Rebuilding the road? Joggers and bikers WANT TOYS, too!
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 4 ส.ค. 2024
- Avid bicyclists roll their eyes as state engineers rebuild a highway through town. Tyranny of the car, right? Here's a project in Utah which added a raised median that unlocked an avalanche of really cool safety improvements - including a traffic signal just for bikes!
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Sources cited:
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"Raised Medians," Federal Highway Administration. safety.fhwa.dot.gov/saferjour.... Accessed Jul. 9, 2021.
"Pedestrian Refuge Islands," Federal Highway Administration, 2018. safety.fhwa.dot.gov/ped_bike/.... Accessed Jul. 9, 2021.
"Multi-Modal Handbook: Curbs," Chester County Planning Commision. www.chescoplanning.org/munico.... Accessed Jul. 9, 2021.
"Multiuser Perspectives on Separated, On-Street Bicycle Infrastructure," Monsere, McNeil, and Dill; Transportation Resarch Record, 2012. trid.trb.org/view/1129434
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Time sections:
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The Tunnel Smells Funny: (0:00)
Rebuilding the Road: (2:02)
Types of Medians: (3:52)
Pedestrian Refuge: (7:31)
Shorter Crosswalks: (9:00)
Stop Light for Bikes: (9:28)
Median for Bikes: (10:35)
Promo: (12:11) - ยานยนต์และพาหนะ
![[ไฮไลต์] "บิว" ภูริพล บุญสอน วิ่ง 100m ชาย รอบคัดเลือก | โอลิมปิก 2024](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/3kUSMfgtQ5s/mqdefault.jpg)
The raised bicycle median needs to not just be one street. In order for people to really use it, there has to be proper connections to place where they need to go. Still, a very good start
Exactly! Imagine if there was only one road in a city that cars could drive on, do you think someone could get around that city in their car? Bike networks need to be safe, comfortable, and connected to really get people to get around by bike more often. The network has to start somewhere and can be built from there. Like you said, this is a good start!
Yep, funny to watch this from a Dutch perspective. Especially the comment at 10:20 "And once they're across, it turns red and the traffic resumes" Like cyclists are not part of traffic... A good start yet a long way to go
Isn't it funny how halfwits think we as cyclists should be more willing to not have roads that get us to where we're going? Like yes, lets make it so the slower method of transportation that takes up less space to store is the one with less roads that they're allowed to use.
Because it TOTALLY doesn't make more sense the complete opposite way, right? SMH entitled idiots these days.
Its actually more of just a crossing for what he called a "bicycle priority street", but what some places call a bicycle boulevard. The center lane median crossing helps cyclists cross the major road, but doesnt let cars cross, so the car volume on the bicycle boulevard stays low.
I find it kind of strange that they put the bicycle lane on the same elevation as the road with a curb to separate it from the sidewalk. I guess they have the idea that the bicycle lane and pedestrian sidewalk needs a physical separation. Even Noah seems to prefer riding on the raised sidewalk than the recessed bicycle lane with median.
There is really no good reason not to add a separated bicycle lane whenever a road is reconstructed. And I know you said it jokingly, but proper infra for pedestrians and cyclists aren't toys, they're integral for creating liveable cities.
Only if there's room. If you're only working with a 4 lane arterial that needs all 4 lanes, you can't just take one away from each direction for a bike lane that would seldom be used. If there's enough room, I agree.
the only good reason is if you can't do it without either tearing down buildings, or creating a major bottleneck.
@@JoePCool14 Why the fuck would an arterial need 4 lanes? You only need 4 lanes on a highway. Arterials should have one driving lane in each direction, a two way bikeway, and a loading zone. If there's space, there should also be busways in each direction. You rarely actually need to drive to an arterial, you only need to drive if you have big shit. For most things, like a daily grocery run on your ride home from work, you can just stop at the grocery store, put what you need in your backpack, and ride off. I don't see the need for 4 fucking lanes. That's insane! You would only need that if everyone in the town was disabled and thus needed to drive to the grocery store. And anyways, where the fuck would you park that many cars‽ You would need to make parking lots, thus making the street miserable and unpleasant and borderline rural in density. And in a rural area where everything really is too far apart to bike or take the bus or train, then you don't need 4 lanes, because there aren't that many people there.
@@tealmer3528 perhaps you should look up what an arterial is before you declare that it doesn't need carry cars.
@@tealmer3528 you’re obviously from somewhere with a lower population density that doesn’t need the full 4 lanes. I’ve been stuck in 2 lane roads where the stoplight that’s holding everyone back is 3 intersections away. It doesn’t make sense to place a 4 lane road in Oklahoma but most people don’t live there..
Buffered bike lane isn't just "feeling safer", it's literally the minimum needed in order for it to be usable by anyone *other than* insane sports enthusiasts with a deathwish.
And induced demand on roads works the other way around too! You make a road thin up - less people go there because they perceive it as the slower road!
What's the term for the opposite of induced demand? Surely not "reduced" demand? Disinduced? Unduced?
@@RickJaeger I've seen "reduced demand" used. Dissuaded might be a relevant term, but sounds kind of clunky.
