[Eyal Santo]

Hi Doug,

Well, what example could be better in NYC than the famed Prospect Park West bike lane – oh, sorry – cycle track 🙂 I’ve had the pleasure of riding it, and of course I read all about the back lash and JSK’s stories about the fight, in her book. I know it was a political explosive barrel at the time, I don’t know how is it today. Nevertheless, here are my 2 cents worth of wisdom:

1. You are right when saying it is a bit narrow, so what are the chances of widening it? I see a couple of options:

a) the buffer zone: I am not sure if it is uniform all along the track, but it seems in places it is like at least a 2-3 footer. Is that so? if so – this is the lower hanging fruit – without much ado buffer can shrink a bit in favor of the lane

b) I take it this is politically much more complicated: trying to asses the street, it still has 4-5 lanes – with car parking on both sides  2-3 car lanes. Where it is 3 lanes a road diet is an option. Where it is 2 lanes it seems lanes are still quite wide – like 8-10 ft? Is it possible to “shave-off” like 1-2 feet from both lanes combined and hand it over to the lane?

[Eyal Santo]

So this is the northbound uni-directional bike lane on Moshe Dayan Road in Tel Aviv, with the south-bound lane on the other bank of the street. Link to Moshe Dayan Road on Google Maps is

https://www.google.com/maps/place/%D7%93%D7%A8%D7%9A+%D7%9E%D7%A9%D7%94+%D7%93%D7%99%D7%99%D7%9F,+%D7%AA%D7%9C+%D7%90%D7%91%D7%99%D7%91+%D7%99%D7%A4%D7%95%E2%80%AD/@32.0567589,34.8026264,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x151d4b0c5b5642b1:0x860e92f0eb8a7897!8m2!3d32.0567544!4d34.8004377

 

What’s missing in this lane are:

1. solutions in the intersections and the bus stops

2. better separation, as often cars cross the barrier and park on the lane, partially blocking it.

3. making it a foot wider to avoid dooring

4. better separation where pedestrians cross en mass

 

Objections are as follows (respectively with the numbered articles):

1. Israeli bicycle design guidelines & regulations have not provided solutions up until recently. So amending should be now only a technical issue

2. technicality

3. motorists objection for road diets

4. technicality

 

[Eyal Santo]

Hi all and Shalom from Tel Aviv,

I am Eyal Santo, please feel welcomed to call me Santo – it’s easier to remember. I am from Tel Aviv, Israel, the city “shamed” by Lior as car-centric, which is undergoing a major change these days – which both Lior and myself take part in. I work for the city of Tel Aviv DOT as director of bicycle and micro mobility pilot projects.

I am not an urban planner, but I deal with urbanism, sustainable urban mobility and bicycles for the past 12 years. I am not sure what areas of expertise do I identify with, but I am happy to share with you my passions:

* Tactical urbanism

* Urban cycle logistics

* Education – teach the next generations about alternatives and options when it comes to urban mobility, have them demand the options and get them

I am not sure yet how my unique perspective will enhance our collective understanding of designing for cycling, but I promise to share it as soon as I understand it.

I am happy to be in touch with anyone who wishes to share knowledge and collaborate for the better future of our cities and their people. Here’s where you can find me

* on Twitter at @eyalsanto

* on Facebook at my UMo – Urban Mobility page https://www.facebook.com/UMo-Urban-Mobility-571597929606809/

And finally, I am inviting you to watch the talk I gave at Digital World Bike at https://youtu.be/NhAuj8QyyXk

Thank you,

Eyal

[Author]

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