How can cars, trucks, bicycles, joggers and walkers safely co-exist?

This morning in Naples, FL, I received unsolicited 5 minute tutorial on the challenges of integrating cars, trucks, bicycles and pedestrians in the same urban spaces. At about 7:20am, I was walking on the sidewalk on Crayton Road in Naples. A family of five came toward me at high speed on bicycles on the sidewalk, narrowly missing me. When I shouted out that they should be in the bicycle lane provided for bicyclists, the father shouted back "F*** You." At that moment, I began to feel very negative about bicyclists who proceed on sidewalks, rather than the lane dedicated to them on the street.

A moment later, on the opposite side of the street, a group about 50 racing bicyclists whizzed past me. About 10 of them were outside the bicycle lane and on the southbound part of the street nominally reserved for cars. A family like the one that passed me would have been terrorized and been at high risk if they were inattentive.

A moment later, a much older man on his bicycle turned the corner on to the sidewalk on which I was continuing to walk. I said to him, "Why are you on the sidewalk?" He proceeded to tell me the other side of the story. He had nearly been hit by an inattentive SUV driver some weeks before, even though he was completely in the bicycle lane. He also pointed out that delivery trucks routinely block the bicycle lane and block drivers from seeing what is on the other side of the double-parked vehicle. He, too, complained about the racing bicyclists.

Naples has prided itself on allocating space for cars, trucks, bicyclists and pedestrians. In theory, as a pedestrian, I should feel completely safe on the sidewalk. In fact, Naples even has jogging lanes on the street on which I live, which removes joggers from using the sidewalk. However, it is not enough. Driving habits and etiquette, as well as bicycle etiquette have not caught up with street redesign. Urban planners think they have done their jobs when they allocate spaces for each group, but they have failed to think about the behavioral responses to what they have designed. Much more work is needed.

First, we need to think about the fact that there are two kinds of bicyclists, racers and leisure bicyclists. They cannot co-exist in a narrow bike lane. Second, delivery trucks, landscaping trucks, construction vehicles, and other big double-parking vehicles block critical visibility. We need to create better visibility and more workable ways for them to stop on residential streets. In particular, planners have to recognize that delivery vehicles are on tight schedules with delivery deadlines. They will double park illegally and gamble that the frequency with which they are cited will be low enough that they can prioritize customer delivery milestones over avoiding parking citations. Third, joggers need to be more visible in the dark. They should be required by law to wear reflectors if they jog on a street when it is dark outside.

Urban planners often design roadway systems as if there were no prior usage patterns. People used to driving on streets without the risk of hitting bicyclists or joggers will be less prepared to react to hordes of bicyclists appearing alongside them. Similarly, a bicyclist who grew up in a community well-designed to accommodate bicyclists who migrates to a city with a shorter history of high volume bicycling needs to understand that motorists will not have a clear idea about the rules of the road when bicyclists and motorists are competing for scarce street space.

Despite ambitious "Vision Zero" initiatives to eliminate pedestrian fatalities in New York City and other major metropolitan areas, we are further away from ever from safe streets. We will need a very different set of daily habits to reduce motorized travel and accommodate bicyclists and joggers.