How to respond to “anti bike lane” comment section trolls

You may never want to dive into the comments section of news articles about new bikes, but if you do, prepare yourself. Here’s how you can address common misconceptions, change the narrative, and maybe change some minds.

“Why do we even have bike lanes, no one uses them!” 

About 25% of Pittsburgh households have no access to a personal vehicle. This means that they have to get around in some other way than a car, like by bus, by walking, or by bike. In fact, there are more than 400 daily trips recorded on the  Penn Ave bike lane alone. In one day there were as many as 3,700.  And since its installation over 1 million trips have been recorded.

You may not see the bike lanes full, because they’re an efficient way to move people through the city. Maybe give it a try sometime. 

“Bike lanes take up so much of the road and make streets more dangerous!” 

Yes, the bike lanes take up some space on the street, but everyone has a right to the road, and a right to get to their destination safely. Some streets are wide enough that adding a bike lane barely affects the driving experience. When they do, it’s a trade-off. Drivers might need to slow down, but the overall safety for drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians is improved. Plus, with designated lanes drivers can more easily and safely pass people on bikes.

Bike lanes are proven to make the roads safer for people who bike, walk AND drive. The bike lane on Penn Ave decreased crashes for everyone by 26%. So, ya know, you’re welcome. 

“Bicyclists are riding around all willy-nilly and don’t stop at stop signs. They never even get a ticket.”

Bicyclists do get pulled over and ticketed all the time, and even get points on their driver’s license for infractions. Do you mean to tell me that you follow every single rule of the road? Do you come to a complete stop at every stop sign? Never exceed the speed limit? Everyone is responsible for knowing and following the rules of the road. 

“I just hate having to pass bicyclists, I don’t know where they’re going!”

It would be pretty great if there was a different place for them to ride… say maybe a lane that was specific to bikes. Like a bike lane.

All jokes aside, it sucks for everyone when a driver has to pass a bicyclist. Hating on bicyclists isn’t going to make them stop biking. Installing bike lanes to create a clear path for everyone on the road will make travel in Pittsburgh safer, easier, or waaaaay less stressful. 

“Why can’t bicyclists stick to the trails where they belong?”

The trails are great, but they are limited mostly to the riverfronts and don’t take people to their specific destinations like jobs, school, shopping, etc. What if you could only drive on interstate 376, how would you ever get to Primanti Brothers? It simply doesn’t take you where you need to go especially since people bike as a form of transportation, not just for recreation. 

Plus, trails can flood or need maintenance. Drivers have more than one route to go, so should people on bikes. 

“Well, then they should ride on the sidewalk and get off the road.”

Nope. Biking on a sidewalk is illegal in business districts. It’s also really unsafe with how narrow and torn up our sidewalks can be. Also, sidewalks put people who are biking in conflict with the people who are walking. 

“But bikers don’t pay taxes! They shouldn’t be allowed on the roads they don’t pay for.”

First, taxes are not user fees. Most local roads, which is where bike lanes are installed, are mainly paid for out of the City’s general fund, i.e. property taxes, bonds, income taxes. Everyone, whether you drive or not, pays for our transportation system. 

Additionally, most people who ride bicycles are also drivers, so they are indeed paying a gas tax and registration fee, but for their car (which mainly goes to the state and feds to pay for limited access roads).

Bonus Points: Actually, people who bike and do not own a car are paying for roads and infrastructure they can’t even use or have way less impact on. Looks like cyclists are subsidizing your freeloading lifestyle as a driver. ;) 

“If I have to have insurance and a license, then bicyclists should too.”

Simply put: cars can easily kill, so car drivers need insurance & licenses; bicycles can’t, so cyclists don’t. Cities have tried and have failed for various reasons. 

Plus, a vast majority of bicyclists are also car owners, and their auto insurance covers them while riding a bike. 

“They should at least be required to wear a dang helmet. That’s so unsafe”

Sure, helmets can help prevent head injuries. We should absolutely encourage people to wear helmets, but making it a requirement actively discourages bike-share usage, increases risks to cyclists, and leaves opportunities for uneven and discriminatory enforcement. The biggest threat to city cyclists is motor vehicles who don’t see them and don’t respect their space on the road. Wearing a helmet is unlikely to mitigate the danger of these bike vs car collisions.

One of the greatest protections bikers have on the road is their sheer safety in numbers, and a helmet law that discourages biking will inadvertently increase the risks to cyclists.

We can however focus our energy on creating safe roads in which crashes with motor vehicles are less likely. I mean, if you actually care about bicyclists’ safety, that is. 

“Pittsburgh is too hilly for biking.” 

Sure, there are many places where SOME people will never ride a bike (don’t put that past a Dirty Dozen competitor). But even in our hilly city, people can often make short trips around their neighborhood of fewer than 2 miles on relatively flat roads. Plus, between e-bikes and busses with bike racks – Pittsburghers are already managing hills just fine. 

“I’m looking out for small businesses, bike lanes ruin businesses because they take away from parking!”

This is a really unfortunate myth. In the latest research bike lanes do not negatively impact the economy and in some many, they can even improve the economy of an area, take a look at any town along the GAP trail. You should come by OpenStreetsPGH sometime, BikePGH closes the streets to all cars and businesses thrive.

Are you really just worried about losing parking? One car parking spot could serve as 10 bike parking spots, which means 10 fewer cars vying for your favorite spot. Just sayin’.

“Biking is only for wealthy white dudes in spandex.”

The myth-busting here comes in two parts: first, it’s not true, and second, where it is an issue, this is a sign that you need more safe cycling routes, not fewer. 

Biking is way more accessible than driving when it comes to the high cost of getting a car and paying for your license, insurance, and maintenance. Especially here in Pittsburgh when we have shops like Free Ride where you can purchase a used bike and learn to fix it yourself, all in one place. 

Yes, white dudes and spandex are overrepresented in bike media. There are a lot of ways we can go about addressing this issue without demonizing bicycling overall. Bikes have been a tool of independence and revolution for women and people of color.

“We can’t all be expected to bike.”

That’s a valid point. Period.

We’re not here to condemn anyone for driving a car. Everyone on the road is trying to manage their safety. We are saying biking should be a safe and affordable option available here in Pittsburgh. It would help our air quality, provide better access for folks, and make our streets safer for everyone. So if you care about any of these things, let’s do something about it. Advocate for safe streets or become a BikePGH member.