Thanks! I didn't realize I was an insane sports enthusiast with a death wish just cuz I ride in bike lanes 😂
@@RickJaeger The way you would talk about it is just saying you would cause induced demand for bicycles and lower the demand for that road.
@@haruhirogrimgar6047 at that point, I think "reduced" would be the obvious choice.
You and Not Just Bikes should do a collab. That or a boxing match.
+1 for the boxing match please
@@AssBlasster I'd pay to watch that!
Rob, your video editing skills have improved tenfold during the last year or so. I love the text transitions and graphic overlays. Thanks for making these videos!
They’ve always been great
7:49 the part where he walks in front of the graphics was 🤌
I’m happy every time I click on one of his videos his subscribers have increased a good bit, he deserves it for all the work he puts in to his videos
They can add all the medians they want, if cars are turning right through the bicycle lane, then it is not a bicycle lane. It is an assisted suicide lane
With physical separation (raised medians) yes, turns into the bike lane are madness. But I'll admit the one time I was in a place with similar infrastructure (bike lanes to the right side of the road, either with no physical separation or sidewalk bike lanes unceremoniously dumping you into the street ~20m from the intersection) I never had a problem (terror never quite went away tho). Still, at least the bike lanes shown here are almost decently wide (downright luxurious compared to what I'm used to, as they're wider than the two-way bike lanes in my city)
Cars always turn through the bike lane even when they're on the outside of the road, halfwit. Care to share any more nuggets of stupidity?
@@shawnpitman876 No, they don't. In fact many cities have their bike lanes completely separated from roads that carry cars.
In addition, the video you just watched showed a road with a bike lane in the center of the traffic where the cars only turn right. It is in the same town no less, so they clearly know how to do it better.
I thought the whole point of putting the bike lane in the median is so that cars don't turn right thru the bike lane. The only time cars cross the bike lane is in an intersection with traffic lights.
If you make cars merge into the turn lane instead of just make a 90 degree turn directly in the path of bicycles it ends up being safer for everyone. It is typically much easier to see a bike when you have to do a merge then turn instead of just a turn. The driveways along the road do have the issue of being a direct 90 degree turn across the bike path but that's exactly how it was before, so it is still an improvement.
While there are no protected bike lanes in my area at the moment, I would like them; I hate when cars park on the side of the road in the bike lanes :(
They have one on a major eight lane road where I live and naturally no one uses it. Even I who cycles casually occasionally forget to check before I merge onto the right turn pocket.
my city first made bike lanes, then decided parking will be paid so turned them into parking spots...
The cheapest way to get one has gotta be when an unprotected bike lane is next to parked cars, use the parked cars to protect the cyclists. It costs however much it takes to repaint the lines and yet the word hasn't spread. And stop having cars cross a bike lane to get into a right turn lane! If cyclists have to use a pedestrian crossing, well, it's better than getting sideswiped by someone more focused on navigating that they're turning on the right street than being aware of a smaller, slower object heading in the same direction.
this road just needed a road diet instead didn't look that congested.
@SomedayIWT depends if you use the grinede space smart like using it for protected bikelanes or transit lanes you might actually increase the roads capacity you might even do that by splitting the road so you have a narrow access street om both sides so your road can stay a road. More lanes are usually not the answer. Atleast not if you want a livable city/town.
Never EVER build bike lanes that hop on to the left side of a right turning lane, ever. There’s a reason why the Dutch and the Danish don't build it that way anymore.
We have a ton of those in phoenix. I go up on the sidewalk. I'm not trying to be a statistic.
Overreliance on only the MUTCD in urban areas...
I was reading the MUTCD and found that it's actually illegal to have the bike lane to the right of a right-turn-lane:
Standard:
A through bicycle lane shall not be positioned to the right of a right turn only lane
From section 9C.04 of the MUTCD
@@robo1p a cycle track or separated bike lane can be to the right but a bike lane cannot.
@@robo1p an exception can be made if a bike signal is used
If my city had bike medians, I would ride 90% more than driving.
move to seattle where bikers have more right away😭
@@vegandestroyer3782 not in west Seattle it’s hell out here
@@vegandestroyer3782 As far as epitaphs go "He had the right of way" kind of sucks.
Try moving to Belgium or The Netherlands were you do not need a car in the towns and cities and there is network of cycle lanes 'Fietspad' across the countryside and trains that carry bikes for longer distances
@@nixcails Not Just Bikes(a yt channel you need to check out if you haven't) says Belgium is shit compared to Netherlanders. Good luck!
Unrelated to the video, have you seen "Not just bikes" TH-cam channel?
He has some interesting videos that made me rethink the cars position in city planning. I know it's a broad topic but it could be fun to see you analyse/react/ critique to a few of his videos.
I mean tanks and planes shouldnt have problems with medians.... unless they are italian.
I'm for less bikes and more cars. 😁
I'm tired of seeing people promote that bigmouth, all he does is complain and act smug about his opinions. I don't even disagree with his opinions, but the way he presents them is a far cry from someone like Rob who doesn't sound like he has a bug up his ass all the time.
