So tired of seeing this, especially on liberty. I was driving to the Honda dealership to get my car inspected this morning. The car in front of me was making a left off of liberty. There was also a car on my right at the intersection trying to make a right. I was stopped, waiting for the car in front of me to make a left and was going to let the car to my right pull onto liberty when this twat behind me speeds around me to my right in the bike lane to pass and get to the red light faster. She was seconds away from hitting a dude on an electric assist bike coming up the bike lane. I don't think she noticed.
I was wondering if people at bike pgh were trying to get some sort of signage that says "do not pass in bike lane"? You would think that it would be common sense. I see these signs on Babcock blvd in the north hills and it seems to deter most people.
The issue isn't limited to bike lanes--there seems to be a sense in PGH that if a road appears wide enough to support two lanes, then it _is_ two lanes. I've been passed on the right (while driving) on Thomas Blvd in Point Breeze numerous times.
And, of course, I see this a lot on ELB.
Pittsburgh / Allegheny county does have a habit of ambiguous demarcation. Super wide streets that are single lane (some stretches of Butler, Wilkins, and Schenley Park all come to mind), streets that are super narrow but marked two lanes (under that bridge on Washington Blvd is one), and then the number of lights at intersections is seemingly unrelated to number of lanes (two lights for one lane, two lanes, three lanes...?).
Independent of jagoffs who want to get there faster than the traffic will allow, some consistency in lane widths and marking would only help. I get the feeling that sometimes, just like way-back-when we paved the paths that people were traveling with out any kind of planning, we now paint the lanes that people are using with out any kind of planning. Or not paint them.
I'd heard rumors that the state roads have a set of standards, and I believe the city has some too... I'm just not confident they are implemented 100%, and if they are, they're not rigorous enough, because there's too much variation to be predictable.
What are the passing laws? I know you can't drive in the bike lane, but are there laws against passing. That could be the reason for no sighnage. For cars to park they need to drive across the bike lane. I do agree with Stef I dont't like it.
passing on the right is only permissible if the person you're passing is making a left, but if you wait 5 minutes someone will cut n paste the actual PA law stating it 
is it illegal to pass using the bike lane?
There is one particular intersection on the way to Brady's Run park in Beaver, the road is one lane each way, no turning lane, no passing lane, and you can see on the shoulder where drivers have created a permanent track by passing left-turners on the shoulder. So the municipality put up a "no passing on shoulder" sign and a pair of police regularly station there and just poach people who do that. The City of Pgh seems to have little to no interest in traffic enforcement of this kind.
It doesn't matter what the laws are when the police don't know them well enough to enforce them. There's a chance that the woman in the car didn't even have a license. We are on our own out there, ride defensively.
It's more like "The City of Pgh seems to have little to no interest in traffic enforcement" period. You can end the sentence there.
And I swear, though I can find no evidence of this anywhere on the interwebs, that in the early 90s the City decided to stop paying officers to defend their tickets in court. Thus all contested moving violations cost the price of a little inconvenience and some court fees (which I could have sworn was only $40 but I last got a ticket about 8 years ago).
I lost faith after I watched an unmarked box truck drive in the Liberty Ave bike lane with a police officer right behind him also riding half in the lane. This was the officer that then told me to "put the word out."
is it illegal to pass using the bike lane?
Yes. technically, the bike lane is an exclusive lane for, well bicycles. that's why you see it dotted approaching intersections designating where cars can enter the bike lane to make a right turn. you're not supposed to cross a solid line, like anywhere
Regardless of what is allowed, there is a clause limiting passing on the street unless it can be made safely. This means if you hit a cyclist in the bike lane while passing, you are almost surely in the wrong.
And of course this rule seems to prohibit cars from the bike lane altogether:
PA Code chapter 33, section 3309. Driving on roadways laned for traffic.
