hotbike

City halts bike lane projects after residents voice concerns - Live5News.com | Charleston, SC | News, Weather, Sports

"The bike lanes, which run in both directions on Farrow Road from Columbia College Drive to East Campanella Drive, will be closed until further notice.

The South Carolina Department of Transportation has been asked to close bike lanes until a final decision is made regarding the project.

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Daniel4

As long as the drivers of Columbia don't mind having cyclists in front of them and are able to drive safely with them, there shouldn't be a problem.

DannoXYZ 

Time for critical mass ride...

BobbyG

Sometimes I wonder if some municipalities put bike lanes in as inconvenient a place for vehicular traffic as possible, and make the lanes as inconvenient to traffic as possible, so that the bitter taste of them sour the public's taste for any future bike lanes, even if they are smartly designed and well-placed. There are some very good bike lanes here in Colorado Springs, but some recent additions in some newer areas had to be scrapped due to public outcry, and to tell you the truth I was against them as a cyclist and a driver.

This Farrow road is tight, without shoulders. If the center turn lane was removed, I think it a bike lane could easily be done. Perhaps, by shaving a few inches off the existing lanes, and widening the pavement as much as possible, bike lanes could be added.

A google street and satellite view of Farrow road in the area where the lanes had been put in shows few good alternative routes for cyclists that don't add a lot of extra mileage.

DannoXYZ 

I think A LOT of people in city government, planning, civil enginneering just don't have much cycling experience. They just don't have 1st-hand experience and end up putting bike paths in as afterthough.

hotbike

Good comments, thank you. I'd like to apologize for the title I gave this thread, as it doesn't give any idea what the thread is about. I admit I was overwhelmed, dumbfounded by the stupidity of the story.
So cyclists must now ride in the left lane , *with* the auto and truck traffic? I wasn't sure...
smh

jefnvk

Yep, a lot of the "road diet" projects around me involve bike lanes, and much of the angst over the bike lanes is really caused more by the "road diet" part. Bike lanes are just one of the visible features of such projects, and incur the anger.

But yes, in this case, should be interesting to see the reaction of the drivers sitting behind bikes when there is a closed off bike lane next to them.

Chris0516