@@somebonehead Rob is a person who genuinely wants improvement and offers solutions for infrastructure problems, Not Just Bikes just jizzes all over the Netherlands and pisses on America without offering any realistic solutions, and I'm Dutch
@@krthecarguy5150 He's right to be pissed though. I am. I live in car-dependant financially-insolvent suburbia in America, and yeah, it sucks. The infuriating part is that it doesn't need to suck. All the solutions are there, we just refuse to implement them. If I was Dutch like you are, I probably wouldn't care so much either.
A buffering bike lane is technically not so safe, because technically a driver can still turn into the bike lane and crash into some bikes. The only safe bike lane is the protected one, either by a raised median or a bunch of densely-put short poles (whatever the poles are actually called, you know what I mean)
Bollards?
In Syracuse, they recently upgraded Erie Blvd replacing a three lane stroad to a 2 lane road with a huge central median bike/walk path. Its actually very nice, they are just about finishing up the repaving of it.
Nice, I'll check that out when I'm back in the area next week.
And they will soon downgrade with the demolition of I-81.
@@MrMatteNWk I-81 bridge needs to go.
All across the use they had many street redesigns.
Check out Dave Amos on this aka City Beautiful
@@dragoniv nice, I'll check it out when I'm back in the area next month. I'm not sure how safe I'd feel biking or walking down the middle of that road. Is there still a lot of street racing on Erie Blvd or have the cops finally cracked down on that?
Since pedestrian hybrid beacons were mentioned, I see an opportunity to ask: Why two red lights instead of one?
The last phase during the cycle is supposed to be treated as a stop sign. So logically, we should use a single flashing red, which everyone understands as "treat as stop sign." Riiiight?
Nope. Let's use two flashing reds, which is commonly associated with "railroad crossing, don't go," then post a wall of text explaining that it should be treated as a stop sign.
HAWKs are the least intuitive all around. Their configuration for motorists is super confusing on many levels (the two reds, plus the green or yellow-flashing and yellow ball) plus the different light patterns. The red wig-wag always makes me recall a train x-ing which means stop. Yet, for a HAWK its supposed to mean yield, if clear. Meanwhile, their configuration for pedestrians (or cyclists) is also confusing on so many levels. A pedestrian sees a flashing hand, and often an orange countdown - where cross-traffic in another situation would have a red ball - yet in this case motorists could be approaching with the red wig-wag and legitimately not come to a complete stop while approaching the x-walk and yet cause a crash in a double-threat situation, if someone hasn't finished crossing the walk.
Just put up a damn signal, or RRFB. PHB's are terrible
7:46 Look at these two drivers actually being courteous to a pedestrian. Rare sighting, that.
Well they did have a red light. Even the most aggressive drivers rarely run red lights in broad daylight.
@@cjgeist Maybe where you live. I was nearly run over on three separate occasions in a school zone- in full view of a stopped school bus, no less. Bright and early on a warm school day morning.
Algorithm food
Feed the Algorithm here.
Nom nom nom...
Honestly the bicycle crossing is dangerous af. Why don't they just learn from the dutch about how to safely design a bicycle lane in a junction?
Because we're Americans dammit! If the Euro socialists do it we can't have it here!
This. Cringed when I saw that. 0/5, would not ride.
Lack of public support.
Its actually fits the NACTO standards. Cross traffic on the major road will get a red light, and the cyclists using the side street will get a green for a safe crossing. Ultimately its really only intended for bicycle boulevards, which are still not the best designs in most cities. But at the very least, its limiting car traffic on the bicycle boulevard by making it a right-in-right-out situation, but cyclists and pedestrians keep all 3 directions possible for routing
nacto.org/publication/urban-bikeway-design-guide/intersection-treatments/median-refuge-island/
The Dutch live in a country that is basically flat. What works there will not work most other places.
The Commander Keen sound effects were a nice touch. I love all your random audio throwbacks in these videos!
I feel like all of these improvements are just compensating for the lack of foresight of urban planners when these cities roadways were built
insert sad snorlax
That's exactly how I see it. While its nice they're putting it in now, it seems like relatively speaking not too many people are going to use it when it doesn't change the fact that that area was built poorly to begin with.
There's an area north of where I live that got a complete redesign to have new transit and be more bike and pedestrian friendly and yet everytime I drive through there its nearly always empty because there's no density there and businesses are all in plazas followed by long stretches of nothing and no one wants to use all that shiny new infrastructure built for them.
If they weren't built 50+ years ago.
I wouldn’t jump straight to blaming planners (although some are better than others). It’s the elected officials that really make the decisions and they are guided by the citizens of a city. I know of planners that try to do great things but then decision makers either don’t agree or water down the development to a point where you don’t see the full benefits. Most people in the US don’t understand the benefits of a compact urban form and is why you get a lot of NIMBYs coming out against some good projects. You also don’t even need to go beyond 3 story building heights to have a great walkable, bikable, and transit supportive city. You just can’t spread everything out with a bunch of surface parking lots all over.
