Sharing the road: can motorists and cyclists coexist?
With the nicer weather we’ve had the last couple of months, my partner and I have started to go on bike rides together. Although she has had little experience biking, she’s made immense strides in just the past six months to the point where she’s bought her own bike and has a level of confidence in herself few cyclists have so early on in their time on two wheels.
Us after a long ride in front of Duke Chapel (Go Heels)
Our rides are mostly on either greenways or sleepy neighborhood streets. Just through navigating a local network of low-traffic streets, we’ve ridden to the park, to grab coffee, or dinner downtown. However, we find ourselves on busier roads on occasion. She’s still largely uncomfortable with roads where the posted speed limit is 30mph or higher, and frankly I don’t blame her.
I want to set the record straight as I explore the crux of this post: whether motorists and cyclists can coexist on the roads, and if so what measures need to be in place to ensure everyone’s safety.
For starters, the blame should usually never fall on the individual in these situations. That means the cyclist has just as much of a right to the road that the motorist does; the cyclist can take up the entire lane of the road (at least here in North Carolina) in the likely instance that there is no bike lane, and motorists can pass from behind as long as they provide a wide berth. This of course omits the motorist hurling obscenities at a cyclist for simply for sharing the road as they aggressively drive past, or any party that aggravates an already dicey situation. Instead, the bulk of the blame should be directed at the institutional level enabling motorist-friendly road design at the expense of vulnerable road users. Oftentimes, it’s the poor design of our roads that makes the motorist pose a risk to the cyclist and in turn distracts the motorist at the wheel.
Another important element of this conversation has to do with the individual choices we as commuters make. There shouldn't be any shame directed either way for how one chooses to transport themselves and their family. Parents have just as much of a right to transport their children by cargo bike as they do a minivan.
Perhaps vehicles of a certain size might be overkill to the point that the risk they pose to vulnerable road users, or even other motorists, supersedes the safety they secure their passengers. However, commuters will make the decision that works best for themselves getting from point A to point B, and the fact of the matter is that many of our cities make driving the only viable option for most folks.
With those in mind; can motorists and cyclists truly coexist among one another?
With the current design of our cities… no. One is pedaling a 20-30lb bike, and the other is operating a 2-3 ton vehicle; this disparity cannot be ignored. Aside from the slowest of low-traffic neighborhood streets, the two cannot coexist safely and with dignity unless cities build the proper infrastructure to accommodate both, including:
Grade separated & protected bicycle-only lanes, bike boxes to enable turning in more dense areas
Greenways to enable interconnectedness between neighborhoods and amenities and keep cyclists away from the road entirely in less dense areas
Helpful diagram for how bike boxes work from BikePGH
These mechanisms are just the first steps to what is eventually removing even the opportunity for a risky interaction between a cyclist and a motorist on the road. Beyond safety, they encourage those who may not have as much experience biking to take their bike out to head to work, run errands, or meet with friends. Protected lanes and separated greenways in abundance transform my at-times dangerous commute into a leisurely ride that even my partner can join on with me on occasion.
When we build the proper infrastructure for cyclists, we dignify them and their right to the road while removing them from interaction with motorists that can lead to disaster. Furthermore, we enable folks to utilize the transportation method of their choice rather than having it decided for them by the existing infrastructure.
Rodes.pub/Carfree
Well said young man.