Absolutely - once that happens, they can add that to the mileage of protected bike lanes 
One example of this recently done is in front of the art museum on Blue Ridge Road.
If thatās already there, then it should be on the list of protected bike lanes that shows nothing in Raleigh, hence my comment that the city needs to keep this sort of information updated and readily available via all the various platforms.
Hereās People for Bikes definition of a Protected Bike Lane:
https://peopleforbikes.org/placesforbikes/the-placesforbikes-style-guide/#pbldefinition
The have 3 key characteristics: 1-Physical Separation, 2-Exclusively for People on Bikes, 3-On or adjacent to the roadway.
āProtected bike lanes are NOT: Multi-use or shared paths; space must be designed and designated exclusively for bicycles. Buffered bike lanes; there must be some type of vertical object delineating the space at least once per block. Conventional bike lanes that are painted green.ā
Also
āMulti-use paths, buffered lanes and bike boulevards are essential parts of comprehensive low-stress networks, and our sharp focus on protected bike lanes is not meant to dismiss their value. Rather, itās to introduce and institutionalize an important facility type for big, busy streets that has, until recently, been missing from the vocabulary of U.S. practice.ā
2 Likes
Thanks Brian. This helps clear up the questions!
Given what I read, it would seem that the Centennial Bikeway Connector would qualify as a protected bike lane if it were painted as such and designated as bikes only. The definition does allow a protected bike lane to have the landscaping separation in their definition of āOn or adjacent to the roadwayā
On or adjacent to the roadway: Protected bike lanes are part of the street grid. In some instances, a protected lane may be separated from the road by landscaping or other features, but it runs parallel and proximate to the roadway. This distinguishes protected bike lanes from off-street pathways that follow waterways or rail corridors.
FWIW, the opposite side of Centennial Pkwy includes a sidewalk thatās clearly not a bikeway. Iād love to see the Centennial Bikeway Connector become a painted cycletrack and give Raleigh its first substantial protected bike lane.
On a side note, and while I understand that their mission is to push for more protection, I have concern about the disparaging way that they talk about standard bike lanes as ālargely unsuccessfulā. If they poo poo them too much, then their inclusion in a comprehensive bike infrastructure plan can be attacked by the anti-bike crowd. I can just hear it now: āWhy should we provide standard bike lanes if your own groups call them largely unsuccessful?ā I certainly encourage a robust network of standard bike lanes, among other types of infrastructure for bikes as we move toward more protected bike lanes.
Personally, I use the standard types of lanes all the time without issue.
3 Likes
That is basically what needs to happen. Thereās whole nations where the majority of urban streets are like this like the Netherlands and Denmark. Mountains of studies and books on how to design and implement protected bike lanes. In English. Why is the City of Raleigh still looking at poor Americans attempts in San Francisco and Portland? Urban cycletracks will only make more people against biking infrastructure.
1 Like
Whatās the difference between a cycle track and protected bike lane?
The problem with most bike lanes around Raleigh is that people ignore them. People park in them, piles leaves on them, etc.
2 Likes
Depending on the definition itās technically the same thing but the way cycle tracks are implements in the US is the issue. Protected bike lanes are simple grade separated unidirectional path for bikes on each side of the road between the sidewalk and road/parking. It goes with the natural flow of traffic. Cycle tracks are huge, pronounce bi-directional bike path on one side of the street. One issue is that there is more vehicular interaction on a cycle track than normal protected bike lanes. For example, cars turning left out of a parking lot into a 2 lane street will have to manage 4 lanes of traffic (2 car lanes and 2 bike lanes), in a normal unidirectional protected bike lane the driver will have to manage only two directions of traffic: cars and bikes from the left and cars coming from the right.
1 Like
Iām fine with the standard bicycle lanes as well. But studies have shown that a significant portion of the population (over 60%) would not ride a bike somewhere unless there was physical protection from cars vs. the 8% that are fine riding with no or limited protection. (Source: Four Types of Transportation Cyclists | Bicycle Counts | The City of Portland, Oregon)
So thatās why thereās the push for more physical separation/protected bike lanes vs. traditional bike lanes.
āSurvey after survey and poll after poll has found again and again that the number one reason people do not ride bicycles is because they are afraid to be in the roadway on a bicycle. They are generally not afraid of other cyclists, or pedestrians, or of injuring themselves in a bicycle-only crash. When they say they are āafraidā it is a fear of people driving automobiles. This has been documented and reported in transportation literature from studies, surveys and conversations across the US, Canada, and Europe.ā
(As Kanatenah mentioned, there are some problems with how conventional bike lanes are handled here in Raleigh leading them sometimes to be no better than riding with traffic)
4 Likes
I use the Centennial Bikeway Connector several times a week as part of my bike commute to work. Iām a fan of it. Iād love to see more such facilities. I think the only reason it doesnāt meet People for Bikesā definition of a protected bike lane is that it is not exclusively designated for bikes. Maybe thatās splitting hairs.
