Sharing a lane

In my opinion, sharing and taking the lane is the exact same thing.

When I "take the lane" by riding closer to the middle of it so that wider vehicles have to change lanes to pass, I'm still "sharing" the lane in front of and behind me. :)

I tend to "take the lane" in the following situations:

• Riding in any curb lane where it's too narrow for a motorist to pass me without changing lanes
• Riding in a lane where the pavement is too chewed up to safely ride closer to the curb without zigzagging all over the place (e.g. Burnhamthorpe between Martin Grove and the 407.
• When riding in a bike lane (they're almost all too narrow for cyclists to pass each other safely within the lane)
• When using a left-turn lane
• When preparing to merge left
• When trying to stay out of the door-zone
• When I want to make it very clear to other road users what my intentions are (e.g. when I cross the 427 in a few different places, I purposely do not use the right lane because it's an on/off ramp lane, so I take the next lane...right down the middle....to make it very clear where I'm going.)
• ..etc...etc...

Actually, I'd probably say I "take the lane" more often than not. This or course, doesn't always mean that motorists completely change lanes to pass anyway...

The only time I would "share" a lane is when it's really wide enough for someone else to share it beside me. I always take as much space as I need, and let other road users figure out what to do with the rest of it.

I'd only let motorists pass me in the same lane if its a wide lane, so I can ride a comfortable distance from the curb (avoid debris) and they can pass me with a comfortable margin and stay in the same lane. Trying to think of a good example downtown, most are too narrow to share here.

To be consistent about sharing a lane I won't filter up the side to get to the front of the line at the light. If the lane is too narrow to share this just forces cars that have likely already passed you to have to wait until there is room to move slightly into the next lane to pass you.

However, cars take up a lot of room and is infuriating on a bike to sit in a traffic jam, so my general rule of thumb then becomes don't pass someone at a light that is likely to pass me back in the next few blocks. One of the places I do sneak up to the light is eastbound Queen approaching Bay around 6 p.m. There's usually 20 or more cars in the curb lane, most are turning right (and have to wait a long time for peds) and otherwise they need to merge with a car parked just past the intersection.

So if I can make use of the space that a car can't without inconveniencing moving traffic I will... make way to front, pass right turning car on the left, then "share" the parking lane until getting past the obstruction.

Generally I will share lanes with parked cars if the probability of getting doored is low - if not wide enough to ride out of the door zone then volume is low enough to scan what is going on. Queen between Spadina and University on a weekend - safer to move into streetcar lane as high chance of dooring there.

Hi Jacob,

Good questions, should inspire good debate, and clarify cyclist responsibilities.

Personally, I prefer to take a lane, riding where a motorcycle would be expected to be. Rarely, when I'm not feeling confident, I will ride closer to the curb, more to the right of the lane's centre, (e.g. Pape Ave late at night)

Like Vic, I always change lanes to go around another cyclist in a bike lane (e.g. Bloor Viaduct or Wellsley lanes) My hybrid and cross country trail bike handlebars require more space than other bikes.

I also make a point not to pass on the right, e.g. in the mire that is currently Bloor between Mt. Pleasant and Bay - you will always find me behind a car, in the centre of the lane, shaking my head at other cyclists squeezing thru on the right. And I never pass trucks or buses on the right. If I'm really frustrated, i'll dismount and walk along the sidewalk a little bit, then rejoin traffic where it's moving, when a gap opens.

Where there are parked cars with little door zone clearance (eg. Danforth Ave.), I will ride in the left lane's right side, but not in the centre. My aim is to make it very obvious that I'm avoiding the door zone altogether, but also allowing fast moving traffic to see me and either move more left, or slow to stay behind me. That also depends on the volume and speed of traffic - if the left lane is stopped, I will slowly, carefully, ride at the very left edge of the right lane, passing traffic on the right, until left lane traffic begins to move at or faster than my speed. Then I will rejoin.

Where a lane is really wide or unmarked, (e.g. Comstock Rd east of Pharmacy) I will stay to the right, which could be construed as "sharing" the lane; but I will stay about a metre or more from the curb, to show clearly that I am a part of traffic.

