I just learned that bike lanes are DEI

PabloNole

All-American
Nov 17, 2002
3,318
8,090
113
to be clear...these are locally supported projects that cities/towns/townships/boroughs spend a lot of time and money getting ready for construction

this action essentially wastes all that money

and tying "DEI" language to this is simply nonsense... red meat to the dumbest people imaginable
Sec. Duffy is nothing but a serious person. How dare you question him?
 

Aardvark86

All-Conference
Oct 12, 2021
2,063
3,113
113
Bike lanes aren't DEI, but they are usually pretty silly in the sense that they start and stop in a patchwork depending on the extent of funding, and as a result, produce more locations where bikes have to merge in and out of actual traffic, and in a confined area. That is especially so when they do the moronic version where there is curb car parking, then a bike lane, then a lane of traffic.
 

AFM22

Heisman
Oct 31, 2022
19,112
36,435
113
Bike lanes aren't DEI, but they are usually pretty silly in the sense that they start and stop in a patchwork depending on the extent of funding, and as a result, produce more locations where bikes have to merge in and out of actual traffic, and in a confined area. That is especially so when they do the moronic version where there is curb car parking, then a bike lane, then a lane of traffic.
Ya, a municipality really needs to commit to bike lain infrastructure or not. Corvallis had an insane biking infrastructure and because of that, a lot of people biked.

Omaha does not. In fact, it's miserable, but they try to add bike lanes to downtown where there is no bicycle awareness by any vehicles, in fact, there's a lot of bicycle aggression. Omaha needs to either commit to a bicycle culture or scrap it, because it adds a lot of frustration for both drivers and cyclists.
 

jimneffer

All-Conference
Jan 27, 2026
1,622
4,996
113
Bike lanes aren't DEI, but they are usually pretty silly in the sense that they start and stop in a patchwork depending on the extent of funding, and as a result, produce more locations where bikes have to merge in and out of actual traffic, and in a confined area. That is especially so when they do the moronic version where there is curb car parking, then a bike lane, then a lane of traffic.
if you're going for a BUILD/RAISE grant, you aren't just putting a two block bike lane somewhere

BUILD/RAISE grants are highly competitive and take a lot of work to secure, both in preparation of the grant documents/application, and all the planning/pre-construction/engineering that needs to be done to be competitive.

i'd argue that if you're going after one of these grants, you're committed.
 

Torbee

Heisman
Sep 13, 2002
13,254
59,698
113
if you're going for a BUILD/RAISE grant, you aren't just putting a two block bike lane somewhere

BUILD/RAISE grants are highly competitive and take a lot of work to secure, both in preparation of the grant documents/application, and all the planning/pre-construction/engineering that needs to be done to be competitive.

i'd argue that if you're going after one of these grants, you're committed.
The irony of those opposed to bike lanes is that a substantial body of transportation research shows that well-designed Complete Streets and multimodal projects often improve traffic flow or have little negative effect on vehicle congestion, while significantly improving safety. In many cases, they also reduce overall traffic demand by giving people alternatives to driving.

In a previous job of mine, I had to do a fair amount of digging into this subject. It's pretty interesting.

LINKS:



 

jimneffer

All-Conference
Jan 27, 2026
1,622
4,996
113
The irony of those opposed to bike lanes is that a substantial body of transportation research shows that well-designed Complete Streets and multimodal projects often improve traffic flow or have little negative effect on vehicle congestion, while significantly improving safety. In many cases, they also reduce overall traffic demand by giving people alternatives to driving.

In a previous job of mine, I had to do a fair amount of digging into this subject. It's pretty interesting.

LINKS:



now you're speaking my language...

i work on stuff like this. most often, these are 4 lane roads through developed (often residential) areas where relatively low volumes allow people to speed and drive agressively, with obvious impacts on safety. there's been abundant research that shows under a certain volume (usually 20K ADT), you can take a 4 lane road (2 lanes in each direction) and convert it to a 3 lane road (1 lane in each direction with a center turn lane) with virtually no impact on vehicular mobility or level of service, but with massive improvements in safety, mostly by reduced speeds.

the decision, then, is what to do with the 10' that is no longer needed for a vehicular lane. a bike lane is a relatively cheap (rarely consists of anything more than paint) option.

and yes, there are all kinds of indirect benefits to a community/corridor to slowing people down. the people who live and work on these corridors are typically in support. the people who only care about driving through these communities as fast as possible are typically not in support.
 

Outbackbowl2017

All-Conference
Dec 4, 2016
1,624
2,640
113
We have trails all over the DM metro to accommodate bicycles but love the guys that want to be on the streets riding but not follow the laws for red lights or stop signs. Those guys deserve to get hit when they ignore the rules and cause near misses on the two and four lane roads around here.

I just shake my head when one of these guys is on the street riding and ten feet to his right is an entire lane he could be riding on by himself, safe and secure but no, gonna ride where the cars are then scream and yell at them if they get close to him. I don’t get it. Bicyclists are a rare, weird breed.
 

fatpiggy

Heisman
Aug 18, 2002
25,744
24,670
113
The irony of those opposed to bike lanes is that a substantial body of transportation research shows that well-designed Complete Streets and multimodal projects often improve traffic flow or have little negative effect on vehicle congestion, while significantly improving safety. In many cases, they also reduce overall traffic demand by giving people alternatives to driving.

