So because we'll never get 100% of people following the rules all the time, we should just give up completely? Come on, man. Don't let perfect be the enemy of the good.

I'd much rather have a lovely network of separated cycle tracks, which may have some issues with tourists being idiots in certain tourist-heavy areas, than the current life-threatening bike gutters most roads have now.

So install some signage explaining what the bike lanes are there. Meanwhile, continue paving them as normal in the rest of the city.

I think that's mainly because bike lanes are still pretty rare, so a lot of pedestrians flat-out don't know what they are or that they're not supposed to walk there. The more people we have biking on the streets, the more pedestrians will start getting the memo and respecting the lanes.

I bike year-round in Boston. Wear a ski helmet with goggles, ski gloves, and wool socks, and winter biking is just as pleasant as biking any other season.

Only scary part is it getting dark so early, which means you're biking in the dark more often, which means your odds of getting hit by a car go up. And better bike infrastructure and less cars on the street would vastly improve that situation.

That's why you've also got to make alternate methods of transportation-- walking, biking, and public transit-- as attractive as public transit, so people will still chose to forgo driving even when there isn't much traffic on the road for other reasons. Maybe it's cheaper, or faster, or you don't have to worry about finding parking at your destination, or you simply don't have to deal with the mental stress of driving itself, or some combination of all those factors.

It is possible to do-- as risk of sounding like one of those obnoxious Euroboos who've convinced themselves everything is perfect over there, many European cities really have figured out how to almost completely get cars out of their downtown areas without having to explicitly ban them. No reason we can't do the same over here.

Wait, the red-blue connector is actually happening?

I think that's more out of ignorance than malice, since separated bike lanes are still pretty rare, so a lot of pedestrians flat-out don't know what they are or that they're not supposed to walk there. The more people we have biking on the streets, the more pedestrians will start getting the memo and respecting the lanes.

Amen to that. I don't understand how we can be one of the wealthiest states in the country and still suck at public infrastructure projects so badly. It's not lack of funding, it's not lack of willpower, so what's going wrong?

The solution is for more people to bike, walk, and/or take public transit, so we have less cars on the road and wider bike lanes aren't an issue. (Also makes it a more pleasant experience for when you do decide to drive, since there'll be way less cars on the streets and therefore you won't get stuck in traffic anywhere near as often.)

It's a good start, but if we're already spending the money let's just widen the sidewalk and pave a proper separated bike lane on top of it. I understand it's more expensive up front, but since you don't have to replacing the dildoes every time they get rammed and snap, you're saving more money in the long run.

Plus, you plant a few trees, add a few benches, maybe a public art installation if you're really feeling frisky, and you've suddenly turned your boring sidestreet into a genuinely pleasant place to spend time. Which gets more people out of their cars, which makes it more likely they'll wander into nearby businesses, which helps the economy and generates more tax revenue for the city, so they can pave more wider sidewalks / separated bikelanes... it's a virtuous cycle.