Discussion Forum: A Better Diverging Diamond
Recently, a good conversation began on our Discussion Forum concerning a diverging diamond interchange that was created partially with bicyclists in mind.
Dhoffman first shared this video (see video on the right), and asked, "Is it a genuine improvement, or just lipstick on a pig?" A few people chimed in.
Alex Pine responded:
Here is a bike rider's perspective: I ride about 5000 miles a year on several bikes ranging from and old Schwinn around town (a “guy one a bike”) to a lightweight carbon racing bike with a team (a “cyclist”). What I would say about this configuration is that it is “OK” for the bare minimum situation where I just had to get across that mess; certainly much better than the standard interchange (usually without bike lanes, the bane of my existence). But I am part of the “fearless” group of bike riders and know (stupidly or not) how to be assertive in autocentric situations. That said, for the typical risk averse bike rider (a “guy on a bike” or a “cyclist”), this would be a harrowing experience being buzzed by cars going 40-50 through here as you know they would be. In the Strong Towns parlance, if you have two productive places on either side of the freeway, the “minimum” would be this, but what would be best is a grade separated bike/ped bridge...
Alex concludes, "This is clearly designed with bikes as an afterthought."
What do you think? Have you seen better examples of diverging diamonds that are safe for all transit modes?