As much as I’d like to see everyone on bikes, I don’t see cars going away just yet (especially with the Bailouts for Clunkers program going on, blech). And given that cars are on the road, cyclists and drivers need to be able to get along. The roads simply don’t belong exclusively to either one.

A column by Douglas Todd in the Vancouver Sun last week suggests that that city needs to get beyond the so-called cars vs. bikes conflict.  Todd says that cyclists really don’t need to be on the busiest, most dangerous streets in the city, as long as the city does provide alternatives on side streets.  In fact, he says, the city has been doing this since the early 1990′s.

I was one of a small band of cycling activists in the early 1990s who pressed for the City of Vancouver to start using its quiet side streets to create a reasonably safe network of bikeways [...] we spent years convincing city hall and elite cyclists that would-be cyclists needed more options than pedaling for their lives among cars and trucks on the city’s roaring main streets.

Todd’s point is that it’s better to work toward this kind of solution that to create conflict à la Critical Mass.

I would add that cyclists can help by actually making use of such bikeways. Portland, where I live, has a network of bikeways as well. It’s not totally comprehensive; there are still places where I am forced to ride on a busy street with no bike lane, or to cross a busy street with no traffic light. But we do have good alternative routes for bikes, and they don’t even necessarily involve separate paths or lanes. They’re quieter routes used by both bikes and cars.

For instance, instead of riding west on Halsey Street (from I-205 toward downtown Portland), down narrow lanes with no dedicated bike lane, I can make a right turn on 92nd Avenue and proceed down Tillamook Street, which is quieter and safer. Yes, it may be a few blocks out of my way, but I think it’s worth it.  And Tillamook is designated and signed as a bike route, so that I can find my way easily and so that drivers and pedestrians know to expect bikes.

I could choose to ride directly down Halsey. It would be perfectly legal. But I’d also be putting myself into more danger.  SE Division Street is similar. Division itself is a main thoroughfare, but west of 82nd Avenue it’s narrow and there are no bike lanes. Signs direct cyclists to a bike route on side streets, but many don’t bother moving a few blocks over.  Again, it’s perfectly legal for cyclists to ride on Division, but if they’ve got any distance to go, they’re better off using the side streets.

So, if you’ve been avoiding cycling because of traffic concerns, be aware that there are often alternatives to busy streets! In Portland, you can check the city’s excellent bike maps for safer routes.  Perhaps your city has a bike map as well? If not, try checking Google maps for alternate routes.  And ask your city for designated, traffic-calmed bikeways.

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