The people at SlateV have found the stupidest bike lane in the US. And guess what — It’s in Los Angeles! (via Earthfirst)
More specifically, this lane’s on Gayley in Westwood — and runs just 275 feet long!
Yes, this bike lane’s stupid, but surely there are stupider ones even in L.A. alone?
My main beef with bike routes, however, have to do with bike paths, not lanes. Just putting a lil sign that says “share the road” does not make make the crazy freeway-bound traffic on Lincoln safe to ride in!
We have a stupid bike lane too in Columbus, OH. It starts at the driveway out of a supermarket goes past the next door flower shop and ends at the corner of the road – the other side of the flower shop. Unfortunately we have too much snow covering it right now to take any video of it!
Comment by Condo Blues — January 22, 2009 @ 1:39 pm
Aren’t bike paths actually off-street paths, like the one at Sepulveda Dam Recreation Area? I agree that the placement of those “share the road” type signs (bike routes, I think) are ridiculous. I think their placement often is based in politics, not actual road use or conditions.
Comment by KateNonymous — January 22, 2009 @ 2:20 pm
This video was around the bike blogosphere for a while, but I think there are dumber and shorter ones then that. The one that comes to mind right away for me is between North and South Venice Blvd. on Pacific Ave and only on the Northbound side. That bike lane is one block long, a very short block at that, I think shorter then the one in the video, and it’s only on the north bound side. There is no point to such a thing, and as soon as you leave that block where the bike lane was it dumps right into street parking, so you either have to change lane position before or during going through the intersection if you actually ride in that bike lane, which you can get through with one solid pedal stroke on a freewheel. Dumb dumb and extra dumb for good measure.
Comment by Gary Kavanagh — January 22, 2009 @ 3:51 pm
We have no more than 4 bike lanes (of which I’m aware) here in Anchorage, AK. And every one of them is shorter than the one he is showing you. EVERY.SINGLE.ONE. Each starts and stops with ZERO warning, they are quite ridiculous. Although, this is generally one of the least bike friendly places ever if you want to ride on the streets. (We do have a VERY nice trail system, but it basically runs through the center of the city, and along the coast…so anyone who uses their bike for transportation has to venture of the trail.)
I would go take a video of each of these lanes…but they are all covered under snow and ice right now…making it even more frustrating that there are no signs. (People DO bike commute all winter long up here!)
Comment by Kim — January 22, 2009 @ 6:57 pm
Hearing about all this snow’s making me shudder! It’s actually raining here today, and yesterday we had a lil quake, so natural conditions are not at their optimal in SoCal either :P Do people bike in the snow?
Comment by Siel — January 23, 2009 @ 2:08 pm
Women in Copenhagen bike in the snow sometimes with nothing but a jacket skirt and some wool leggings. You would be surprised how not cold freezing conditions are when you have the right materials for trapping the body heat produced by cycling. Snow is actually better then rain for cycling comfort because you don’t get saturated so quickly. The really hardcore cyclists in snowy places don’t wait for the ice and snow to be cleared from the road, they roll with steel spiked studded tires for traction.
All that being said, I’ll take SoCal weather for cycling over anywhere else in the world. Los Angeles may not be designed well for cycling but you couldn’t ask for a better climate.
Comment by Gary Kavanagh — January 23, 2009 @ 2:17 pm
People do bike in the snow…at least up here, I would imagine they do elsewhere also. I don’t do it a whole lot anymore because I’m terrified enough of the driversin this city in the summer…it’s ridiculous in the winter. But yes…plenty of bikers. People put studs on their bike tires just like they do with car tires in cold/snowy climates. There is also all kinds of gear you can get to combat the cold my favorite being pogies
It definitely takes some adaptation, but biking in the snow is totally possible!
Comment by Kim — January 23, 2009 @ 2:22 pm