Bike lane closed use other side

Posted on January 31, 2011 by .
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What’s wrong with this picture?

Paul Metz took this photo of a “Temporary Traffic Control” (TTC) sign near the construction area on Saratoga-Sunnyvale Road in Sarataga, California, where work has closed access to the southbound bike lane.

Bike Lane Closed sign Saratoga California

Paul wrote a nice letter to Saratoga’s engineering department informing them that “advising cyclists to break the law is not a good idea.” He suggests alternatives in his note:

  • Advise cyclists to “take the lane.”
  • Warn motorists of merging cyclists.
  • Close half of the right hand lane and make it a temporary bike lane

If you’re on a city BPAC, make yourself aware of road projects in your town so you can catch this stuff before the city or its contractors spends money on signs like this. Telling pedestrians to cross to the other side of the road is common when a sidewalk is closed for construction, but cyclists are not pedestrians. Instructing cyclists to travel the wrong way on a heavily traveled road with many many commercial driveways reveals a fundamental lack of understanding of cycling safety.



See also:

  1. Florida mandatory bike lane law
  2. Cop blocks bike lane, tickets cyclists
  3. Bike lane passing lane
  4. Safety and bike bans


  • http://cellowireless.blogspot.com rorowe

    Ouch. Boulder’s been doing road work on a heavily traveled (both car, bus, and bike traffic) road. For the time being, there are semi-permanent signs posted that say: 1. “Bike Lane Closed Ahead” and 2. “Bikes Merge with Traffic” (I think, I’m not totally sure on the verbiage for the 2nd sign, but basically, it’s saying “take the lane”.)

  • http://topsy.com/www.cyclelicio.us/2011/bike-lane-closed-use-other-side/?utm_source=pingback&utm_campaign=L2 Tweets that mention Bike lane closed use other side » Cyclelicious — Topsy.com

    [...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Richard Masoner and Kim Harding, wegcr. wegcr said: Bike lane closed use other side: What’s wrong with this picture? Paul Metz took this photo of a “Temporary Traff… http://bit.ly/gyEPhv [...]

  • http://twitter.com/Wuss912 Wuss912

    i have to wonder how much liability they are setting themselves up for here if somone gets hit for following their directions?

  • Guest

    The sign’s been replaced with a sign that says something like “Bikes can take the full lane, cars must change lanes to pass” sign. FYI.

  • http://www.mastrangelolawoffices.com/accident-lawyer-oakland.htm Liesel Basil

    The sign is folly. And for the safety of cyclists and drivers, it would be better to take it down as soon as possible. It’s like saying “this road is closed, so why won’t you go on a collision course?” I think cordoning off a temporary bike lane is a lot easier for everyone.