The width was one of my thoughts, too. I know of a couple of urban bridges where the "bike lane" is actually a single shared sidewalk. It's been several years since I lived there and used those routes, but as I recall it required care for two standard wheelchairs or mobility scooters to get past each other when they met partway across. I've since wondered how some of those adult upright tricycles and the newer recumbent trikes fare.
I can only imagine that anything with an outer shell would be even more challenging. Even if narrow enough, it might still require sticking your head out a window to get a good sight line to ensure clearance. -- Ron On September 9, 2022 9:40:59 p.m. CST, Peri Hartman via EV <ev@lists.evdl.org> wrote: >I'll speak up here, as an avid urban bike rider. > >Already bike lanes are used by multiple kinds of vehicles: bikes, of course, >but also e-bikes, electric scooters, hover boards, segways, skate boards, and >just about any personal mobility device you can imagine. > >So, the question isn't really whether bike riders would comfortably share bike >paths with various electric vehicles. I think two factors are important >1. speed >2. size > >On speed, in Seattle, e-bikes are limited to 20mph (you can go faster, but not >with assist). That's amply fast and, so far, seems to be ok. My personal >opinion is that other forms of EVs could use bike paths if they are limited to >20 mph. But that only works if the density is low. Imagine if you have a child >riding, who hasn't yet developed good situational awareness. A moderately >heavy object at 20 mph is enough to kill the child. So, I don't really have a >good answer on speed. > >On size, it gets more argumentative. Bikes are relatively narrow, and can pass >or be passed without too much extra space. Same for scooters, skate boards, >etc. If we get small, enclosed EVs that are 3-4' wide they may literally fit >in a bike lane but completely hog it. I can see that being strongly looked >down on. On the other hand, if someone were to design a wind and weather shell >which was no wider than the handle bars of a road bike, it might be ok. > >And, like for any subject, there are as many opinions as people. I don't know >how others would react. All I know is that the current sharing situation seems >to be ok with most people. > >Peri > ><< Annoyed by leaf blowers ? https://quietcleanseattle.org/ >> _______________________________________________ Address messages to ev@lists.evdl.org No other addresses in TO and CC fields HELP: http://www.evdl.org/help/
