A protected bike lane (PBL) is exactly what it sounds like, a bike lane with a physical barrier, like flex posts or parked cars, separating cyclists from moving traffic. It makes biking safer.
That’s why I biked to the last Jersey City Council meeting to support the proposed protected bike lane on Franklin Street. I want it built.
But if you listened to BikeJC’s Vice President, you would think that I walked in with a “Make the Turnpike Even Bigger” petition.
Why Do Drivers Oppose Bike Lanes?
The last Franklin/Manhattan PBL pilot was opposed by 80% of drivers. Instead of asking why, the bike lobby just dismissed them as selfish. That’s not a strategy; that’s a great way to lose.”
I pointed out at the council meeting that if the bike lobby had its way, they would slap a PBL on the Pulaski Skyway. I also made a simple point: If we want support for protected bike lanes, we need to “throw drivers a bone” by enforcing traffic laws for cyclists. Bikers blowing red lights, riding the wrong way, and hopping on sidewalks aren’t just annoying, they make people resent bike lanes.
That’s when the BikeJC Vice President dismissed me at the Council Meeting, saying that drivers don’t need a bone because “all roads are built for them”Then, he insinuated that I was just another driver who doesn’t want to be inconvenienced.Yet I don’t even have a driver’s license.That’s like yelling at a guy eating tofu and accusing him of killing animals. That’s like calling […]
Continue reading the original article at: jcitytimes.com