Bike Lane on Canal Road.

[LarryBird]

Terrible idea, or just bad?

[dru2]

I think it's a good idea, provided motorbikes stay off it and cars don't use it for parking - as is happening now.

[Sparkles]

Depends what side of the Canal Rd.The Mae Hia Market side is a total shambles you would never get a bike lane through that part of the route.

Would people respect a lane dedicated to cyclists when they dont respect red lights or double parking,conclusion...nice thought, bad idea.

[Rancid]

Just encourages bike riders to think they actually have a safe lane, as such engenders a false sense .of security.

[PostmanPat]

The bike lane seems to be a circuit starting from near the Night Safari, along the back road that leads to the Samoeng Road, turning left, down to the traffic lights where the Samoeng Road joins the Canal Road, turns left, all the way up to the left turn at the traffic lights leading back to the Night Safari area.

This loop is already popular with the new breed of lycra clad racing cyclist types....only problem I can see is that on the newly built cycle track, they have put fairly closely spaced one metre high steel bollards at places where there is a side road, which will cause the cyclists whizzing along to have to stop to squeeze by.....can see the cyclists if they are racing or time trialling themselves diverting onto the normal road to avoid stopping. There are also a couple of places on the cycle track route where there are coffee shops where I regularly see vehicles pulled over and parked right on the cycle track !!

[WinnieTheKhwai]

It's a GREAT idea!!

Get those a$$holes off the actual road!

[MadMac]

People discovered already plenty of new parking space. The few new blocking pollers at some sideroads are nice and shiny, but there are enough openings to just enjoy it. We've seen many examples of this already. Who needs bicycles anyway .

[Johnpound46]

That depends: if they put a barrier between the road and the bike lane and make the bike lane inaccessible to cars in other ways as well, then it's probably a good idea. Otherwise it doesn't stand a chance in hell.

[DLock]

Clearly the bike lane designer has never actually ridden a bike.

Every single driveway, small lane and road has a stop sign for the bike riders to stop. It's narrow so lots of head on crashes or slow riders

I sense a lot of bikes slamming into the side of cars.

That canal road has plenty of shoulder room for riding bikes. I don't understand the need for the lane, except for really slow, inexperienced riders...and even then a car backing out is going to squash one of them.

Samoeng road has very little room for bikes and they seem to do ok.

[MadMac]

They should paint it green,so airplanes could use it in an emergency, as they did in Suvarnabhumi.

[LarryBird]

I will go with :
Concept: D.
Execution: D.
Effort: B.

[MESmith]

Samoeng road has very little room for bikes and they seem to do ok.

Have to be careful on the lefthand bends, idiot drivers here insist on hitting the apex

[Sparkles]

When some "crazy" hits bike riders on Samoeng Rd it will suddenly become a bad idea

Lets not forget the guys that were wiped out at Doi Saket a while ago and they were all experienced ,mature riders

that rode that route every weekend.

[MESmith]

It's a GREAT idea!!

Get those a$$holes off the actual road!

Better idea is to get the a$$holes who can't drive their 1 ton of steel properly off the road!!

Edited March 23, 2016 by MESmith

[bazza40]

It's a GREAT idea!!

Get those a$$holes off the actual road!

Better idea is to get the a$$holes who can't drive their 1 ton of steel properly off the road!!

The roads would become a vacant lot......

[MESmith]

Time to close the road up Doi Suthep to any vehicle that fails an exhaust smoke test. No bribes, no fine & then continue up. Just turn them round & send them off to drive somewhere else

[Puwa]

Do I infer correctly from this thread that the bike lane that passes the convention center, 700 year stadium, and Huay Tung Tao is being extended south, down Hang Dong way? I haven't gone south of CMU for many months. If so, fantastic. The northern segment is used heavily by cyclists every day, with few problems with motorcycles etc. It's one of the greenest projects Chiang Mai has attempted, and i'm all for it.

[Sparkles]

It's a GREAT idea!!

Get those a$$holes off the actual road!

Better idea is to get the a$$holes who can't drive their 1 ton of steel properly off the road!!

You wouldn't be talking about the macho pick up drivers would you ?

[MESmith]

It's a GREAT idea!!

Get those a$$holes off the actual road!

Better idea is to get the a$$holes who can't drive their 1 ton of steel properly off the road!!

You wouldn't be talking about the macho pick up drivers would you ?

Anything with 4 or more wheels. I cycle a lot, & so many 4 wheel clueless idiots on the roads....

[HeyNow]

Having ridden in it a bit myself, I feel it's been done pretty well. It's nice to get out of traffic. The lanes feel too narrow for two way traffic, but that hasn't been an issue for me yet because nobody's really using it yet. Also, I appreciate that they put up barriers to keep motorcyclists from using it. But I do wish they'd spaced the barriers out a bit more. As it is, the clearance is really tight, even on a road bike. Unless you feel very confident in your ability to maneuver your bike, you must slow down to pass through. Maybe that's not a bad thing, though, because the barriers are only found at the places where side roads feed into the canal road, and it's wise to slow down there anyway.

I also like how the lane opens up in places and allows you to merge back onto the main road if you want.

One question is how well the lane will be maintained over the coming years. If they let it fall to bits, then it won't be good for much except as a jogging path.

[Tywais]

[Tywais]

Pulling out of the car wash is a bit unnerving as it is a blind spot for the bikes and car. I guess the posts that are not up yet are meant to advise the bicyclist to take caution.

[Throatwobbler]

It's a GREAT idea!!

Get those a$$holes off the actual road!

You mean the drivers?????

[WinnieTheKhwai]

When some "crazy" hits bike riders on Samoeng Rd it will suddenly become a bad idea

Lets not forget the guys that were wiped out at Doi Saket a while ago and they were all experienced ,mature riders

They were on a main highway at 5am at night.

But they were very mature, yes.

It's a GREAT idea!!

Get those a$$holes off the actual road!

You mean the drivers?????

Yes, the cyclists. Maybe you call them drivers in Europe.

Edited March 23, 2016 by WinnieTheKhwai

[MyFriend You]

It's a GREAT idea!!

Get those a$$holes off the actual road!

Ooooooooh!!! ya gonna catch hell for that one

[Transporter]

Blue bicycle lanes are now in Udon Thani also. They are unusable due to all the vehicles parked on them. They are also extremely dangerous as they exit into the main traffic right at junctions with traffic lights. This looks to be a poorly copied western idea.

[themerg]

Only 2 ways this is a good idea are : 1--If bike path has full guard rails or tall fence or both. AND, 2--no motorbike access, put 3 cement pillars up, so only a bicycle can get through at side roads and intersections

Edited March 24, 2016 by themerg

[LarryBird]

Yes, and just to be clear, I'm not against the idea of a bike path. I think a trail going through a forest somewhere would be really cool, if properly done.

[MrBrad]

The so-called bike lanes in town are designated by painting a depiction of a bicycle onto the main driving lanes of the city streets. What is the sense of that? A tourist might unwittingly feel it's safe to ride anywhere on the marked streets. Yet, as is expected, motor vehicles are not prohibited from those roads, of course, so the designated bike routes mean nothing. What's the point?

[DaamNaam]

I think it's a good idea, provided motorbikes stay off it and cars don't use it for parking - as is happening now.

Being used for motorbikes right now. Imbeciles.