road which is a problem about the narrow bike lanes.

In saying that, Iā€™m sure bicyclists may not like it and get mad about it. I would blame the lack of education about the lanes and poor design. So if someone gets mad, I wouldnā€™t take it personally.

Iā€™m really mixed on it personally, but lean more to avoid going into the lane. In a way, I can see why cars should cut into it, but there are also separated bike lanes that donā€™t have this. So in that sense I donā€™t see the purpose. My other problem with it is that it can cause cars to cut into the bike lane prematurely and now it has just become a right turning lane or a wider turn lane which gets rid of the reason to have sharper turns to slow down the traffic.

Downtown I normally donā€™t see cars cut into the lane. Technically I think either would work. I know Iā€™d be annoyed if someone was in them, but I try not to let poor road design enrage me either. I wouldnā€™t take it personally. When I first got my ebike and tried rushing everywhere to see how fast I can get places. A lot of stuff frustrated me at that point. Now I try to enjoy the ride more than try to rush everywhere.

When I drive, I stay out of it. In either case, avoid cutting a bicyclist off. Iā€™ve had a lot of cars try to beat me to the turn and cause me to slam my brakes. That would be the most frustrating thing of all. It does nothing but maybe save maybe 5 seconds at the risk of causing a crash.

Just one bicyclistā€™s perspective who still drives occasionally.

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Thanks @wanderer, thatā€™s pretty much the way Iā€™ve been treating it. I also try to be aware of my surroundings, so if I just passed a cyclist I would be much more cautious when entering that ā€œturn\bikeā€ lane.

One instance I saw was at Blount turning right onto Peace. There were several cars lined up to turn right and they were all in the bike lane. I thought the right way to do it was to stay in the normal car lane until I got to the broken white line, then merge to turn.

But your comment on lack of education is spot on. Iā€™ve had these questions since the first implementation of bike lanes in DTR, just now getting around to asking people who may know better than me.

I believe the Blount lane turns into a hybrid turning lane and bike lane. I bike on that one all the time and itā€™s never bothered me to see drivers there. The turning lane on Morgan onto Blount is a good example of one I never use, I stick to the main road there when I drive and leave the bike lane empty.

They could copy this for outside the GoRaleigh station on Blount Street. That can solve there solvable situation.

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I had no idea where to post this article, but I put it here because this project includes a 2 way cycle track that would be pretty nice. I had noticed that not a lot had been done here for awhile, but I didnā€™t realize they had literally abandoned it. I feel like the city should have realized sooner.

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This could be Raleigh if our leaders collectively had any political willā€¦ this is in Somerville, MA after a downpour. This is also a new bike lane (protected in most areas of Hampshire St):

If you build it, they will come! :bike:

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Watch out for bar stools and dragonsā€¦charac/s

On a somewhat of a good note, Iā€™m excited to see Oberlin Rd when itā€™s all done. Iā€™ve been using St Maryā€™s since people donā€™t stop at the crosswalk on Wade Avenue. Iā€™ve had a couple close calls there. Oberlin still wonā€™t be perfect, but Iā€™ll like it way better than what it was.

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I just noticed that a See Click Fix issue for the removal of the sidewalk ramps at Ashe/Western was closed this week. They will not be putting the ramps back.

This was the response:

Ben Griffin
10/3/23 9:18:38 AM
Verified Official

Good Morning,

The referenced ramps at this location were removed by NCDOT as part of the resurfacing project on Western Blvd.

As part of any street resurfacing or alteration, the public right of way access guidelines state that pedestrian facilities must be updated to meet the current condition for the safe movement of pedestrians. Since there are no receiving ramps or pedestrian infrastructure to safely cross Ashe Ave or Western Blvd at this time, the existing ramp at this location was correctly removed in favor of pedestrians following the established greenway along Ashe Ave and utilizing the marked crossing further to the north closer to Pullen Park.

We will continue to explore solutions to provide additional width in this area, along with any greenway improvements.

So, weā€™re basically screwed if we want to ride a bicycle through here. I personally donā€™t feel safe navigating this area after being run off the sidewalk into Ashe traffic, so this bicycle commuter will be keeping her bike parked until itā€™s safer here.

@JonathanMelton is there anything else that can be done here? Could a crosswalk be cut into the median allowing the ramps to be replaced so pedestrians can cross safely to the gas station and cyclists could avoid riding on the sidewalk thatā€™s not wide enough for that use?

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Can you send this to me via email so I can elevate the issue with staff? Jonathan.Melton@raleighnc.gov. Thank you!

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The same group that considers that considers Six Forks between Newton Rd and Longstreet to be a greenway, and the narrow sidewalks on Lassiter Mill to be a greenway Iā€™m sure. :upside_down_face:

I do avoid that section of the greenway now. Itā€™s usable if you head west because you can keep on the road and roll up on the grass. Itā€™s obvious people on bikes do that there; The landscape shows it. I tried using it once and did ride opposite traffic on Western. A lot of cars donā€™t actually use that merge lane, but the problem is that they arenā€™t expecting to see people on it. I just avoid it now and instead use Clark > Hillsborough. I no longer get to use the best small section on Gorman. Iā€™ll still head that way if I ride out toward Lake Johnson.

Iā€™ve gotten a bit more used to using Hillsborough. Itā€™s usable for someone whoā€™s more familiar in riding along side traffic. You wonā€™t win many new bike users there, but Iā€™ll ride it.

I tend to use Oberlin a bit more in the mornings thanks to the new bike lanes as well. Iā€™m excited for the rest of it to be finished. Itā€™s not a good route on the way home (north) since I get caught in the same traffic at Oberlin/Fairway intersection or at St. Maryā€™s/Glenwood intersection. Again new bike users may not use it since it combines with traffic in some sections, but Iā€™ll use it.