Issue 1: Useless Door Zone Bike Lanes need to be removed from Google Maps
Summary: Many "Dedicated lanes" marked on Google Maps Cycling layer are not actually dedicated to cycling and are more accurately described as Door Zone Bike Lanes. Most of these are not even legal bike lanes as they don't meet the minimum requirements. Moreover, the technical term for the wide parking lane variety is Shared Parking and Bicycle Lane - which obviously aren't dedicated to cycling.While Exclusive Bike Lanes are far preferable, some Shared Parking and Bicycle Lanes or Door Zone Bike Lanes are sufficiently wide enough for cyclists to ride within them but outside of the door zone. These should be retained in Google Maps Cycling layer if they are useful cycling routes.
However, other bike lanes are so narrow that a cyclist can't ride within them while staying out of the door zone. In these cases, the lane markings are dangerously misleading and certainly should not be listed on Google Maps as Dedicated lanes.
Below, I use video with a GPS-driven Google Maps overlay to highlight the issues with these Door Zone Bike Lanes.
Suggested Action: Please use the Comments to add the location of all Door Zone Bike Lanes that ought to be removed from Google Maps Cycling layer (Typically: Dedicated lanes). Melbourne ones will be added to a single, custom Google map.
Brunswick Rd. Many "Dedicated lanes" on Google Maps should be removed as they provide no safe cycling space within them.
Details:
1: Example analysis of the Google Maps listed cycling infrastructure on Holden St and Brunswick Rd
At issue are the "Dedicated lanes" circled below. These types of Door Zone Bike Lanes, that provide no safe cycling space within them, are dangerous to inexperienced cyclists and provide a disservice to experienced cyclists who sensibly ride on their edge or outside them.
> YouTube: Holden St & Brunswick Rd - from Merri Creek to Sydney Rd
Ride Date: 26 Jan 2016, 3:45pm.
Main issues demonstrated by video:
- Sections of this route are marked as "Dedicated lanes" on Google Maps cycling layer. In reality, they are narrow Door Zone Bike Lanes with insufficient safe cycling space within the lane.
- The safest place to ride is outside the door zone on the far edge of the lane or outside of it.
- The speed limit on Brunswick Rd is 60km/hr and this speed is often reached by vehicles. This is too fast for cyclists to be so close to passing vehicles.
- Cyclists would need to claim the entire traffic lane to avoid unsafe passes when traffic is coming both ways.
- The Capital City Trail, Park St and Barkly St are much safer east-west alternate routes than Holden St and Brunswick Rd. There is no need for most cyclists to ride here.
- Not a single metre of these "Dedicated lanes" are actually legal bike lanes according to Victoria's road rules. The video shows there are no Bicycle Lane signs on these sections.
2. Ride With GPS Route and Photos
Holden St & Brunswick Rd (Merri Creek to Sydney Rd)
3. Door Zone Bike Lanes on 60km/hr roads force even experienced cyclists to compromise safety by riding in the door zone or ducking in and out of the traffic lane. Such routes are unsafe for most cyclists and thus should not be marked up as Dedicated Lanes or Bicycle-friendly roads
4. Bike lanes which provide some safe cycling space within them and are the best available cycling routes among the alternatives should be retained in the Cycling layer
Given the video evidence that many Dedicated lanes in Google Maps Cycling layer are in the door zone and not reliably safe cycling spaces, one could reasonably query why all bike lanes that significantly overlap with the door zone are not removed as Dedicated lanes?
The answer is that most cycling in most cities takes places in conditions that are far from ideal. In Melbourne, those currently willing to cycle for transport still appreciate being able to find roads with partially usable bike lanes, especially when there are no better alternate routes.
Hence, a nearby parallel street to Brunswick Rd - Glenlyon Rd - should be retained in the GM Cycling layer as it provides some safe space (near the outer edge) for experienced cyclists and is the best available east-west route nearby.
5. Wouldn't subjective factors like "usefulness" or hard-to-measure factors like "popularity" undermine the objectiveness and consistency of Google Maps Cycling layer?
As noted on the About page: "The purpose of Google Maps Cycling layer is help cyclists find the best way from A to B." It is not to simply document every bit of cycling-related street paint, including the phoney bike lanes virtually all cyclists consider worse than useless.
Experienced transport cyclists in each local area can use Google Map Maker review/edit roles to remove the most dangerous and useless lanes in Google Maps.
On my Better By Bicycle blog's Melbourne Bike Grid Map you can see that Brunswick Rd is not a needed or recommended cycling route. Conversely, Glenlyon Rd is the best available east-west route in its area and its door zone bike lanes do provide some safe cycling space. In my experience, it isn't difficult for experienced, local cyclists to agree on which door zone bike lanes are useless and which are worth displaying even if far from ideal.
Further Info:
Share story
