Last week the whole crew at SVBC took a ride to check out the great new bike lanes that San Jose recently installed. To get there, we took Hedding from the Alameda to 11th Street. Hedding is a busy street that cries out for a bike lane. For me, not a really strong cyclist, the narrow lanes and heavy traffic are daunting. I probably would not ride it by myself. Fortunately, others led the way.
Then we turned south on 11th. What a treat! Here is a picture of the buffered bike lane, with plenty of room for the parked cars, and a "safety zone" between the bike lane and the car lane, and a picture of us riding down 11th. I really felt safe here. I've heard complaints that the new lanes are not being used, but I am sure when more people realize how great they are, it will be filled with bicyclists. Downtown, we took the San Fernando bike lane over to 4th, and down 4th a few blocks. Here, the bike lane actually has a barrier between it and the car lane. There is a picture of us riding down it.
These new bike lanes are great! I appreciate any bike lanes, but I can't say enough about these buffered lanes. They are wide enough, and give bicyclists a good margin of safety. I look forward to a bike lane on Hedding.
After all that riding, we stopped to refresh ourselves and relax a little. There's a picture of us. From the left, that's Corinne, Ernesto, Megan, Ashley, me, and Jen. You don't see Colin because he took all the pictures.
Comments
MikeOnBike
September 14, 2012 - 10:49am
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I'd feel a lot safer if the
I'd feel a lot safer if the solid white line (outside edge of the bike lane) was not in the door zone of the parked cars.
Did you have any interactions with right-turning cars?
Anne Fisher
September 17, 2012 - 8:32pm
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The bike lane is wide enough
The bike lane is wide enough that it's easy to stay out of the door zone. No, we didn't have any problems with right-turning cars. But as a group, we were pretty visible.
centralparkbikes
September 20, 2012 - 3:19am
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Wider bike lanes are better
It is good that there is a barrier between the bike lane and the rest of the street. It is much safer and people will feel confident riding their bikes.
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