Life in the Bike Lane

There is often discussion about the dangers of the 7th avenue bike lane here in Birmingham. Usually it revolves around the bike lane being situated between the car lane and the parked cars. This puts us in danger of smashing into a car door, and with any luck, the driver when they open their door  into the bike lane. I use this lane several times a day and I've managed to avoid this fate. Sometimes it's a bit too close for comfort, but it seems that unless someone is just sitting in their car and happens to all of a sudden jump out, it's pretty easy to avoid. Most people opening their car door either just pulled into the spot to park, or are entering their car, and hopefully you would see them doing that and be aware. I'm knocking on wood. The real danger is getting clipped/crushed by someone making a right turn into a parking lot. Drivers are used to swinging right turns into parking lots and driveways pretty freely without concern. This is mostly because unlike making a right turn onto a cross street, there is no traffic approaching from their left. They just need to make sure there is no one approaching from ahead making a left hand turn. That means they are looking forward and left before they turn, not checking their blind spot. Overall, I view this lane as my safety zone. It's the one place where I feel like my place on the road is respected, for the most part.