I like greenways but my take is that our system was designed more for recreation than daily utility. Itās more of a linear park system than an alternative transportation network. Yes, people do use greenways for cycle commuting, but thatās something of an unanticipated development.
Iām willing to bet that most people who bike on Raleighās greenways start their ride with a car trip. You load your bikes on the car so you can drive somewhere so you can ride your bike.
In my mind protected bike lanes differ from greenways because of where theyāre built - along existing streets - and thatās what allows people to get the day-to-day stuff of life done without being so car-dependent.
Riding on a greenway is great, but can I go to a Dr.'s appointment or buy groceries along a greenway? To me thatās the impact of protected bike lanes: they complete the network that allows people to get things done and therefore be less car-dependent.
3 Likes
Itās helpful and encouraging to understand that the urban streets of the Netherlands and Denmark werenāt always built for and around cycling. They have these cycling cultures because they fought for them.
Hereās an excellent book on the history of that process:
Iām from Los Angeles and think itās pretty crazy that LA can shut down a major street (Wilshire) for 10 miles for a monthly bicycle only traffic event but itās unthinkable here in Raleigh.
2 Likes
Yes! Yes! and more Yes! We have to give people a taste of an alternative reality in order to help them understand the possibilities and potential benefits of dramatic change.
Iām sure the Ciclavia idea came from the Ciclovia in Bogota that was started 40 some years ago:
4 Likes
I get it. I also believe the studies. As for the āinterested but concernedā, I do question how many of them would actually become cyclists if they were given the safest solutions. Frankly, Iād be surprised if many of them would actually change their transportation behaviors. I donāt believe for a second that many of them would actually āconvertā.
Thereās certainly always a better and safer solution. For example, standard green painted bike lanes are better than sharrows, but Iād rather have a sharrow than nothing (not that I think that a sharrow is really any better than nothing). My concern is that if we push a narrative of protected bike lanes only, we will often end up with nothing. This will especially be true when are talking about locations where the overwhelming majority of people are driving cars. Like it or not, their voices will be prioritized over (what will emerge as) a perception of whiny elitist cyclists.
In my opinion, we have to be really careful to push for solutions that we can get via a groundswell of hyper local support. For example, pushing for protected bike lanes around NC State will be more fruitful because thereās a large number of students who donāt own cars. Their voices can be leveraged. Another example might be in Glenwood South where an increasing residential and retail density is making bike trips desirable to a rapidly growing local cohort. Letās go for things that will succeed, because having successes will pave the way for future success.
Outside of some very specific areas like the two aforementioned, I could argue that many of the places where cyclists feel the least safe, and would benefit the most from protected bike lanes, are also the places where cars dominate the narrative.
Now, if we had a robust transit system that people used, this whole issue would immediately get a lot easier to push. ā¦sighā¦
To put some context to my comments as a cyclist, I am power user of bikeshare on a daily basis when I am in Miami, and Iāve ridden the full extent of US1 from Miami to Key West 15 times.
3 Likes
I think there needs to be a cultural shift in addition to better bike infrastructure but I donāt know how you go about that. There are a lot of drivers that donāt know how to deal with people on bikes (or in crosswalks;) maybe that will just change overtime in and around downtown as the number of pedestrians, bikers, runners etc on the streets continues to rise. I would ride my bike a lot more places if I felt it was a little safer, however, I usually just walk everywhere so Iām a bad case study.
1 Like
Well context obviously matters. This being a downtown Raleigh forum though and a place where significantly more people bike than say North Raleigh, I think itās more appropriate to push for protected bike facilities (as opposed to a suburban site with low ridership with or without separation). The places that you mentioned - NC State and Glenwood South are similar to downtown Raleigh.
Conversely, I could also argue that if you ask for too little to begin with, then people will be content giving you the bare minimum and not consider giving you a higher level bicycle facility in the future.
4 Likes
I hear you, hence my examples. FWIW, Glenwood South is downtown.
A funny aside, the only protected bike lane in Miami on that list is on a block (both sides) in South Beach. I know how it became protected as well. It was pushed by a friend of mine because people kept parking in it to ājust run into the post office for a minuteā, and delivery trucks parked in it ājust to make a quick deliveryā. It had less to do with protecting the cyclists and more to do with keeping the bike lane available.
4 Likes
So much for that tax hike, puhhhhhhhh
It was my understanding that the greenway system is considered a ālinear parkā - and not a transportation system.
While I think itās a fabulous resource but I would have preferred more integration with existing and proposed bike routes through the cityās street system, acknowledging bikes as something more than ārecreationalā but rather a dedicated form of transportation.
2 Likes
Raleighās first two-way cycle track will be tested the first weekend in April for 3 days.
The public is invited to ride the cycle track and provide their feedback.
https://www.raleighnc.gov/home/news/content/CorNews/Articles/HarringtonStreetCycletrackPopUp.html
6 Likes
May the odds be forever in your favor.
2 Likes