@@Froboymike
I'll agree that often its not the city planners' fault and that politicians and developers need to take blame as well. I just wish they would all come together to make a better city for everyone to live in. I think there are better ways to build a city that's more livable and still allow for people to have a house in the suburbs if they want. Not everyone likes living in apartments and having people all around you especially if they're bad neighbours.
'Most people in the US don’t understand the benefits of a compact urban form and is why you get a lot of NIMBYs coming out against some good projects.'
It depends on how compact we're talking about. When I was younger I wouldn't mind living in condos, but now that I'm older I definitely prefer a house in the suburbs especially as the city I'm in gets progressively more violent and dangerous. Toronto is probably still the safest large city in North America by a mile, but its definitely gone downhill alot since 15-20 years ago.
I feel like raised medians are putting a bandaid on a broken leg. Stroads are Inherently unsafe, and no one in their right mind would want to crash a 4 lane one, regardless if there is a crosswalk or not.
So is the solution in this metaphor to amputate the leg?
A stroad is the product of being unwilling to compromise car-centric, high speed travel on a mixed use street. Adding medians, vegetation, crosswalks, et cetera, is the only way to destroadify, along with providing alternative routes or modes of transport to reduce that conflict of demand.
The real issue with a stroad IMO is that it exceeds the capacity where you can reasonably find a gap without traffic signals, where every movement feels like a hazard because of the vast number of rapid conflicts. My city has a lot of two-into-one merges after all the intersections and it's frustrating having to jockey for position with idiots who ride your ass even though MeRGe LiKe a ZiP is not rocket science.
A raised median means you only have to cross 1 side of the road at a time, very useful from my experience
this may come as a surprise to you, but not all roads in the us are "stroads"
@@HavokTheorem a stroad is actually a product of allowing businesses to build up along a bypass highway. a much more common issue in small town America is how to deal with the fact that cities were built on main roads with a tiny fraction of current traffic, and they often can't afford to build a bypass because of space or fiscal constraints. so their main street has to carry through traffic as well as local traffic - without having enough real estate to do any of the anti-stroad miracle cures.
@@kenbrown2808 most of them are, the one in this video definitely is a stroad. I live near the intersections of 2 stroads that both intersect more stroads and my neighborhood is encased on 3 sides in stroads. The side that isn't a stroad becomes a stroad further up the road because they didn't fill in the driveways before turning it into a road. I live in a city too.
every American city (and subdivision) really needs more separated cycle lanes.
But those cycle lanes always stop at intersections. why can't city planners design intersections just like The Netherlands?
Not-Invented-Here syndrome. We look for any and every excuse why it won't port, regardless of validity, even if the "issue" is mild compared to what the original had to deal with. "Those bike lanes they have in [medieval city] would never fit in our American-sized streets."
Bring on the DDI!
im actually happy to see the new upload, everytime i watch these, i learn something new about infrastructure, which is a favorite topic to research.
you might want to see a different perspective on infrastructure
like the dutch one th-cam.com/video/bMJaMy-0ChA/w-d-xo.html
@@burgerpommes2001 ok. a video on cycling, i been reading some more and there seems to be a lot of bias against cars from city planners, which i get it, theres a lot of pollution that comes from them, but at the same time, theres a lot more upward mobility that comes from vehicles, because with a vehicle, you can basically drive anywhere, so long as you got gasoline. your not limited to your stamina like you are walking or cycling, and your not limited to whereever the train takes ya. its why road guy bob may seem biased, but in reality, he loves driving, he is like most people, because just having a vehicle is a great investment.
@@Zeakthecat you can still own a car when you walk to get food
it is about providing alternatives so that people can choose the right mode for the type of journey
it is probably hard to imagine as an american but in europe you can walk to get food bike to meet friends and take the car or train to work or holiday
@@Zeakthecat this doesnt only has to do with roads but with city planning in general
if you dont build everything miles away from anything else you dont have to use a car to get milk but you can just walk or bike to the store a few 100 yr away
@@burgerpommes2001 but then we are reverting back to the 1800s when you had to take a horseback ride to get supplies if you lived 40 miles from town on a 80 acre farm in the middle of bumfuck egypt.
and good work is often far away from a persons home. people want to drive to a good paying job somewhere, go shopping in the same neighborhood, and then take the 2 hour drive back home where you can unload the groceries and get done.
you can't live in the same city often times, people want to go someplace where its affordable to live in but close enough to work where they can drive there and be there in 2 hours.
when building up and out isn't a option that can be done without being price out of more innovative options, there is the following:
smart corridors can help by providing motorists with real time traffic times, and help law enforcement and emergency personnel manage traffic better in times of wrecks, these can best be used in busy thruoughfares and on interstates, by combining technology with the road. TDOT is currently implimenting this with interstate 24 in the nashville metro area: th-cam.com/video/FuKX_KWkWCI/w-d-xo.html
DDI, diverging diamond interchange, also called a double crossover interchange, is also another innovative solution that improves traffic mobility. more on DDIs from the FHAs youtube video here:
th-cam.com/video/eLAwwl3EtN4/w-d-xo.html
CFIs or continuous flow intersections, are a very innovative way to get people moving. sometimes called a displaced left turn, these intersections can help traffic flow smoothly and keep traffic wrecks and fatalities low more on the CFIs here: th-cam.com/video/3wIv0a9fuB0/w-d-xo.html
a single point urban interchange, or SPUI, is another innovative interchange. one actually was recently built in the city i was born in, jackson tennessee, where exit 82 and I-40 meet. that interchange was a older cloverleaf design that couldn't handle the extra traffic for the city of jackson. it was replaced this year by TDOT, SPUIs are great for urban areas, because they can handle a lot more traffic in a much tighter space. more here from VDOT: th-cam.com/video/EHoYCDGlXxM/w-d-xo.html
roundabouts are another good intersection design that is both smarter and safer than 4-way/3-way stops and can be cheaper than traffic signals.
