Originally Posted by
livedarklions
Bike path or bike lane involve the same question for me. Outside of the obvious "is it rideable" question, my number one consideration is where it puts me in relation to cars turning rihht at the intersection. Those paths that are a few feet to the right from the road are invariably awful at busy intersections.
Try to imagine an urban situation. Just try. In a single city block there may be an alley and two driveways. Plus the intersection at end of block. The bike lane is to right of parking lane. The parking lane is permanently fully occupied. Most of the vehicles parked are trucks or SUVs. Drivers in traffic lane cannot see bikes in bike lane, bikes in lane cannot see drivers about to turn right. If you can imagine that at all you will understand why urban bike lanes are hopeless.