The bike lane on Hillsborough Street is a accident waiting to happen.  It encourages cyclists to ride in an area where transportation planners, league certified instructors, and transportation experts know to be unsafe.  This area is known as the door zone.  The door zone is the 4 feet to the left of a parked car.  Drivers in the US (unlike European drivers) are not trained to look over their shoulder for cyclists before opening their car door.  As a result, many cyclists have been killed from drivers opening their doors into the path of cyclists.  The fundamental design and placement of the bike lane is flawed.  It is like putting railroad tracks across a road without any sort of gates, markings, or flashing lights.

Myself and other cycling advocates refuse to ride in the bike lane because of its unsafe location inside the door zone.  Instead, I pursue the safer alternative; I claim my legal right to the street and ride in the middle of the lane.  One problem that has been created with this new bike lane installed is that cars honk at me more frequently because they assume that I must ride in the bike lane.  Before the bike lane was installed, I claimed my legal right to the street and very few, if any, motorists honked.

This bike lane is a baited trap.  It is only a matter of time until a new, inexperienced cyclist (likely riding fast and without a helmet) is hit by an opening door and is seriously injured or killed.  Cyclists can be injured not only from the door opening in front of them but also from swerving left and hitting a car or bus to avoid a door.

I would rather have no bike lane than a poorly placed bike lane that invites inexperienced cyclists to ride in an area that we know to be unsafe.

Many cyclists have suggested a better alternative: sharrows .  Sharrows are bicycles with 2 chevrons painted on the roadway to remind motorists that bicycles are likely to be on the roadway.  The 2 chevrons serve the purpose of telling the cyclist where and which direction on the roadway to ride.   Sharrows are great for cyclists because they remind motorists that bicycles are entitled to the roadway.  Examples of sharrows can be seen on Dan Allen Drive.

Placing sharrows in the middle of the lane will decrease the honking & harassment faced by cyclists on Hillsborough Street.  They also tell inexperienced cyclists where it is safest to ride.  There are no negative effects from the placement of sharrows since traffic on Hillsborough Street is so slow anyway.

However, sharrows , like bike lanes, can be implemented wrongly.  Examples of this can be seen in Jefferson City, MO & Seattle, WA.  Placing sharrows where the bike lane is currently located would be a mistake since it would encourage cars to pass in an area where it is unsafe.  Instead, sharrows should be placed in the middle of the lane.  This would have the effect of letting motorists know that it is safe & legal for cyclists to ride in the middle of the lane.  This would also greatly discourage unsafe passing and harassment of cyclists.

In the future the city can ensure bicycle facilities ( sharrows , bike lanes, wide outside lanes) are placed in the correct location by having 2-3 League of American Bicyclists Certified Instructors ( LCIs ) involved in the process of implementation of bicycle facilities.  Had LCIs been involved in the planning process of this bike lane it would have been very unlikely that this design would have had their blessing.