Why bike lanes don't make traffic worse | It's Complicated

Cities in the UK and around the world are creating cycling networks by installing new bike lanes to help reduce emissions, but some claim they are making traffic worse.

The argument goes that bike lanes means less space for cars and therefore more congestion. While this might sound plausible, it appears to hark back to outdated traffic management theory. Josh Toussaint-Strauss finds out how traffic really works, and the actual impact of installing new bike lanes

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#BikeLanes #Cycling #CycleSuperhighway #Bikes #Bicycles #Driving #Traffic #Congestion

[wohlhabendermanager]

I think it's funny when car drivers, who take up most of the space on our roads, complain that cyclists or pedestrians "take up too much road space".

[jeroenlasure]

The induced demand principle also applies to cycling and walking infrastructure. The better the cycle lanes are the more people use them, and they use a lot less space on the road per person than cars do hence opening up space and easing congestion.

[Marsktty]

Bike lanes with no physical barrier from the road are useless in the winter! Separated bike lanes are amazing and make our cities better. I find that on a bike I'm much more likely to try a new small restaurant or store but in my car I'm usually traveling too fast to make a decision, plus it's way easier to turn around on my bike.

[realityblooms]

“ Yeah but this cyclist didn’t stop at a stop sign, so all cyclists are bad.”


I wonder why the same logic is never apply to drivers. You’ll never blame a driver for the thousands and thousands of deaths every single year from cars. The man of accidents caused by bike never come anywhere near that.

[veggieboyultimate]

Those articles blaming bicycle lanes don’t know what they’re talking about.

[JohnDoe-txlq]

"Bike lanes make traffic worse" is like saying "Building Hospitals means there's less space for building Homes!"
We don't want MORE TRAFFIC, we want BETTER, SAFER ways to TRAVEL, with more realistic choices for people to get to where they need to be. Big difference! Transport, travel & access isn't just about cramming more cars & lorries into the same space.

[sanderdeboer]

Understand that the Netherlands was left out, because it gets a bit boring to see it in almost every video like this. However the fact it is mentioned so often obviously has a reason. Waze (navigation app) has chosen the Netherlands several times as the best place for CAR drivers in the world. Which sounds a bit crazy considering that the Netherlands is famous for its cycle infrastructure. But this is the evidence that supports the title of this video.

What I feel is a real difference is the fact that people in the Netherlands even if they own a car, still use bikes as an alternative. And there are experts that say that the Netherlands will be one of the first OECD countries where car ownership will largely be replaced by car sharing. This can already be seen in the bigger cities, but also in new build areas where parking is reduced to almost zero. And the neighborhood shares a car park full of different vehicles to share.

[SomeoneBeginingWithI]

Increasing cycle lanes makes cycling easier and safer. This isn't just about making things inconvenient for drivers. When cycling is safer, more people will choose to cycle because they actually want to cycle, but chose not to before because they didn't feel safe.

Similarly for public transport, when the public transport is more frequent, reliable, and at an affordable price, more people will choose to use it.

I think we should focus less on trying to discourage driving, and more on making sure people have realistic alternatives to driving.

[deldarel]

An important note that was implied but is worth stating: those cyclists often used to be car users. This initiative frees up the road for car users who actually need or want to use the car, rather than feel they have to.

[jaridkeen]

If you wouldn't let a 5 year old ride alone on the bike lane then its not safe and shouldn't be called a bike lane

[altriish]

I also wish that videos like this would make the obvious point that begs addressing: roads are for transporting people, not just cars. Every city wants to find the best way to move people around, and that's going to look different in each city. But "roads are for cars" is a silly, thoughtless reaction that many people seem to have. The goal is moving people, not just cars.

[DarylBaines]

The real key is well priced public transport.
I moved to Sheffield in the 1980s, when South Yorkshire Transport had a heavily subsidised cheap fares policy: you could go pretty much anywhere in the country for a nominal amount of money. Consequently, everyone used the buses, the streets were empty of private vehicles any the buses moved quickly and efficiently. Come privatization in the early 90s, and the bus prices went up by more than 1000%! Bus usage fell and the roads became clogged with traffic.

[tyren]

One important point I think this video forgot to make is that, cars are incredibly inefficient when it comes to moving people. Cars are way too big, take too much, can carry 6 people but usually carry just one and that is the main reason why we should be encourgaing alternative modes of transport and discouraging car use, it's better for everyone. People that actually need to use cars will face less traffic. It's better for everyone except auto companies. Literally!

[franzderpinand]

Can we just appreciate how annoying and idiotic these 'anti cycle lane' people are.

[VirtualVisitor]

I moved to the UK in 1985, and started riding cycles after I moved to Wimbledon area in 1992.
In 25 years of riding around Memphis,  Boston and DC, I never had a scare or attack. Now in London/Morden area, I have a bad scare ONCE A WEEK. Too many London drivers are SICK. This is obscene. The whole attitude is wrong "this is my car place, fck you" by drivers far too often. The police should prosecute ALL DRIVERS who hit a bicycle. There is no excuse.

I was targetted and run over on my bike August 2016, ON PURPOSE.
The vandals actually slowed down to crash into me, knock me off the bike and onto the (red lane, no cars) road service, and then stopped long enough to lean out and squirted me with salad cream (!!) while I lay on the ground with broken wrist and ribs, then drove off running a red light. Eight witnesses in broad daylight.... Two days in hospital. It took the police 6 months to catch the two men in the van, and it turned out he had probably attacked 3 others in the previous year, one in hospital for 6 months. The man was NOT prosecuted!

My right wrist doesn’t work right anymore, and it was hard for me to walk at all. Spine damage and torn ligaments in hip. Walking was quite painful for 4 years. Much better now, but still limited walking.

[jebbo-cl]

bike lanes make traffic better. Most car trips in towns and cities are short ones that could otherwise easily be done by bike if infrastructure existed. By building bike lanes you're giving people that freedom and reducing traffic for those that absolutely need to drive

[AdrianColley]

This says more about editorial standards at the Evening Standard, Daily Mail, Daily Express and the Sun; than it does about the wisdom of urban bike lanes.

[michaelstratton]

We have 8 lane highways in America that are like oceans of asphalt. If space reduced conjestion, those highways should never get traffic jams. But guess what, they do. All. The. Time. Meanwhile, Germany has so many alternate forms of transit available to their people, it even makes a few of their highways sparsely travelled enough to eliminate speed zones. Thanks cyclists and train passengers and bus riders, for making car traffic more practical.

[jayamber]

All true but unfortunately many people will continue to be wilfully ignorant on the subject. Local governments have to be bolder and stop allowing nimbys to derail cycling projects.

[wilsistermans]

This video is very, very car centric!
Cycling is a great way for transport small distances. For distances up to 5 km (7 km on an e-bike) the bicycle should be the preferred way of transport. Fit people can even do the double distance. For short rides cycling is often faster. If people stop doing these short rides by car, the congestion on the road will be a lot less, even compared to before the cycle lanes where installed.
Cycle lanes and especially intersections can handle a lot more people than car-lanes and a two-way cycle path takes less space as a one-way car-lane. So it is not the bike-lanes causing more congestion, it is to few people make use of the bike-lanes. People complaining about the congestion should try those bike-lanes.
Cycling is healthier, less polluting and often quicker.