Using a Separated Bikeway

A bicyclist rode up to Beech street on Massachusetts Avenue in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA in the separated bikeway to the right of turning vehicles. A pickup truck right-hooked him. He posted a complaint on Facebook.

CyclingSavvy policy is to respect bicyclists’ choices. Our goal is to help you to make informed choices, and execute them in a safest way.

In response to the Facebook post, I wrote an article illustrating my choice to ride up to Beech Street as a bicycle driver, in line with motor vehicles.

I rode through the same intersection on another day using the separated bikeway. Choices, remember?

As I approached Beech Street, the vehicle at the head of the line waiting to turn right was — by perfect coincidence — a pickup truck. The video here shows how I kept myself safe. My choice was not the only way to be safe. There are other options. Comments follow.

In the separate bikeway, slow is safe.

As the video shows, some of the time, I was going faster than the motor traffic to my left. Still, I had to ride slowly and cautiously to avoid potential hazards.

I passed a man standing at a bus stop close to the edge of the street, then a blind corner at the end of an outdoor dining area.

The bikeway is next to the curb. Parts of it are to the right of “floating” parking where I could get doored from my left. Someone could walk out from between parked cars.

Pedestrian advocates got bulbouts to shorten crosswalks before bicycle advocates took their turn, and so the bikeway zigzags to the left where the parking leaves off. I had to look back to make sure that a vehicle wasn’t about to rear-end or sideswipe me.

Re-entering the travel lane

Approaching Beech street, the bikeway weaves back to the right behind a row of flex posts. I rode in the bikeway for a while. Then I made a different choice. I carefully crossed between the flex posts into the travel lane to wait behind the pickup truck, which was first in line. The driver of the car behind me could see me and the driver of the pickup truck didn’t need to.

When the light changed, I proceeded across the intersection into a bike lane which was properly buffered on its right side so I could stay out of the door zone. The driver behind me — and another — passed me safely.

Signal-timing confusion

While I was waiting, three bicyclists passed me in the separated bikeway while the pedestrian signal was in walk phase. That looked safe to them, and it is not surprising.

The bikeway has its own special, small traffic signal at Beech Street. The parallel crosswalk shows a walking man when the bicycle signal is red, but a no-turn-on-red sign makes it look safe for bicyclists to cross along with pedestrians.

I didn’t. Why not? That pedestrian phase is all-way. That means the near-side crosswalk (in front of the pickup truck) is also in walk phase. A pedestrian could be coming from the left, hidden in front of the pickup truck. The first two bicyclists unknowingly risked a collision with a pedestrian. The third arrived just after the bicycle signal turned green.

A couple seconds later, the pickup truck had a flashing yellow right-turn arrow. A flashing yellow normally requires a motorist to yield to to traffic visible through the windshield or a side window. But here, a right-turning motorist has to look back into the right rear blind spot for approaching bicyclists. That is very likely how the bicyclist in the Facebook post got right hooked, and why I chose to wait behind the truck.

If you stay in the bikeway

How would you be safe and legal while staying in the bikeway? You could wait till the bikeway signal changes, to take advantage of the leading green. If you arrive later, you need to take care that a driver will not turn right and collide with you. Like the third bicyclist in my video, you will very likely be going faster than the driver, who will not have seen or expected you.

The leading green for the bikeway is supposed to place bicyclists in the forward field of view of motorists (an advanced stop line would improve on this). But that can work only for bicyclists who are already waiting, or who arrive just when the bicycle signal changes. It offers no benefit to bicyclists who arrive later. A bicyclist approaching the intersection at the same speed as the motor vehicle may be continuously in the right rear blind spot.

Evaluation

While CyclingSavvy doesn’t tell students what choice to make, we do evaluate convenience and safety. Either the travel lane or the separate bikeway can be ridden safely, but the bikeway must be ridden slowly to reduce risk where you would have too little time to react to a pedestrian, car door or moving motor vehicle. The travel lane, on the other hand, is wide-open space with clear sight lines and plenty of maneuvering room if you are controlling it, riding in its middle.

Riding in the separate bikeway is slower and more complicated, though it may be more convenient if motor traffic is stopped in a real traffic jam. Fear is real even if it is unjustified, but a rear-view mirror, with lane control, goes a long way to alleviate the fear. You do have to check the rear when riding in the bikeway, too! You may find the bikeway less stressful, but please don’t let that lull you into a false sense of security.

Please have another look at the earlier article, and each time you approach Beech street, decide for yourself: which works better for you: riding in the travel lane, or the bikeway. It’s your choice. Both are legal in Massachusetts.