…that is the closing line to a recent article out of New York, in reference to double-parked cars in bike lanes.
Ride a bicycle Westbound on 2nd or Eastbound on 1st anytime between 4-7pm, and you will have a heck of a time staying in the bike lane.
In an area where there are far more cars than parking spaces, motorists are claiming “emergencies” with their yellow flashers and double-parking in the bike lane – causing cyclists to risk their lives by leaving the bike lane and ending up in front of drivers that are not expecting a bicycle on the other side of the 6″ white stripe.
Michael Moule of Livable Streets, Inc was asked to visit Long Beach back in June and take a look at the city’s current infrastructure and make recommendations for the future. During his presentation at Utopia to a group of more than 50 members of the cycling community, Moule mentioned the gratuitous stripping of single lane one-way streets.
For those that need a refresher:
California Vehicle Code 21209
(a) No person shall drive a motor vehicle in a bicycle lane established on a roadway pursuant to Section 21207 except as follows:
(1) To park where parking is permitted.
(2) To enter or leave the roadway.
(3) To prepare for a turn within a distance of 200 feet from the intersection.
(b) This section does not prohibit the use of a motorized bicycle in a bicycle lane, pursuant to Section 21207.5, at a speed no greater than is reasonable or prudent, having due regard for visibility, traffic conditions, and the condition of the roadway surface of the bicycle lane, and in a manner which does not endanger the safety of bicyclists.
Amended Ch. 262, Stats. 1988. Effective January 1, 1989.
