As Vancouver personal injury lawyer since 1995 I have represented many cyclists and pedestrians that claim their lives were put at risk by poor road design or improper signage. Most car accidents involving cyclists in my experience, however, occur because of lack of due care and attention by the motor vehicle, pedestrian or cyclist .
In an internationally peer-reviewed study, Risk of injury for bicycling on cycle tracks versus in the street, published in Injury Prevention, it was found that use of bike lanes in Montreal resulted in a 28% lower injury rate. However, the Dutch CROW bicycle guidelines suggest that one-way cycle tracks are safer than the two way lanes that are developing in Vancouver. It is hard to imagine that physically separating bicycles from cars will result in more injury to cyclists.
The study results also suggests that two-way cycle tracks on one side of the road have either lower or similar injury rates compared with bicycling in the street without bicycle lanes.
Clearly, more research will have to be done on whether bike lanes increase the risk of injury to car drivers and pedestrians. As these bike lanes take up more of the urban landscape, other commuters are left scrambling for less of the sidewalks and roadways. Posted by Mr. Renn A. Holness
Issue: Do you think that the Vancouver bike lanes have reduced to risk of injury to cyclists?