more from VDOT here: th-cam.com/video/EHoYCDGlXxM/w-d-xo.html
theres more but i can't put all the innovations into one comment.
Ooooh, a Diverging Diamond Interchange!
Yep, drove through one in Missouri it's fun being British for 10 seconds.
@@robertm1112 They have a few in American Truck Simulator and damn I wish we had them in my city. Except all we get are crumbling 4 lane roads from the 50's.
Do you folks remember the video on Bus Rapid Transport?
The ideas of expanding those ideas are extremely appealing:
1) the rapid bus Transport with crossings similar to railway crossways to keep the buses on time, this roadways ran separately from normal traffic, making it safer and faster. Add bike and pedestrian trails to these bus routes, and I concur that you have a winner.
Bikes and pedestrian traffic kept with bus routes and separate from traditional streets.
2) Bus rapid transit being in the median and separate from normal traffic
why not get trolleys at that point
I could binge watch Rob all day long. It's criminal how underrated his channel is
All that hassle so people can drive within a city, it seems very accommodating of the problem. That bike lane with the unprotected green painted section seems dangerous and should be signalled.
One thing not mentioned is that sufficiently wide enough medians (6' at minimum, 10' minimum when considering bikes) allow for more efficient pedestrian timing at signals. Each button can call specific phases and sequences to reduce delay for not only drivers, but people walking as well. Along with giving a coordinated crossing and keeping as many other movements going concurrently.
Something that is often not done, but could be. Problem is that takes effort and consideration for those outside a vehicle. Something our profession isnt great at in general.
Nonsense. Nobody should even be installing beg buttons anywhere. The safety of people using more efficient modes of transportation (walking, transit, cycling) takes priority over the convenience of people driving.
@@drdabblju @kisumxes It's very sad that beg buttons get such a bad rep in the US. But it's not unwarranted. Better signal timing can improve trust in the signal, improve compliance, and protect vulnerable users better.
The problem is signals in North America typically run way too long of cycles, or allow for way too long of max green times, and don't utilize features in controllers that help pedestrians.
- Only run signals coordinated when absolutely necessary *there's a whole debate there*
- Then, only run as short as cycles as possible, and don't run too long of corridors. 80 second cycles are about the max time before you start running into longer than acceptable delay ped/side street delay.
- Use the ped-reservice function when possible. This allows someone to still get the WALK if they're a few seconds late to the signal, thus greatly reducing ped delay.
- Leading ped intervals with right turn on red restrictions also help dramatically reduce crashes and conflicts between drivers and people walking.
Until we change our signal operations and separate pedestrian phases from vehicle phases which would open up a whole new world for signal timing, there is a lot of benefits to running signals actuated...but who you favor is found in the timing files.
I've changed signals so that the max time a pedestrian waits is 20 seconds...trust me, it can be done!
Glad your channel is growing. Quality content.
That Payson story was fascinating. Great lead-in to the main story.
Edit this because it's actually a Provo story... with a Payson man in it.
7:26 this actually jump scared the crap out of me... I am not proud. Lol.
It didn't get me into the second time just now when I clicked your time stamp 😅
Because of you I never look at roads and highways the same when I’m driving. The one that always sticks out to me is the lane widening on curves.
The problem with bicycle lanes is that they're great for a few blocks, then they just dump you into traffic when it gets complicated. They love to build it on wide open easy sections, where you don't really need it.
That sounds less like a problem of bicycle lanes and more like on of your city being very non-committal about building them out
@@arctic_line That's 90% of bike lanes I've seen, even in bike friendly places like seattle only a few of them actually have the green crosswalk. Just painted gutters that stop a half block from the intersection
One guy walking on the sidewalk with his long board was the closest thing to a bicyclist.
Yeah, which is hardly a surprise when to Americans this infrastructure is as novel as a zebra walking down the street. More intelligent bike signals, protected 2-way cycle paths and a lot of redundant bike infrastructure (two-way shared ped/bike path off to the side away from the curb, with an additional cycle gutter in each direction for the faster and more confident riders who would rather tangle with cars than pedestrians, is becoming increasingly commonplace in my city (Christchurch, New Zealand, about the population of Seattle and not the richest country by a long shot).
I enjoy it, whether I'm in a car or on my bike. It feels more communal, safe and equitable to not have 6 car lanes with a bare hint of a cycle gutter. My biggest complaint is that the bike and pedestrian crossings are always set to a long timer (20-30 seconds) and lack the capacity to detect when the person who triggered the signal is no longer there, having run the red or just kept going. I guess the instrumentation and algorithms need more development.
