
I consider myself pretty lucky. My town, Austin, Texas, has a lot of cyclists and therefore has paid some attention to cycling routes. Many streets (not enough) have bike lanes.
For the most part, I like bike lanes. Yes, you’re segregated from motor traffic, which might prevent bikes from being acknowledged as equals to cars on the road. I prefer to stick to my lane and let cars and trucks stick to theirs.
Problem is, bike lanes sometimes aren’t what we’d like. In my neighborhood we have bike lanes on some nice suburban streets. But those lanes seem to be grit magnets. There’s so much gravel, dirt, debris, crud and broken glass in the lanes they become hazards — or at the least, tire killers.
But after taking a look at some of these bike lanes from other parts of the globe, I think I’ll be happy with what I have.If you’d like a good chuckle — or maybe just a slow, wondering head shake, visit this Flickr pool of bad bike lanes.
It’s not a bike lane, but have you seen what they did to 620 between Boulder Lane & Anderson Mill? They’ve been installing guard rails that take up 90% of the shoulder and in some spots a single rider is forced onto the white line to get around it.
Some of the bike lanes here in England have to be seen to be believed.
Yes, in England you get everything from the quite good to downright ridiculous. My favourite one is the cycle path that looks to have been made after someone had a night on the town – http://cyclinginfo.co.uk/blog/commuting/complete-guide-to-cycle-paths/