Bike Lanes' Stellar Week

Bike Lanes got a big thumbs up from City Lab this week:

City Lab

And Then Vox glommed on with this:

Vox Loves Bike Lanes Too

The upshot of these articles is recent data suggesting that automobile traffic has actually 'sped up' in NYC after bike lanes are installed.

It's important to point out that these studies indicate elapsed time from point A to point B for automobiles has decreased, a cumulative measure. The idea of automobiles actually traveling at a higher speed is not indicated and if evident, would serve to be an argument against bike lane theory that I maintain.

It's stated in the articles as difficult to pin point the exact reasons for the findings, but bike lane enthusiasts welcome the data as an argument against Motordom's claim that bike lanes increase congestion.

Motordom's claim can be laid to rest.

But how are bike lanes affecting this situation? Are they alone the cause of better traffic flow, or have they merely increased the awareness of efficient driving techniques by reducing the space allowable for automobiles?

I have carefully supported bikes lanes as one of the methods available to calm motorists. If designed to take a portion of the space stolen from people and given to the automobile industry over the last 100 years, they can help remind drivers that they must settle down and cooperate to get anywhere efficiently.
It appears to me that the increased presence of cyclists, emboldened by special infrastructure has indeed contributed to the true factor:

Motorists are calming down. At least in NYC.

Other studies done before the bike craze have shown the importance of patience in driving, such as "Traffic Waves" and how they affect flow:

Flowing Data

Wiki

Driver aggression, selfishness, and impatience remain the chief factors in poor traffic flow and more importantly, are the primary safety threat to other street users.

Let's not forget the great majority of streets will never have delineated, segregated space for bikes.

Nor should we forget that as certain streets are redesigned for segregated use, those vast majority of streets without it will be made more of a challenge for cyclists and pedestrians, and skateboards, roller skates, horse carriages, etc., as your average motorist will not accept them on plain old streets.

Directly confronting driver misbehavior through law enforcement is proving too difficult. "Separate but equal" seems to be the prevailing strategy.

We'll be watching.