That's the issue with just having a few roads with good bike infrastructure. You can't really expect people to choose a bike if there's not sufficient infrastructure to link up their home and destination. It'd be kind of like having a few great roads that are nice to drive, but you still have to drive on train tracks for a few miles to get to Arby's. You'd probably just take the train.
There is "bike lane" by my house. It starts randomly in the middle of main street and ends a block north dumping you back onto main Street connecting literally nothing.
Tells you something about the quality of the infrastructure. I'm an avid cyclist and you will NEVER see me using that bike lane that flips over to the left side of the turning lane. Nope nope nope nope.
@@jobshadow .
You should see some of the silly bike lanes in the UK. Certainly not designed by a cyclist and are more to try and get cyclists out of the way of cars than to actually help cyclists get around safely.
I . constantly amazed at Road Guy Rob's videos. I mean....the guy is gonna have a million subs sometime. It's crazy how good these vids are. Both the production quality but also the content. He gets interviews with big wigs in every video. It's crazy.
You're finally making a DDI video! Can't wait.
Oh man I’m excited for the next video... diverging diamond interchanges are one of my favorite things. We have one here in Reno at I-580 and Moana Lane, I love going through it because it seems so much more efficient and safe than normal interchanges. I think we really need more! Thank you for yet another great video Rob!
Oh hell yeah, new Road Guy Rob video! Quality production as always.
Nice to see they're making an effort to improve the situation for pedestrians and cyclists. Buffered bike lanes are ok, but grade separated would be even better, and why oh why are they building bike lanes in the middle of a massive stroad? Bike lanes belong on the outer edges, not in the middle!
Awesome, I'd love to see more about putting in bike/transit/pedestrian infrastructure in car-oriented areas. Thanks for this!
I swear, your videos are getting better and better, Rob! This is fascinating stuff!
Great video! I work in your neck of the woods as a planner for Lehi! I think there has to be a balance for all the differing modes and we really need to make sure streets are safe for all. If safety features are not installed, then we push people into cars who may have otherwise walked or biked for a local trip if they had safe facilities and crossing points. Those who can’t drive or can’t afford a car are left with endangering their lives if we don’t plan these kinds of improvements. I will say I’m impressed with UDOT and the improvements they have been making for safer travel for all modes. I love that Provo put in those protected bike lanes, but I really wish Dutch style protected intersections were considered to improve visibility and shorten crossing distances. It is a definite improvement nonetheless!
Instead of all these wacky intersections and lanes, seems safer and more straightforward to just give bikes and pedestrians a parallel grid with their own small mixed use path and have them cross in the middle of the road at a 90 degree angle.
@@yanDeriction that is actually a great way to plan things and would be ideal! Complete separation of routes for bikes/peds and cars would eliminate a lot of conflicts and allow for complete priority for each mode on separate routes. It would make it comfortable enough that many more people would choose to walk or bike. The Netherlands is a place that does a great job “disentangling” their routes, or providing separate prioritized corridors for different modes. The Dutch terms “hoofdnetten” and “plusnetten” describe their transportation planning and how separate prioritized corridor plans are developed. In many US cities it is much more difficult to do because of how disconnected local street networks are and that suburban areas put most of their commercial areas along major roadways. This forces people walking and biking to use those roads, or more realistically forces most to drive thus making traffic much worse. That’s why “stroads” are an unsafe and inefficient way to plan transportation since local access and trips reduce the ability for a road to carry intended regional traffic flows. It’s all really a balance, but I think we are still way out of balance here in Utah and the US for that matter. It is getting better though!
Great video Rob and I love your intro - so creative! Love the attention to detail in that you gave the pedestrian warning sign mouse ears. Keep up the great animations.
You deserve more hits. So, I am interacting with your "channel" to improve it's metrics, so as to improve it's chance at more hits. I love this series.
Alternate title: the US discovers new means of transportation
It’s not Néw , bikes have been around for a long time. Although they don’t pay road taxes, and is a dangerous form of transportation. Truck drivers get gouged with ifta taxes yet they get less lanes and less roads to travel on, yet bicyclists have the gall to demand toys for themselves
@@TKUA11 im assuming you dont cycle and dont know cyclists
@@TKUA11 Or you've never been in a country where every road user is treated equally. I live in the Netherlands and a comment like yours would've been something from the 1960s. Since then we've improved safety for all road users by adding a lot of bycicle and pedestrian infrastructure and limiting cars in cities.
Funny part at the end. 91% of drivers "feel" like the road is slower with medians preventing random left turns and separated bike lanes. They probably feel that way but with no data to support that it's any slower and the overhead drone shot shows empty left turn lanes and barely any traffic in the middle of the day. 4 lanes plus on that road seems like overkill.
Last time I was in the USA I was in Boulder and Denver Colorado. So many super wide roads, and highways cutting the cities into sections and low traffic volume, especially in Boulder. You can drive anywhere to anywhere else, right downtown, all day long, no problem, so I kind of get why people just give in to peer pressure and buy a Kia or whatever.
