In and out of the bike lane on a two-lane street
This post centers on video that I shot as I took a ride on Longwood Avenue in Brookline, Massachusetts, USA, from Coolidge Corner to the Riverway. Several vehicles caught up with me. I got to demonstrate how I rode in and out of a bike lane to avoid hazards and allowed the vehicles to pass when safe. I rode from west to east on the map below.
I rode in mid-morning when traffic was rather light. Nonetheless, this street posed challenges.
I shot the video in 2017, and nothing about Longwood Avenue has changed since. As you can see, a bike lane was striped on only on the side where I was riding, so parking could remain on the other. The shared-lane markings on the other side are correctly placed outside the door zone, but…
Questions
But… I’m moved to ask questions as I ride here:
- Is it good to have a bike lane on one side of a two-way street?.
- Perhaps the side with the parking should have the greater travel width, to encourage motorists to pass cyclists who ride outside the door zone?
- Is on-street parking a sacred right? It might as well be, leading the awkward political compromise here..
I’ll admit, I often have such thoughts while riding. Streets can be strange. But that can’t be the main focus of my attention while riding, or of this article.
I focus on the situation as it is, starting with that FedEx delivery truck. It is blocking the bike lane and part of the sidewalk, to keep the travel lane open. So, where do I need to go?
I have seen bicycling advocates suggest that delivery vehicles stop in the travel lane, and motor traffic could change lanes. Bicyclists could ride right through in the bike lane. That feels like a political victory, I suppose. It wouldn’t work well for motorists on this two-lane street. Or for bicyclists, who would have to slow way down and be prepared for someone walking round the front of the truck, or a motorist crossing from left to right into a driveway. Whoops, I’m getting back into an advocacy discussion.
In and out of the bike lane
Whether on a multi-lane street or this one, bicyclists are going to have to change lanes to keep going at normal speed.
So, let’s look at how I apply CyclingSavvy control-and release-strategy to this situation. Before merging out, I need to allow enough distance and time to negotiate with traffic coming from behind. I prepare to merge out early: I scan, signal, and verify that a following driver has let move into line. I give a friendly wave to the following driver when I have passed the obstruction and it is safe to pass.
In the video, the forward-facing helmet camera points in the same direction as my head but my eyes turn farther. I turned my head far enough to check what my helmet-mounted mirror wouldn’t show. I do recommend a mirror. It is useful when merging, and to check on traffic behind me and decide what to do.
Don’t expect bike lane nirvana! On this ride on Longwood Avenue, I merged out several more times:
- I took a default lane position outside the bike lane for more vantage to the right when there was no overtaking traffic. I released back into the bike lane when a motorist could safely overtake.
- Approaching intersections, I also merged out to forestall right hooks by motorists waiting behind me. (And I did avoid a right hook, you’ll see!) .
- At a crosswalk which leads to an elementary school, a pylon in the middle of the street makes the lane too narrow to share safely. I controlled the travel lane.
Meeting challenges pragmatically
These tactics are legal, and safe. Are they rude? As you can see, I didn’t delay anyone for more than a few seconds. If I believe that I have any right to my own safety, then I am only asking what is reasonable.
All in all, this article is about pragmatic behavior: dealing with your situation as it is, interacting assertively but courteously with other road users; efficient use of a mirror and shoulder checks.
Riding confidently and safely on the side of Longwood Avenue with a bike lane requires use of CyclingSavvy strategies. For sure though, riding in the other direction is more of a challenge. I’ll have another post about that too. We’ll see how I do.
My struggle with your videos is that they always show an idealized situation. I feel like they must be filtered and we do not see the challenges or “mistakes”. I struggle with the control and release method because some of my roads have traffic constant enough that the opposing lane never clears enough for a driver behind me to pass for long periods because the breaks in parked cars to my right are too short. This leaves drivers frustrated and sometimes they pass dangerously close, even with I ride in the middle of the lane. I need to actually ride left of center to block this dangerous behavior and that still fails sometimes. One street is a particular challenge since it has wider lanes which makes lane control more difficult (I really have to ride left of center) and more sporadic parking. Drivers expect me to get out of their way and get angry for blocking them. Riding in these conditions is very stressful, especially if I want to ride slowly.
You never merge into traffic in this video since there are no cars after the single releases. How do you muscle your way back into to a constant stream of cars once you release? Getting back into the stream of travel is extremely difficult once you give up position since cars are bigger and faster. In a travel lane/parking lane configuration, how do you release if breaks in parked cars are too short? There are several streets in my community that are about 3/4-1 mile long and most drivers here are not patient enough to follow a slow moving bike for that long, especially with a small grade.
