What is the perfect bike lane? Is it a simple bike lane? Is it a contraflow lane? Or is it dedicate bike lanes, also known as Cycle Tracks? Or even a hybrid of all of the above? In some countries such as Denmark, dedicated bike lanes are a way of life… literally.
To go even further, what should an intersection that accommodates dedicated bike and pedestrian traffic look like? Is there such as thing that already exists? In the Netherlands, yes. In the US, not so much. In the past week I have had two good friends, who are safe, avid cyclists, come perilously close to getting in serious accidents.
Wired.com has posed a question regarding protected intersections and the future of cycling in progressive US cities (see article here).
The intersection design, featured in the diagram and the video (by Nick Falbo), has caught the attention of some Buffalo cyclists who are wondering if something like this might ever be in store for busy Buffalo intersections – especially in districts that are in the process of having streetscapes redesigned.
Think of some of the wider “Frogger” streets in Downtown Buffalo, and how a plan like this could be worked in, with dedicated bike lanes and protected intersections. To see how all of this works, click on the video below. And be sure to read the Wired.com article. You can learn more about the concept at ProtectedIntersection.com.
Before we run, we must learn how to walk (we’re at crawling stage right now). First come dedicated bike lanes. Then come dedicated intersections. You can’t have the latter without the prior.