BIKEPGH MESSAGE BOARD ARCHIVE

It is good to see the network of bicycle lanes expanding throughout and around Pittsburgh. I would like to see some advocacy, though, for maintaining them. The road debris that accumulates in them makes some of them unusable. Consider the Rankin Bridge, for example. A bicycle lane was recently painted on the breakdown lane less than a month ago. The breakdown lane was full of debris before the painting, and is just as full of debris now. Just painting over it does not help. I still need to ride the white line in the area that vehicles clean with their tires. The bike lane does not make the road safer if the lane is full of debris. If it is an issue of funding, I would be happy to pay for it, for example through an advocacy group such as BikePGH. It could even be a palatable alternative to a general tax, like what we paid for the public libraries (but which I am happy to pay). But is the issue only that of money, or also of jurisdiction and desire on the part of the communities through which the lanes pass? Designating a bicycle lane on a road is just part of the solution to road safety for bicyclists. We need to maintain this new infrastructure, and plan and budget for its maintenance. Safe bicycling! CDbF