Bruce — True enough, there were no vehicles after the single releases. This video happens to reflect the situation at the time and place I was riding. You remind me to post other video showing me merging into a line of vehicles, but “muscle back” doesn’t describe what I do. This can’t be accomplished with muscle, it is accomplished with communication. I check the situation behind me with my rear-view mirror. If the first vehicle behind me is too close for the driver to react, I let it pass. Car far enough back for the driver to react? I hold out my arm with a turn signal to indicate that I want to be let into line. That works 99.9% of the time because I prepare far enough ahead that I can let a first, uncooperative driver pass and negotiate with the driver of the second vehicle. If it doesn’t work, I wait for a gap. Stay tuned.
How about show a video where it did not work so well? I have frequently found myself in a parking lane to release a couple of cars but needing to merge back into traffic before hitting a parked car. These cars are traveling close to each other, leaving little opportunity for a natural break. I also communicate, using my hands and looking back but sometimes drivers speed up to pass so as not to get behind a slow bike, similar to accelerating at a yellow light so as not to get stuck by a red light. Some drivers brake hard because they anticipated passing me before I signal I am moving back into the lane. The “muscle back” part is trying to reassert my lane position before hitting a parked car, otherwise I need to stop in the parking lane to wait. It is like the breaking of a dam–you cannot stop the flow once it starts. I signal almost immediately after releasing so I cannot signal any earlier. Riding in front of cars has proven very stressful for me.
I just experienced another 3′ passing violation on my way to the dentist today on Somerset in Castro Valley (see Youtube link below). I am positioned in the middle of the lane to discourage passing, especially with the frequent oncoming traffic and sporadic parked cars. The impatient driver in the red Mazda sedan decides to share my lane so as not to risk themselves in the oncoming lane immediately before an intersection with oncoming traffic. I was only half way down Somerset before the driver could not control themselves. As you can see, sporadic parked cars make releasing difficult and steady stream of oncoming cars make the use of the opposing lane for passing difficult and this is at 11:17am, when traffic is lightest. Somerset serves our high school of 3000 students. This is a common occurrence for me. What was I doing wrong?
https://youtu.be/idMGCATCZrA
Bruce, thanks for the video. It clarifies the type of street and the nature of the issue. You weren’t doing anything technically wrong, but I would suggest four things (and before I do, I am not guaranteeing perfect results — this is the real world):
* Use a rear-view mirror, if you don’t already. We have an article on cyclingsavvy.org which covers selecting and adjusting a mirror. I find a helmet-mounted mirror to be the most convenient, but YMMV. The mirror lets you see how motorists react to what you do.
* As a vehicle approaches and passing is unsafe, use a slow signal to establish communication, indicating that you are aware of the driver behind you. Optionally wave the driver by when passing becomes safe. This communication has a practical advantage but also affects the driver’s perception of you.
* Ride left tire track rather than mid-lane when passing is unsafe.
* Consider slowing to let a vehicle pass if a gap between parked cars isn’t long enough that you can keep riding at your normal speed, but is long enough that you wouldn’t have to stop. The video shows only one car close behind you, and you could do that. Or you could pull a few feet to the right after entering an intersection to let the vehicle pass (not before, inviting the right hook and left cross).
Drivers’ behavior varies in any one geographical area, and between geographical areas. It may be worse where you live than here in the Boston area. Narrow two-lane two-way streets are difficult. I ride one almost every day — it has parking, and a blind curve. You have prompted me to get out there with my cameras and shoot video for another post.
Thanks for riding, thanks for posing questions, and I hope this is helpful.
Hello John,
I already use a Mirrycle on the handlebars. I agree with riding in left track. I actually moved to the right as the vehicle passed to save myself but I should have been further left before hand. It does look like I could have released a single vehicle in that gap of parked cars at the intersection but it is not obvious that there is only 1 vehicle in the “que”. In fact, there is another shortly behind. So releasing that 1 car by moving into the intersection might cause difficulty in reclaiming my position.
Here is another example only a month before on the same street in the opposite direction. I ride in the parking lane until I encounter a parked car at which time I move to the center of the lane. The black Camry insists on passing in the face of oncoming white Tesla, sharing my lane to the endangerment of me. This one caught me by surprise. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctWgJjOkbKM
I have particularly bad luck on Somerset. Drivers just think they have the right of way. Public Works recently explored the idea of removing parking on 1 side to add bike lanes but decided against it. We are fighting for a pilot to make that determination. This is a particularly stressful road for cyclist, which includes students, many of whom ride on the unimproved sidewalk.