Update

      I haven't posted in ages. Truth be told, the state of commuter cycling took a turn for the worse, from my perspective, a long time ago.  As a politically aware, lifelong resident of this city, New York, it became clear long ago, that bike lanes were just about creating congestion for motorists.  Actually, that's not the whole story.  Looking at issues merely on the surface, is never useful or informative.  Vision Zero went hand in hand with our now former Mayor Bill De Blasio's housing plan.  I don't affordable housing plan because it was anything but.  He went to the real estate industry and asked them what they wanted and they said, they didn't want to build parking into their projects--it wasn't profitable enough.  He said, "Sure."  He went on to try and remake transportation reality--only not for people, but for real estate developers.  

    Anyway, from a cycling perspective, the streets are much worse today than when I first started riding to work, which I haven't in some time.  Remote work.  I've gotten fat!  I don't enjoy riding without a destination.  Cycling to work was a lovely routine.  More local transportation in Queens is much better served by driving.  Putting that aside however, when I was cycling, bike lanes kept encroaching upon my route.  Let me clarify, because they were always lanes, but the sidewalk adjacent lanes that eliminate parking began encroaching--all along Grand Avenue in Brooklyn!  Transplants likely think it's a great idea and I appreciate these lanes, when I am riding with children or youth that lack sense.  For practical purposes, commuting, they suck.  Why?  Because they are designed for recreation, not efficiency.  

    New York used to be about speed and efficiency without sacrificing quality!  That's why they used to say, "If I can make it there, I'll make it anywhere!"  Under chronically late De Blasio, that went under the bridge.  We didn't do idiot proofing here.  Now we do.  

    Bike lanes along the sidewalk are not just inefficient, they are unsafe.  Why?  See the list below. 

1. They negate the cyclists natural advantage from being closer to the center of the street. A cyclist has no blind spots, they sit higher and further forward than a motorist.  These advantages make it easy for a cyclist to see whether an intersection is clear or not and take it. 
2. Cyclists will take the intersection, run red lights regardless of whether they have the above advantage.  It's human nature.  It puts people in danger.  
3. The lanes adjacent to the sidewalk are littered with more impediments than there ever were double parked cars.  
4. Separate, sidewalk adjacent bike lanes were always problematic because cyclists and bike culture varies and there is no established protocol for cyclist to cyclist interaction.  If we factor in the considerable variation in cyclist ability it gets more unsafe.  It gets much worse though.  Electric bikes and scooters have taken over the bike lanes and to be honest, they are motorized vehicles.  They are heavy, fast, and their operators have no special training or licensing.  

When bike lanes were adjacent to traffic, all non-four wheel users adapted to the road rules, with minor alterations.  This was predictable and much safer, as counter-intuitive as it might seem. 

    I for one, find myself riding outside bike lanes whenever possible.