We need to get past that limited kind of thinking. Many current sidewalks may not allow such paths, so widen them. Build new construction with bikes in mind. Don’t make them share the street with cars and trucks.
Just because we aren’t doing it now doesn’t mean we can’t do it going forward.
There are many areas that have been doing this regularly in California in the last 40 years. But what about areas that have been developed for some time and are critically short of extra square footage to implement this plan? Like in San Francisco? You aren’t going to expand without encroaching upon private property and tearing down buildings, or eliminating all street parking.
A good option is offer road sharing in narrow residential areas (where cars need to seriously slow down anyway) or have dedicated and well-marked bicycle thoroughfares. It only takes a a few months enforcement to get drivers to change their ways (that’s what they did in Long Beach).
Haven’t been to Boston yet, but I’ve heard that its native drivers are borderline insane.
As a cyclist, I’ve found that it varies quite a bit from city to city.
Portland’s and Seattle’s are laid-back, easy-going. No surprise there.
Chicago’s are…okay.
Philly drivers are assholes. A sufficient number of them, anyway.
NYC drivers…
Not as nuts as it’s made out to be- but I’m saying that as a native, so my perspective may be warped.
I did grow up riding around here, and I’ve never felt too bad riding- even in the city.
Well, let’s put it in perspective. Would you feel safe letting your pre-teen kids ride bikes in the city?
Liked! 
City of brotherly love, my ass. Or that’s what I keep telling my husband who was raised in Philadelphia.
Yeah. And I do like Philadelphia the city. For being the 4th largest city in the U.S. it certainly feels much more cozy than NYC or Chicago. The Italian Market has fresh catches at far lower prices than any grocery store, trail riding for any difficulty level is just six miles north along the Schuykill, plenty of good theatre and arts, neighborhoods with actual trees and porches—and all of this but the trail riding is within a three-mile radius.
But Philly oh Philly, your drivers suck at life. Please change this.
ETA: And you’re always a $20 Chinatown bus ride away from NYC or D.C.
First, 
!
I think the residents in NY City are way nicer than Philadelphia. I think Philadelphia is beautiful and I love the Schuylkill, but it was difficult to make eye contact with anyone or get them to say hello. I once walked past Kyle McLaclan in NYC and even he said hi. (To be fair, KM seems to emote friendliness.)
yeah, it can be frustrating. given that all of the A’s infra which is actually crumbling demands all the immediate attention, and how Fulton County public works notably takes their sweet-ass time and half-asses everything, none of that is likely to change. Though I will say, the fact that there’s bike lanes on Ponce now fucking flabbergasted me the first time I saw them. Having cycled here since moving in '02, I honestly never thought I’d see the day something like that would happen.
speaking for myself, my personal space limitations are nil. i’ve been cycling in the South my whole life, not just during this current bike-boom we’re experiencing. you can pass me with a foot of clearance and I won’t even really notice, particularly if you adjust your speed rather than buzz me at the average Atlantan’s standard 55mph for a 35mph intown street. I won’t even be mad–I get it, what you wrote is frustrating for everyone. I don’t want to be the cause of any frustration. But I’m a bit of an outlier in terms of experience and skill. Any kindnesses/space you can extend to the average cyclist is probably in order. Once again, I’m out of step with the world…
I do take it upon my self as the both the endangered party and also the visible (not obscured by cage/reflective glass) party to direct the cars behind me to go ahead and pass me when I feel it’s safe. i get it, you’re lurking back there trying to be nice and safe (I can hear your engine/tires) so I feel the onus is on me to wave you ahead if I read the current traffic scenario as not-sketchy.
please, if you notice a cyclist urging you to take the right-of-way, don’t do the “it’s OK, I’m one of the nice drivers” thing and slow down; we’re trying to make everything flow, and also so we can mentally file your car into the “not a factor anymore” category. your engine has enormous power on tap that I don’t have; if I’m waving you on or I give you the nod/head-lean thing when we make eye contact, then I’m good: don’t slow down, gun it a little to just remove yourself from the situation altogether. (but, if a cyclist is a youth or seems like a noob, then yeah, treat them as such.) if we were playing chess, it can always be assumed that a good cyclist is mentally several moves ahead of general traffic. my $0.02.
anyway, what’s with posting @chgoliz 's avatar?
Chicago remains the most friendly, major (read: 2M+) city I’ve ever visited. I once got lost downtown and within the span of ten minutes, not one, not two but three strangers approached me with a smile and asked if I needed help with directions.
for you, Chicago
As a Boston Uber driver I can firmly say that it is impossible to do your job without double parking, occasionally in bike lanes. There are many areas of the city with no driveways or parking lots, so every available street space is full. To accept a fair while not parking in a bike lane would often mean spending 15-20 minutes driving around until someone nearby leaves, and then tightly parallel parking your car. Then the pickup would have to walk several blocks to find you. Which means they would cancle the ride.
Really the only thing that can be done about it in cities like San Fran And Boston is to minimize the amount of time a car is double parked. The only way to do that is for Uber and lyft fairs to be ready to leave WHEN they order the ride, and then be waiting in the stairwell or at least paying close attention to their phone until their car arrives (usually 5-10 mins) .
Tl;dr the only reason ride share vehicles are spending a significant amount of time in bike lanes is because enough ride share riders are inconsiderate enough to make the drivers wait there.
Short version: @chgoliz says she’s leaving BB because of the 50 likes limit and several Regulars have declared a ‘Like Strike’ until @codinghorror raises or eliminates this limit. In place of hearts, they’re instead posting @chgoliz’s avatar.
Thank you. I was wondering, too. And in solldarity:
Okay, but in California it’s illegal to double park at any time. When I visit back east, I get the impression that it’s de facto legal (may be illegal, but everyone does it and no one gets ticketed).
Even if you’re blocking a bike lane for 20 seconds (this would be the time if the customer takes to get into the car), you’re putting a cyclist in possible danger. Idling in a bike lane is really wrong no matter how long Lyft/Uber driver waits for its fare. You wouldn’t block an entire street for your job, and a bike lane might as well be an entire street for cyclists.
Liked!
Yea! 
bizarre. I mean, I love the woman, but I don’t understand leaving over that issue. the limit does seem arbitrary, though. I never got why there was one but maybe I did see an answer i can’t remember posted by CH, now that I think about it. to prevent “like farming” maybe? the whole thing seems weird.
I’ll do it now as a show of solidarity with Liz herself, but the like limit is not really an issue for me ¯\ __(ツ) _ /¯
This is my planned response if a cop is ever asshole enough to ticket me for riding on the sidewalk.
Rather than lanes in the street, my preference is to share the sidewalk with pedestrians.
I’m always very courteous and yielding to pedestrians, and go slowly in front of busy businesses where someone might come out of a doorway. In exchange, I deserve to ride in an area where I won’t get mowed down by a car. Thank you very much.
She’s not “leaving” completely; just choosing only to lurk on occasion.
If a system doesn’t function in a way that works well for us, we always have the choice not to use it.
Personally I loved her content, and will miss it.
ETA:
Personally, I don’t expect it to change anyone’s mind; its just a way of showing that we get it that the members are the real lifeblood of any site, regardless to how good the platform is, or how well it’s maintained.
Even a high caliber forum needs a good balance between the technical side and interpersonal interaction.