Whenever any roadway has been divided into two or more clearly marked lanes for traffic the following rules in addition to all others not inconsistent therewith shall apply:
(3) Lanes limited to specific use.--Official traffic-control devices may be erected to restrict the use of specified lanes to specified classes or types of traffic or vehicles, including multioccupant vehicles or car pools, and drivers of vehicles shall obey the directions of every such device.
The confusing part is the fact that cars need to cut across the bike lane to park. I just want to get all my facts strait before I complain to a driver about it.
you're not supposed to cross a solid line, like anywhere
You know the one place where the solid white line is sacred? The tunnels. When driving through the tunnels, try this experiment (assuming traffic is okay): put on your turn signal, and safely switch lanes. People will react as if you drove on sidewalk in the middle of Oakland.
I agree with Brian, I've been going through those tunnels for 15 years, can probably count on one hand the amount lane changes I've seen in tunnels.
The bike lane signage is pretty ambiguous, "Bike Lane" doesn't really say much to drivers, vs something like "Right Lane Bikes Only" or "Bike Lane-No Cars" etc...
heh - so to get safe streets, we just have to put them underground. Pedestrians and cyclists can have the surface and the sun, cars stay underground (why not move parking there too)... I like it. No need to salt or oil/chip the underground streets either. We can put the electric lines down there while we're at it.
Man that would be awesome.
My grandmother knew a woman who would come to a complete stop in front of every tunnel, get out, and look at the size of the lane and her car to make sure she fit. Ok, this was in the 60s and this woman isn't driving anymore, but the magic of walls tends to get the attention of drivers.
You know the one place where the solid white line is sacred? The tunnels.
Not to mention the speed limit. The safest place on the highway
(no merging traffic, no exits, no lane changes) and people still drive 10 mph under.
@ejwme works nicely for the highway in Boston!
I love all of these comments because they are all true.I live off of Liberty (Winebiddle.) I see it countless times a day..But it's def an all over thing..On Liberty if a car has it's turn signal on to turn, it will be passed. I've been cut off so many times or came up on cars parked in the bike lane.I try to not let it get to me, but sometimes i do let people know..with a kinda *yeaahhhhh,yadontparkthere wave..or a *whatthehellareyoudoinginthebikelane sorta wave...They usually don't notice anyway because they are on their phones or running into the coffee shop.
The best though, are people that blow through a yellow/red light when traffic is super heavy on Liberty....They take the bike lane/shoulder/parking lane and cruise allllll the way to the next light, then try to cut back into traffic. I hate it more than anything..So usually on Liberty i ride veryyyy slow in the bike lane.Ugh, i won't keep going on..just getting worked up! Haha.
At the new Giant Iggle Market Dist out in Robinson (or, hell, if you pref), when it opened, they had installed very clearly painted ped crossings from the parking to the store, along with brick paving to differentiate the crossings, and the normal standing ped pylons in the road. Then for the first 2 months+-, they had security guards at the crossings giving the pointy finger or palm to drivers who failed to yield. Gradually everyone seemed to get it. (The need for this is all very odd since all the drivers are people who will become peds as soon as they get their vehicle parked, whatev). And I have noticed a definite improvement in drivers yielding to peds in the whole Robs area. Humans are such stupid pack animals, I thing they will pretty much do what they see the other animals doing. You just need to hand train greater than 50% to do what you want them to do. The City needs to pick a couple representative areas and do some regular extended "training".
As a side note, the GE Mkt Dist has two electric vehicle charging stations that are currently free, that stand completely unused 24/7, so if you know anyone with an EV, someone could be getting around free for the time being.
That Robinson shopping center did some interesting things with their parking lot design to make it a nicer experience and people do in fact go out of their way to yield. I believe they even set the speed limit at 5mph which is absurd but when you consider people will drive 10mph over the marked speed limit it makes sense.
That's the Giggle that has hydroponics growing right in their produce section, right? Interesting.
Yes, all the stormwater runoff in the parking drains into planting beds to minimize runoff into the municipal storm system. But only in front of the Iggle, bleh. At least someone at Iggle is trying.
