So for a bike lane to be a true all-season bike lane, the road also needs some width for the "snowy crud", separate from the bike lane. Is that ever taken into consideration in road design?
From: Robbie Webber <[email protected]> > Just a reminder to those using roads with bike lanes: You are not required > to use the "bike lane" if the conditions are not safe. If the right portion > of the roadway is unsuitable for riding, move left, even if this means not > using the "bike lane." You are not restricted to that lane; you are simply > permitted to use it. > > Another option would be to ask the city to plow all the way to the curb, > using the Report a Problem link on the front page of the city's web site. > > However, it is unlikely that the far right portion of any road will ever be > as clear of snow, ice, slush, salt, debris, and sundry stuff as the middle > portion. When cars drive over a street, the gunk that falls off of them acts > like salt, both making the melting point of the resulting mixture lower, and > also making the whole mess darker in color, so absorbing more sunlight, and > melting. Friction from the cars' wheels also heat up the pavement and lead > to faster melting. > > Cars also throw snow, slush, salt, dirt, etc to the sides as they pass, and > that stuff then ends up on the right of the roadway, and refreezes, or > creates a pile of loose dirt/salt, which can be hazardous in and of itself. > Much of the non-frozen stuff remains until spring, or a mid-winter rain > storm, when rain washes it all down into the storm sewers and our lakes. > > Sweeping would help, but it's pretty hard to predict when the streets will > be snow-covered vs. dry vs. wet, but above freezing, so the city only sweeps > April/May(?)-Nov. I'm assuming the sweeping equipment is simply put away for > the winter, and staff assigned other tasks, even if we have a particularly > warm year. > > Most of us intuitively know all this, but every year someone asks, "How come > the bike lanes are never clear?" So I thought I'd post that answer in > advance. --------------------- Paul T. O'Leary Desktop Insurgent Madison WI USA _______________________________________________ Bikies mailing list [email protected] http://lists.danenet.org/listinfo.cgi/bikies-danenet.org
