Bicycle Respect & Neglect

If you have a lot of time, the Sightline Institute has a 13 part series on "why most Cascadian cities don't  treat bicycles as transportation, which communities are doing the best job, and what's at stake." Sure, it's about the pacific Northwest, but many of the lessons are transferable. Here's an example of what you'll find:

They’re beautiful bikeways, no doubt: wide, separated from traffic, well-graded, gracefully curved for smooth cornering—a pleasure to ride. But they’re almost entirely unmarked. Where there are signs at all, they only say “Bike Route.” (All of them are bike routes. Duh!) Imagine traveling in a city without street signs – or with ones that only say “Car Route.” Next time you see a sign like the one above [WC: Not pictured here] that says “Bike Route,” remember, it’s a symptom of Car-head.

Comments

[Richard Layman]

well, you can't always trust the signs either. At Michigan & Eastern Aves. the bike route sign says the West Hyattsville station is .5 mi. According to mapquest, it's 1.15 mi. from that location... still, it's a sign.

[Bonzai Buckaroo]

Yes, bike route signs on bike trails are redundant. However, when they are placed on regular roads, I have experienced that they tell motorists that cyclists are here and have a right to be on the road. In places such as Beach Drive, this is a great help.

[Chris]

.. but, then again, they led people to think if there's no signs present, bikes aren't allowed on the road. One of the pitfalls with bike lanes - people are dumb, and they sometimes assume the absence of bike lanes means no bikes allowed.

[John Pickett]

Bike routes should be thought of as a systemor network. In that context bike route signs can be very helpful. They are no different in that regard than highway route signs. They impart destination and direction without the need for a map. The bike route signs in Northwest DC, for example, tell me that I can follow a bike route from National Cathedral all the way to Mt. Ranier. (Not that I know where Mt. Ranier is.)

There are few similar signs on the Mount Vernon Trail. Trail users near the stone bridge, for example, don't know that food and other services are only 1/2 mile away.

[Jack]

I really appreciate coherent bike wayfinding signs when I'm in a suburban subdivision where it's impossible to find the best way through the maze without help. Take Rockville just north of Veirs Mill Rd., or Bethesda's Sonoma/Wyngate/Oakmont neighborhood. (Bethesda does have wayfinding signs, but half are missing and the rest are wrong!)

[Jack]

Go to http://www.mobike.org and page down to "Spine Routes" to see major Montgomery County routes we (MoBike) want the county to improve and sign. Comments are welcome!