Construction and Bike Lanes....Why is this so hard? (Updated)

The classic problem....

And the ohhhh so obvious and easy solution.  Is this really that hard to get!!!???

*** So apparently you can take it one step farther with this logic....(found online)***

Construction Companies....Please Don't Do This!!

Ok...for the record, they did make an improvement.  Earlier this week they just had the cones right down the middle of the bike lane.  I stopped and asked one of the guys if they couldn't move them to the line, rather than block the bike lane.  This was the result by the time I rode home....cones still in the bike lane, but they put up a sign that says Bike Path Closed and Share the Road.  Not exactly a win in my book, but at least they acknowledged the bikes in this version.

Construction and Cycling.

Ok, yesterday I was spouting the benefits of getting on your bike when construction snarls our roads.  I'll stick to what I said...it makes riding your bike even better when you get to pass a ton of cars stuck at a standstill due to construction.  However, that same fact makes drivers (myself included) cranky, and sometimes seeing cyclists zipping along in the bike lane pushes them over the edge.  It may even make them fantasize about knocking us right out of our bike lane.

So....when construction contractors place detour / warning signs in the bike lane and force us to merge with traffic moving at speed, the potential for unpleasant interactions become exceedingly high!

So...I'm not sure where or how the signage needs to be placed...but I think we need a solution better than this!

Mill St. Riding....Not Dangerous Enough...Let's Force Cyclists into Traffic!?

I know, I know....they just don't even think about it.  They really should though. 

I happened to drive through the area earlier in the afternoon.  The construction was legit, with a full lane closed.  However, this is at 5:15 pm....they've smartly halted construction and lane closures prior to rush hour on Mill St.  The part that gets me is while they removed all obstacles to auto traffic, they've left cyclists in a difficult and dangerous situation. 

Construction diversion....

 They're doing some construction work on Mill St. in the center turn lane.  No big deal, they have one of the lanes for West bound traffic blocked off.  It isn't apparently quite enough room (an entire lane) and traffic is currently driving in the bike lane.

This is kind of typical for small scale road construction projects in Reno....using the bike lane as a vehicle lane when doing lane closures.  Most people would say eh, no big deal, it's just a lightly used bike lane.

I wonder if they would have the same sentiment if we closed a vehicle lane and used it as the bicycle lane while we did construction?  I'm guessing that they wouldn't be please.

Either way, if Mill St. is on your commute.  Watch out for conflicts with traffic here.

Dangerous construction diversion on Mill today.

Given the general state of awareness of most drivers, this isn't a great diversion idea on Mill St. 

It doesn't look too bad when no ones there......

.....but the reality is, they are taking two lanes of morning rush hour traffic and constricting it to zero lanes (e.g. using the bike lane as the only traffic lane).  Probably not the best diversion idea!