In a previous job of mine, I had to do a fair amount of digging into this subject. It's pretty interesting.

LINKS:



Lots of negatives about bike lanes. I think in a utopia, they can be well designed. However, when adding them to already dense infrastucture, sometimes you get less than desirable results.

 

AFM22

Heisman
Oct 31, 2022
19,112
36,435
113
We have trails all over the DM metro to accommodate bicycles but love the guys that want to be on the streets riding but not follow the laws for red lights or stop signs. Those guys deserve to get hit when they ignore the rules and cause near misses on the two and four lane roads around here.

I just shake my head when one of these guys is on the street riding and ten feet to his right is an entire lane he could be riding on by himself, safe and secure but no, gonna ride where the cars are then scream and yell at them if they get close to him. I don’t get it. Bicyclists are a rare, weird breed.
I'm going to avoid the conversation about bicyclists breaking laws because not all do, and there are a lot of vehicles that break laws, too. Neither side is perfect.

Now, the main reasons bicyclists use the street is:

1. No pedestrians. Pedestrians are unpredictable. They stop, they turn, they might sway from side to side and move several different directions. It is safer for a car going 1 direction 30mph to pass a bicycle going 1 direction 20mph, than a bicycle trying to go 20mph in one direction to pass a pedestrian going 3mph that may stop or take up an entire sidewalk.

2. Sidewalks often have obstacles besides humans. Plants, uneven surfaces, low visibility corners. Also in some neighborhoods the sidewalks just end.

3. Visibility at intersections. Vehicles are typically more aware of bicycles using the road than on the sidewalk. When A bicycle is using a sidewalk or trail and is coming up to an intersection, a vehicle isn't looking for them when turning. Cars backing out of driveways are also not looking for bicycles when in reverse.
 
Last edited:

Torbee

Heisman
Sep 13, 2002
13,254
59,698
113
We have trails all over the DM metro to accommodate bicycles but love the guys that want to be on the streets riding but not follow the laws for red lights or stop signs. Those guys deserve to get hit when they ignore the rules and cause near misses on the two and four lane roads around here.

I just shake my head when one of these guys is on the street riding and ten feet to his right is an entire lane he could be riding on by himself, safe and secure but no, gonna ride where the cars are then scream and yell at them if they get close to him. I don’t get it. Bicyclists are a rare, weird breed.
You should take your concern up with the legislature then, as in Iowa law, bicycles have the same rights to the roadway as motor vehicles.
 
Jun 1, 2026
1,013
372
63
I wonder what the plans are for scooter lanes. I have much more of an issue with those things than I do bikes. Half ride on the road and half ride on the sidewalk. The biggest problem is it looks like a pedestrian walking from the top half of the body up and you don’t realize it until they are right in front of you when you start to turn right on red.
 

jimneffer

All-Conference
Jan 27, 2026
1,622
4,996
113
also important to note: it doesn't seem like anything was "redirected" (taken away from prviously awarded projects). this is just the latest round of grant awards through the program that they felt the need to portray as somehow opposed to biden-era awards

also, bad news for duffy: reading through those awarded projects, there are quite a few that fund transit projects and corridor/complete streets- type projects and studies. as someone who has written applications and been awarded funds through these kinds of grants, i can tell you that it's not that hard to avoid the key words and phrases that need to be avoided to get things through.
 

Aardvark86

All-Conference
Oct 12, 2021
2,063
3,113
113
I wonder what the plans are for scooter lanes. I have much more of an issue with those things than I do bikes. Half ride on the road and half ride on the sidewalk. The biggest problem is it looks like a pedestrian walking from the top half of the body up and you don’t realize it until they are right in front of you when you start to turn right on red.
Dont get me started.
 

moradatiger70

All-American
Jul 11, 2013
7,209
9,772
113
For 1.73 Billion you could build a protected bike lane from east coast to west coast and still have money left over.
 

BelemNole

Heisman
Mar 29, 2002
37,007
10,667
113
if you're going for a BUILD/RAISE grant, you aren't just putting a two block bike lane somewhere

BUILD/RAISE grants are highly competitive and take a lot of work to secure, both in preparation of the grant documents/application, and all the planning/pre-construction/engineering that needs to be done to be competitive.

i'd argue that if you're going after one of these grants, you're committed.
You have to understand, aardvark doesn't care about bike lanes either way, he just can't resist giving cover to the dumb shiz this admin does. It's his main job.
 

Jerome Silberman

All-American
Dec 19, 2022
3,032
6,845
113
Madison, WI has absolutely ELITE infrastructure in place for bikes/mopeds/walking/etc that seems to work great with people who drive cars/trucks.

And they're all drunk as f@ck. Everyone else must just have bad attitudes to not be able to make it work.
 
  • Like
Reactions: fskillet

AFM22

Heisman
Oct 31, 2022
19,112
36,435
113
Madison, WI has absolutely ELITE infrastructure in place for bikes/mopeds/walking/etc that seems to work great with people who drive cars/trucks.
Over time the drivers have likely responded positively to it. In towns where biking is encouraged, and a lot of the drivers also bike, they learn how to drive around bicyclists safely.