I wonder why the city of San Antonio is putting in bike lanes on neighborhood streets. I've seen this in several neighborhoods. These bike lanes are not necessary because they are in neighborhoods where bikes and motor vehicles generally get along fairly well already. Where we really need bike lanes are on the busy, multi-lane streets where a bike lane would actually do some good in keeping motor vehicles and bicycles apart. Unfortunately, we don't see enough of those.

I wonder if the city is simply putting in neighborhood bike lanes because it's easier and cheaper than putting in bike lanes where they would be more useful, yet it still looks good on the city resume' that they have put in XX miles of bike lanes. In my more skeptical mind, maybe the city and neighborhoods are trying to further restrict bicycles to the far right of the road even on these neighborhood streets where bicycles can regularly, and safely ride in the main part of the street.

Beyond that, these neighborhood "bike lanes" are fairly useless as bike lanes. Homeowners continue to park in front of their own home, understandably. Trash and recycle bins continue to be placed, as suggested by the city, in the street next to the curb. These render these new neighborhood bike lanes useless. Not the homeowners' fault.

Here is a picture I snapped the other day (through the windshield of my car) of a recently added "bike lane" in a nearby neighborhood: bike lane clutter. Tell me how useful that bike lane is.