Share the road

Prior to the installation of the Humboldt St and Poplar Ave bicycle lanes in 2022, that stretch of roadway was one of the most dangerous in San Mateo, accounting for 11% of bicycle related collisions citywide.

https://sanmateo.primegov.com/meeting/document/2818.pdf?name=Agenda%20Report

In 2021 a senior riding his bicycle was struck by a vehicle and put into a coma:

https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/bicyclist-critical-hit-run-san-mateo-new-year-day/

N Humboldt St is one of two segments in San Mateo that is on the City/County Association of Governments (C/CAG's) Countywide “High-Injury Network” for all three categories: vehicle, walking, and biking. (The report was developed prior to the installation of the bicycle lanes.)

https://kai.maps.arcgis.com/apps/instant/basic/index.html?appid=97ffc3b8dec94cf7a1d65ae3e3324de4

According to the January edition of the city's newsletter, collisions in North Central have decreased 36% compared to 2019. To quote Justice Sotomayor, removing bicycle infrastructure now would be "like throwing away your umbrella in a rainstorm because you are not getting wet."

At a December 4 community meeting staff communicated that *average* vehicle speed on Humboldt St is 36mph, well above the posted speed limit of 25mph. Staff was not able to provide daily vehicle counts. The National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO - industry experts) recommend a "Shared Street" if target vehicle speed is less than 10mph. Bicycle Boulevards (which typically include traffic calming infrastructure) are recommended for streets where target vehicle speed is less than 20mph and there are fewer than 50 vehicles per hour during peak travel times (that's less than one vehicle per minute).

I'm curious if the author ever bicycled along Humboldt St prior to the installation of the bicycle lanes and how they felt about that experience? While some experienced cyclists may feel comfortable biking in those conditions (I'm certainly not), I can't imagine many parents would allow their children to "share the road" given Humboldt's safety history and C/CAG's "High-Injury" designation, especially when *average* vehicle speed is 26mph higher than recommended by industry professionals.

"Experts agree that cyclists gain a false sense of safety when they ride in a bike facility separated from traffic."

This article was published at the ONION first, correct?

There is not one "Expert" in the world agreeing with that nonsense. There is no set of reliable data in the world that would corroborate that nonsense.

As an avid driver myself I can assure you everybody is better off with cyclists having their own lane. In fact the transportation of the future - aka robotaxis - are doing so much better when they know there is a bike lane.

Drivers love bike lanes, truckers love bike lanes, cyclists need bike lanes, there are only two groups of people that don't like bike lanes.

- some residents might be losing their free car storage - so this is about entitlement and money.

- a group called "Vehicular Cyclists" have been repeating the same nonsense for 50 years. The reason is they are selling "Bicycle Safety Training" and "Bicycle Safety Gear". So this is about making stupid remarks to make money.

My guess Irena is part of the first group and getting advice from the second group.

"Share the Road." The author forgets that the bike lanes were installed on only one side of the road, not both, to minimize parking impact. As a result, those who bike got separate, but unprotected bike lanes. Protected bike lanes are more safe, but the City was unwilling to remove additional parking. This was a compromise for both people who bike and store their cars for free on City streets, yet you try to portray it as an infringement on your "right" to park in front of your house on taxpayer property.

The City of San Mateo has perhaps the worst safety infrastructure in the mid-Peninsula. Most cities (Burlingame, San Carlos, SSF) are spending millions on bike lanes that are separate AND protected. Meanwhile, San Mateo spends millions to debate and potentially rip out bike lanes that it just installed two years ago.

This is nonsensical. Ask anyone who bikes would they rather have a separate space or bike in the middle of 6,000 pound SUVs and 18-wheelers.

You mention nothing of the severity of crashes. Do you really think that this 68-year-old who was put in a coma prior to the bike lanes was lucky that the bike lanes hadn't been installed?

https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/bicyclist-critical-hit-run-san-mateo-new-year-day/

If you want to advocate for convenience over safety, go ahead. Please don't be so disingenuous to argue about what is best for those who ride bikes. Bike riders (and those who would like their kids to be able to safely ride bikes) are unanimous in their support of separate bike facilities.

Irena, bikes travel at 10-16 miles per hour. How does that work with cars traveling 25mph+? Accidents have decreased since the bike lanes were installed on Humboldt by 36%. No parent wants their kids riding on streets along with busy traffic. Happy to meet you for a ride sometime, and we can bike around San Mateo with vehicle traffic and compare it to riding in a safe, separated bike lane.

eGerd – Tbot here. Are you out there? Interesting assertions, along with data and statistics, from Ms. Mavridis. Perhaps our “leaders” are aware of this information and have eschewed separated bike lanes. I still say that if there weren’t a federal grant providing “free” use-it-or-lose-it money, the lanes in North Central would never have been striped. The lanes were always a union labor giveaway. Now, the city can remove the lanes and give union labor a “fill it up” project after they’ve already completed the “dig a hole” portion. Win-win for union labor.

Irena, when was the last time you rode a bike on city streets? Clearly, you have a different sense of reality. I’ve not heard of the study you quote. Can you provide a link?