Colorado’s bike lanes have long been a source of irritation not only for us, but our readers who often battle traffic in and around Denver each day. Perhaps nobody has laid out our sky-high irritation better than a recent piece by former 850KOA radio host Mike Rosen for Complete Colorado.
Take this excerpt:
“The bicycle lanes downtown on 14th and 15th Streets steal space from motorists and have only made traffic worse. They’re more than annoying; they’re bizarre, confusing, unproductive and unnecessary. The one on Broadway north of I-25 looks like something designed by Rube Goldberg. New ones on a two-mile stretch near the Denver Tech Center along Monaco Parkway by Southmoor are absurd. They’re on a road divided by a median that had two traffic lanes in each direction. The bike lanes have now taken two of those lanes away. I drive that stretch often and I’ve never seen a single bicycle on them….“
In case you, PeakNation, are unfamiliar with who Rube Goldberg is or what he designed, here is a Wikipedia article for you. You’re welcome.
The bike lanes on South Broadway are just ridiculous. In fact, suggesting that bike lanes, which take traffic lanes away from cars, are a solution to Colorado’s traffic woes is just insulting to Coloradans’ intelligence. Not only do bicycles move fewer people, but bicycles simply aren’t a realistic option for several months out of the year.
Much as liberal try, this isn’t California. And despite climate change protests, Colorado will never share California’s climate. Bike lanes simply don’t work to alleviate traffic here in Colorado and they never will.