Wow, the production quality in this is very well done.
I remember encountering many of those "offset" refuge islands in the UK. They had dedicated traffic lights just for the crossing.
As they should, and with multiple lanes of traffic the pedestrians cannot judge if there is moving traffic beyond the first lane.
Heya Rob - another great video. You continue to inform me and open my eyes. Keep it up!
You know it's gonna be a good day when Road Guy Rob posts a new video!
As a cyclist in SLC Utah, I like that the state also does a good job as keeping the bike lane clean. It not good to use if there is glass everywhere.
That walking sound effect brings back memories of Commander Keen on the PC speaker...
Because it absolutely was... I bought the original two trilogies back in the day as the first-ever game I bought and the most expensive purchase I made as a young kid at $70.
Your channel is awesome I usually watch on another TH-cam account, your content is so good! Had to sub I’ve learned so much :)
Love the interview bits from Dave Gill, a lot of good information and I enjoyed his low-key enthusiasm
I’m still not getting a response from the city on my proposed Heelys only lane.
Love this channel it's funny most people think it's Nerdy or whatever but I spend a lot of time on the road it's best to start to learn how it works!
These videos are great! Good luck *Paving the Road* to 100K!
I would trade not having to push a button any day for a cycle lane that isn't in the middle of fucking road. Atleast they're doing more than just a painted line, but holly shit there is still a longggg way to go and we really don't have that much time afaik.
Yup, not child friendly at all. Extremely exclusive infrastructure that doesn't help the "intrigued but concerned" demographic to ride more.
@@weetikissa Yeah, you're still surrounded by cars, even more than before maybe and you aren't stopping at any shop down the road or friends house anytime soon.
Its not a bike lane in the middle of the road. Its just a waiting area with a median to protect you from cars. Its part of a bicycle boulevard, and the sensor, traffic light, and gap in the median allows cyclists to cross a large road safely to continue to the other side of the bicycle boulevard. Cars can only enter and exit the side street by turning right, so traffic on the bicycle boulevard stays low.
It could probably be signed/painted a bit better. But it fits the NACTO design goals for a bicycle boulevard.
nacto.org/publication/urban-bikeway-design-guide/intersection-treatments/median-refuge-island/
nacto.org/case-study/median-refuge-island-at-the-crossing-of-martin-luther-king-jr-boulevard-and-going-street-bicycle-boulevard-portland-or/
ruraldesignguide.com/mixed-traffic/bicycle-boulevard
Can't wait for the piece on DDI's!
A DDI works A LOT better than an SPI
This video was super entertaining because I used to deliver on the exact streets you were showcasing and had so many opinions on a lot of the weird quirks of the roads in Salt Lake County. Great video as always
Love your videos! So informative and fun! Great job 👏
Looking forward to your divergent intersection video!! Great job as always!
Wish you could do a video every week but I know you put a lot work into each video that’s why I like your channel so much, keep it up…
New video. Continiue on, your videos are great!💯
My city installed some lights and a refuge island on a mildly busy road, and it feels so much safer then another just regular cross walk a couple miles down the street. I feel like I can walk across the road and not run when these are installed.
That separated bike lane at the end is wonderful!
Incredible video Rob. This channel is civil engineering paradise.
Rob, you make the best videos! Keep up the great work!
You should make a talking point over the over use of 4 way stops and stop sign instead of yields. In PA they make you stop in both directions at every intersection.
I'm so excited for the diverging diamond video. I love those things. I actually drove on one once when I went upstate new york.
Holy shit why is the side street still 40ft wide AFTER the bulb out. It should be like 24ft MAX.
So happy you're doing a diverging diamond next!
Obviously we need protected bicycle lanes. Not just with painted buffers, not just with stanchions, nor with medians with sloped edging. We need planted medians with full'height vertical curbs!
Next video is the diverging diamond intersection! The coolest, weirdest, and stangest-to-phase-during-construction intersection. My company build one a few years ago. Drove through one last week. Can't wait for this one.
A great video and really happy a Focus RS was at 11:25 at just the right moment
ohhhh getting hyped for the DDI video!
10:59 ooops. I love finding things like that since I do it occasionally as well!
yes, new video! :D
And YOU are the very first!
@@RoadGuyRob I am curious what your opinion is about stroads.
th-cam.com/video/ORzNZUeUHAM/w-d-xo.html
@@buddy1155 that Not Just Bikes video is a great one! I like the idea of “disentangling” routes as they do in the Netherlands for safety and efficiency of the roadway. It creates a great balance to separated roads and streets so bikes/peds have a safe place to be and car travel is more efficient, less encumbered, and safer without all those conflict points in a higher speed road.
@@Froboymike I live in the Netherlands, actually in the region where most of the examples have been recorded. I never knew there was such a system behind our infrastructure. But it works great for everyone: pedestrians, bikes, public transport and cars. I always took it for granted, because of 'not just bikes' I have started to appreciate our infrastructure.
