I will be pointing out road designs and infrastructure that are very bicycle friendly without actually being bicycle specific in any way. First topic: Left Turn Pockets.
Have you ever made a left turn driving a car on a busy, fast moving road with two lanes going in the same direction you are? Did you worry about drivers coming up fast from behind you and hitting your backside as you waited for opposing traffic to clear? Did you feel like those drivers were getting impatient and frustrated as they had to slow down and wait behind you or swerve at a fast pace to the right lane to go by? Yeah it stinks I know. Imagine trying to make that left turn (from the left lane of course) on a bicycle. No way!
Left turn pockets allow left turning traffic to slow down and wait without impeding the roadway. It gives both bike and car drivers a relief from the high speeds of the main lanes. Not only that, but if a bike is in the left turn lane, any cars behind the biker in the same lane end up being a safety buffer for the bicyclist's back side. This means less frustration and more safety for drivers and bikers alike.
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