What Other Cities Do

Aside from a few select cities (Portland, OR, San Francisco, CA) in the United States, the idea of the bicycle as legitimate transport has not caught on. But this has not stopped even car-loving cities from trying to do something. On a recent (May) trip to St. Petersburg, Florida, I was completely shocked that this town, in an otherwise car-loving state, had put in segregated bike lanes. I adore segregated bike lanes. I wish Bloomington would create segregated bike lanes.

Isn't this beautiful? The bicyclists travel down this lovely tree-lined lane, completely safe from car traffic and opening doors.



In St. Pete's, the lane has traffic going in both directions. I'm not sure how I feel about that, but it's better than nothing!



Here the lane crosses an intersection. You can see how bicycles are given a striped crosswalk, which helps bring bicyclists to the attention of motor-traffic. Bicyclists are given their own crossing light.




But, even with this great infrastructure, some still choose the "safer" sidewalk.