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by John S. Allen, completed November 7, 1995, Questions of the day:Chapter 90E, section 1 of the General Statutes defines a "bike lane" as "a lane on a street restricted to bicycles and so designated... " The carpool lane on the Southeast Expressway is a restricted lane. Is a bike lane on a city street actually a restricted lane, when motorists must use the bike lane to park and to enter driveways and cross streets? Since motorists must use the bike lane, is the appropriate response to:
Chapter 90, section 14 states that "When turning to the right, an operator shall do so in the lane of traffic nearest to the right-hand side of the roadway and as close as practicable to the right-hand curb or edge of the roadway." How does this point of law relate to the designation and design of bike lanes? A bike lane is so close to a parking lane that the opened door of a parked car will block the bike lane.
A bus driver wants to stop to discharge passengers on a street with a bikelane. The bus driver should:
If the bus stops outside the bike lane, a bicyclist approaching from behind should:
How does this change if:
In these cases of parking in the bike lane:
The draft bicycle policy which was presented to the Cambridge Bicycle Committee at the June, 1995 meeting stated that "bike lanes are the treatment of choice" on arterial streets.
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A bicyclist can not avoid an opening car door when
traveling faster than 5-7 miles per hour.
Motorist right turn into bicyclist:
the #3 car-bike accident type for adult bicyclists in urban areas
(Cross and Fisher, A study of Bicycle-Motor Vehicle Accidents:
Identification of Problem Types And Countermeasure Approaches,
NHTSA, 1977)
Motorist left turn into bicyclist:
the #1 car-bike accident type for adult bicyclists
in urban areas (Cross and Fisher, 1977).
This can happen when the other direction has an advanced green,
or when a driver rushes a left turn
just after the traffic light changes.
More questions:What is the responsibility of Bicycle Committee members toward the City? Toward bicyclists? [Please answer this yourself!] What is the responsibility of bicycle committee members to inform themselves on technical issues? [Please answer this yourself!] |