Bike lanes are typically seen as being environmentally friendly. But some Bay Area leaders say the one on the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge is causing an increase in pollution.
This article is about citizen group calling for a bike lane to be turned back into car lane. You know about induced demand yet? We here can’t stop telling people about it. Well, there is an inverse effect just a bit lower called “reduced demand” in the article. Removing a car lane can increase the flow of traffic down the line - provided there are viable alternatives to driving.
So yes, removing a bike lane to add another to cars is bad, even if it was a car lane before. Discouraging driving by removing car lanes is a good way to de-clog this bridge.
I like to think I’m critical, not hostile.
This article is about citizen group calling for a bike lane to be turned back into car lane. You know about induced demand yet? We here can’t stop telling people about it. Well, there is an inverse effect just a bit lower called “reduced demand” in the article. Removing a car lane can increase the flow of traffic down the line - provided there are viable alternatives to driving.
So yes, removing a bike lane to add another to cars is bad, even if it was a car lane before. Discouraging driving by removing car lanes is a good way to de-clog this bridge.
This is something that could happen but it’s case by case and not systematic. It should be backed by stats over the previous years