"Road Sharing" is not doing very well.
As thoroughly detailed in Peter D. Norton's book "Fighting Traffic," our public right-of-ways were systematically taken from all users and given to personal motorized automobiles over the last 100 years.
Taking it back by gently introducing bicycle traffic is only killing those without 2000 pounds of steel to protect them. Treating bicycles in law as 'equal vehicles' simply isn't so in reality. Try it! The experienced knowledge of vulnerability by cyclists and pedestrians accounts partially for what many motorists consider irresponsible behavior.
The Bicycle Lobby is a valuable resource in correcting the situation but I feel many of the participants are not fully educated about the history of road use. Like me they have grown up in a world of automobile primacy regarding physical design of the road and transportation psychology.
Bike lanes are still secondary to a maximum of car lanes and may even be limiting pedestrian lanes, (sidewalks) in some cases. Car access is simply not being challenged.
Meanwhile, we have a high percentage of tax payer-funded "limited access" highways; limited to motorized vehicle traffic.
I've made the previous point that, at least in my city 100% of our right-of-ways are accessible to motorized vehicles.
It seems a reasonable proposal to remove or reduce a percentage of automobile access from "shared roads" at least equal to the percentage of existing "limited access" roads.
Some may point out a very small number of bike paths (that double as walking lanes) in our parks, but as these routes serve only a recreational purpose they can't be considered as fair treatment.
(It's also very notable that on these bike paths, walkers are properly given the right-of-way over pedaled vehicles.)
What does this mean and how may it be accomplished?
Should we take the number of limited access highways as our measure, or their total length? What about their total used space, both length and width?
Difficult to precisely assess, but not so difficult to estimate.
Removal strategies could work well in areas of high population density.
Reduction strategies could work (and have worked) anywhere.
Reduce 3 car lanes in each direction to 2, (no shared surface should have more than 2 car lanes)
Reduce 2 car lanes in each direction to 1 with a center left turn lane
Percentages apply regarding the total width of the ROW: motorized vehicles should be given no greater share of the Right Of Way than any other form of transportation:
2 Car Lanes = 2 Bike Lanes = 2 Pedestrian Lanes, all of equal width.
I may need to walk a wide cart or pull it behind my bike, after all.
Shouldn't I have the space to do so?
