Ted Kunstling: Hasty bike lanes

Jim Jenkins rightly questioned Raleigh’s new bicycle lanes (“Time to clarify the bike lane change,” March 10 column).

Our city’s bike plan has been developed by bicycle advocates and implemented in haste without adequate feedback from the general public, apparently motivated by a desire for Raleigh to appear on lists of “bicycle-friendly” cities. Little consideration has been given to the adverse effects of these lanes on traffic congestion and actual safety.

Hills, distance, weather, lack of showers at work, multitasking and numerous factors other than lack of bike lanes discourage bicycle commuting.

These poorly designed and inconsistent lanes do not improve safety of slow-moving cyclists on busy streets but rather confuse both drivers and cyclists. Slow-moving bicycles on busy streets are inherently dangerous. When cars and cyclists collide, there are no winners.

“Mixed use corridors” are a very unproven concept; bicyclists are safer on less busy neighborhood streets. There has not been coordination with city leaf removal and solid waste collection services.

There should have been much more study about the demand for and appropriateness of bike lanes before indiscriminately implementing these lanes if the goal is to improve safety and achieve buy-in.

This story was originally published March 16, 2016 at 3:50 PM with the headline "Ted Kunstling: Hasty bike lanes."