CAR PARKING LANES
The concept of "Bicycle Friendly Zones" has now been renamed "Bicycle Awareness Zones". This is a better way of describing the conditions of the road for bicycle riding. Roads that squeese cyclists for space and do not have a bicycle lane, cannot be classified as "friendly". Renaming this type of road to "awareness" is more appropriate. Cyclists need to be aware of car doors opening and their distance from overtaking motor vehicles. I endorse the use of the bicycle stensil positioned both sides of the edge line so that motorists are made aware that cyclists may be riding either in the car parking lane or the traffic lane. Also this position does not give the indication of a bicycle lane such as positioning the stensil wholely in the car parking lane.
This is a step in the right direction and highlights the problems cyclists face when riding on roads where they do not have sufficient space to ride comfortably with motor traffic.
I have suggested to the Cairns City Council that their GIS maps which record council's bikeway assets, mark which roads have bike lanes and which roads have car parking lanes.
Technical:
Bicycle logo - road marking of stencil:
Is it correct that the white stencil indicates a legal bike lane? I believe that signs are required to legalise a bike lane. There is no difference between a white or yellow stencil. A white stencil inside a car parking lane is not a legalised bike lane.
A bike lane that is marked in the area where car doors open is not a legal bike lane and is not recommended by AUSTROADS, Part 14, 1999. A wider car parking lane is needed and this is what AUSTROADS recommends.
If a cyclist believes that riding in an area where car doors open with a bicycle stencil, is safe, has a door open resulting in an accident, WHO IS LIABLE? - 1. The road provider (council/main roads); 2. The motorist; 3. The cyclist.
We have one such street (Severin St) near three schools, that is narrow. Marking the bike lane close to parked cars did not provide any more space. This is not what I call a bicycle friendly street especially for children.
I am going to suggest that our council mark on their gis maps which roads have bike lanes separate from parked cars and which roads have car parking lanes only. This is the information that cyclists need.
A stencil is advisory, for motorist awareness, and has no legal status. We have to be careful when we use the stencil to direct cyclists to where they should ride. If a cyclist decides that the traffic lane is the safest option and a stencil is marked close to a parked car, motorists may treat that cyclist badly thinking that the cyclist is riding in the wrong place. The law says that a cyclist must use a bike lane unless it is impracticable to do so. It is impracticable to ride too close to parked cars. Promoting this facility as a bike friendly street does not make it any safer for cyclists. It only makes our transport providers feel less guilty about squeesing cyclists for space on the road. Some motorists think they cannot park in the parking lane because of the stencil. I believe that stencils in parking lanes are legally incorrect and should not be used. However I do like the stencil marked across the edge line to indicate that cyclists may ride in the car parking lane where there are no parked cars and that cyclists may ride in the traffic lane where there are parked cars. Cyclists may ride close to parked cars or the traffic but they do so at their own discretion. Actually cyclists will mostly ride on the 10 cm white edge line.