Quote:
Originally Posted by Happydaz
..."Substandard" roads refers to roads like Morse and Buena Vista that are narrower than wider "standard" roads. These narrower roads do not have enough room for a bicyclist to be passed by a car with at least three feet of clearance...
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Maybe that is way some bicyclists look at it, but I assure, Morse and Buena Vista are not substandard roads.
Some roads...especially interstates and some other high-level roads...may have slightly wider lanes, but that does not make Morse and Buena Vista substandard. Morse and Buena Vista are arterial roads, most likely considered minor arterial roads compared to urban areas. And their cross-section...lane widths, shoulders, etc....easily meet and exceed minimum standards.
Minimum lane width to meet the three-feet-of-clearance criterion is roughly...
* Width for operation of a bicycle = 4 feet (FDOT NHWA)
* Width of average full size sedan = ~6.5 feet (Some are wider)
* Safe clearance criterion = 3 feet
* Total = 13.5 feet minimum lane width
Few roads satisfy this requirement.
Roads do not have to be 13.5 feet to be considered standard by any accepted road design measure. Twelve (12) feet is a very standard lane width for arterial roads, with lanes down to 10 feet considered standard under many conditions.
While I haven't measured them, I'm confident Morse and Buena Vista easily meet these requirements.