@@buddy1155 I have watched many videos about your infrastructure there and I am definitely jealous! I live in Utah where this video was filmed and I am a city planner here. I keep pushing for safer multi-modal transportation systems but we have a lot of work to do! The political will is also changing here but we really need some better land use planning and implementation to help make walking, biking, and transit more convenient. Someday I will visit the Netherlands and experience it for myself! I hope that day comes sooner than later 😃
Next video: Diverging Diamonds!! Nice.
First time I was on one, I thought it would be confusing, but there was no confusion on where to go. Tulsa is going to have one in the next year and a half. Look forward to that video.
I love your nerdy road videos! They're fascinating for infrastructure we often ignore :)
You should look at the videos of "Not Just Bikes".th-cam.com/users/NotJustBikes
Imagine just having a walkable area
Utah sure provides you with a lot of content!
Oh yeah! UDOT is wild
would've been good to mention that bike lanes have significantly higher capacity than those car travel lanes!
Hi Rob - I just visited Salt Lake City from CA and man I understand why their drivers are so bad! The road layouts are SO stressful. They are wayyy too wide and intersections are huge as a result. Definitely needs a redesign for sure
I'm trying to imagine how a road can be too wide.
@@roberts1677your city streets should not be wide enough to land a freaking plane on them
I liked the mention of the diamond diverging interchange as a tease for the next video.
There's one here in my town in Lincoln. It felt weird the first time but it's better tbh that installing a cloverleaf exit. The paint and signs are necessary but the way the road is angled, with a pointy curb encourages drivers to cross over
Hey we have a diverging diamond here in Phoenix! They're really trippy when you first use them but ultimately they're actually pretty cool
Love watching these videos from Europe. Our road infrastructure is so different! Would be awesome to do some form of comparison video
One big difference is with trucks. The EU did finally yield to the 53 foot container, but stuck to an overall length for a rig of, I believe, 61 1/2 feet (metric I think it's 18.5 meters). Hence no large forward hood on the tractor; it goes straight down, making for a much shorter wheelbase and therefore a much rougher ride for the driver but much less difficulty maneuvering. In the US, while the federal government allows states to limit a trailer length to 48 feet (though a majority go with 53, and almost everywhere 53 can be permitted under special circumstances), they effectively have to accommodate 75 feet for a semi (articulated lorry) rig bearing in mind minimum length limits for trucks with longer cabs or for car and boat transporters ; in some parts of the country it's higher than that still. And a lot of highway specifications here flow from that particular consideration.
So excited for the DDI Video!!!!!
Years ago I went to a local college. Every winter the parking lot would become a complete mess. It was a giant lot with no islands anywhere and long, long rows. When it would snow the lines would be covered and these long rows would get crooked, often to the point where they'd become unpassable. Since people would tend to show up in waves on the hour sometimes you'd get stuck in these rows with people behind you who couldn't back up either.
At the time I thought it might be possible to mount lasers on the street lighting that could project lines onto the pavement (sort of like some of the ones you can get to make shapes on the floors and walls for parties, or like a laser line straight edge.) I suspect that unless they had complex logic to adjust for when really deep snow. At a certain point the lines would be distorted by the height of the snow. For plows I'd think it wouldn't be too hard to embed something into the pavement... a chunk of iron, RFID chips, or something like that that the plows could have sensors for. It would probably be cost prohibitive as a parking lot technology to have all the cars have special sensors unless they had some other purpose as well. The distortion from projecting laser lines could probably be solved if you projected fairly vertically, but you'd still have to worry about dazzling drivers with them. I did think maybe if each one projected just one straight line it might work, but then you'd need one for each line in your parking grid. In our old giant parking lot maybe just having the lines for the back of the parking space would have worked... that would at least let people no how far to pull in. From there, if they were off left or right they might costs a few spaces but they wouldn't block whole rows.
Of course real curbs would work, but that makes plowing much more difficult and would cost more.
Or use those lasers to melt guide lines in the snow (or maybe something as low tech as steam pipes).
Another great video. Thanks, Rob!
As a BYU student living near here, these videos about the road construction hits close to home
Its just so absurd that detection loops and bicycle trafficlights are so special in the usa.
Please keep making more great content like this!
Aww, crap, I've always been meaning to go through that tunnel and see what it looked like inside. It sucks that I've never gotten around to it and now I guess that "tearing it down" means they've filled it in too, huh?
Did you ever get photos of the inside? Or do you know who does hav-- I guess if you did then you would've used them in this video, huh?
Thanks for coming back to utah for this one.
Not sure what other examples there are of this but Euclid Ave in the cities of Ontario and Upland, California has an extremely wide median for pretty much its entirety. It’s practically a long, city-wide garden in the middle of the street.
Great videos, I love your content!!!
Love you Noah for riding instead of driving but 2 lanes to 1 for safe biking would be awesome! 😎
diverging diamonds in the next video?? also i live in provo, utah so i love seeing areas in your video that i drive by everyday
Rob I had no idea you were here in Utah, I love the bicycle lanes that have been put in here at Provo, Utah.
They took out the tunnel, which fair enough, had problems, but they widened the road with this project making it even less safe for pedestrians to cross...TO A SCHOOL!