There are too few bike paths/shared raodways and sharing the streets can be difficult for motorists/cyclists. There are many roads with high speeds and little/no area for bikes and cars to share the road. Providing designated bike lanes makes road traffic safer for both bikers and drivers. It would increase safety and promote biking as a safe, healthy, alternative form of transportation.
Designated bike lanes keep cyclists on the right side of the road and going the correct direction with traffic. They also help prevent motorists from taking wide lefts into oncoming traffic as they pass cyclists or crowding to the right and forcing cyclists off the road.
Comments (1)
All of this is, or should be, addressed by Michigan's Complete Streets law and the more recent unanimous resolution by the Oakland County Commissioners requesting a Complete Streets policy from the Road Commission. MDOT is supposed to have a policy within a year but there is no guarantee on how strong it will be or that the County Road Commission will follow what MDOT adopts. The good news is that on street bike lanes and shared lanes are one of the most inexpensive methods of providing bicycle facilities, calming vehicular traffic, and allowing more room on sidewalks for pedestrians. Even better news is that MDOT is already mandated to proceed in that manner. Perhaps a collective effort to show that this is important to the future health and safety of our area will encourage area decision makers to move in this direction. I have been considering forming a local bicycle/walking advocacy organization in the north Oakland County area to do just that. Anyone interested?