Outside Toronto, e.g. in Muskoka, I ride in the centre of smaller gravel roads; and on minor highways on the pavement, to the right of the lane, but not on the soft shoulder or paved shoulder. I don't ride on 400 series highways, even though Hwy 400 is right next to our cottage, has an ample paved shoulder, and is the more convenient route north/south. I only change course or abandon the pavement if I hear a vehicle approaching from behind at high speed, or the pavement is obviously slippery. Many times I've hit the gravel on Muskoka Rd 38 heading towards Bala, because motorists speed regularly, and generally don't expect to find a cyclist on "highways".

At speeds of 70 Km/h ++, altering course suddenly to allow for a bike could put most automobiles out of control, so it's easier and safer for all if I move right as soon as I hear the fast-moving vehicle. And the same goes for trucks and transports, mainly because they're wider vehicles. Muskoka Rd 38 is only one lane in either direction, and changing lanes means moving into oncoming traffic, or the soft shoulder, which also means the ditch! Better for the cyclist to concede lane space!

Those two paragraphs apply, and I agree with Vic, that where merges/diverges exist (e.g. Bayview Ave Northbound/southbound at Bloor/DVP ramps) staying in the right-most thru lane, but not the merge lane, is key. Destination positioning. I ride in a straight line, shoulder checking more frequently, to let other road users know I'm aware of what I'm doing, and what's going on around me. I also focus very intently on not weaving or turning my front wheel whatsoever. The slightest move can be misinterpreted by most road users.

I'd like to footnote all of this by mentioning that I consider myself an expert cyclist. This is definitely not for everyone, and I respect and understand that.

enjoy the ride,
brian

If there is no specific bicycle lane, I'll usually ride in the centre of the general traffic lane, since I am general traffic.

In some cases, that is the only safe place to ride. An example of that is roads such as Gerrard St. between Yonge and Coxwell. The door zone of parked cars extends to a place that is unsafely close to the streetcar tracks, leaving the safest place between the streetcar tracks.

For me it's not easy to decide when taking the lane (riding down the centre) or sharing the lane (riding a bit to the side) is appropriate. But here's what I go by.

-Never ride where the sewer grates would be.

-If I can share the lane with a TTC bus, then I share it. If I can't, then I take it.

-Sometimes there are roads with no lane markings, but are as wide as Bloor street (which is very silly in my opinion). I haven't decided what I should do on those streets, but when I ride on a lane-less street and I'm approaching an intersection, I try to ride in the centre of an imaginary lane on the right side of the road. .

-During off-peak hours, I will always take the lane, narrow and wide. During rush hour, I may take the lane, but I try to cycle much faster. Sometimes I share the lane though.

I find a rearview mirror really helpful when taking the lane (or deciding when to move over and in which direction) - a good one is Take a Look which is about $13 at MEC and mounts on glasses/sunglasses or a helmet. You can turn your head slightly for a better view than handlebar mounted ones (of which Mirr Cycle is my fave for straight bars, and never found one I liked on drop bars, so I use the glasses mirror)

1. You can feel comfortable that people are actually changing lanes to pass you, or slowing when there is no opportunity. If they aren't, the first step I use is to turn around and look at the them. Second I can bail to the gutter if necessary - since the lane was already too narrow in my opinion to share this generally means coming to a full stop foot on curb so its only very threatening drivers this will happen for.
2. I find drivers are usually less hostile (honking) if you ride to the right of center in a lane. On narrow lanes if you are out far enough they still see they have to change lanes but for some reason don't see you as hogging the space the same as being in the center. Here again with the mirror, if I see someone is aggressive I first move left towards the center of the lane to say hey you can't pass here change lanes, and then of course bail out if they don't slow or change lanes (which they almost always do at this point)

I also like mirrors for when I am making a left turn, I always shoulder check to be sure, but its good for seeing the flow of traffic and being able to adjust speed faster or slower to get into a gap.

Last Wednesday, the day before the big snow storm in Toronto, I was biking in downtown. When waiting at a traffic light, I would take up the whole lane. I would also look around behind me, and quickly glance at the motorist.

I found it very weird then. When I glanced at the motorist behind me, she smiled and waved at me and gestured me to move to the side of the lane. I simply smiled back.

When the traffic light turned green, I started pretty fast, still taking the lane. But then, the motorist behind me zoomed past me dangerously, and then sped off. I guess she was angry because I wouldn't move off to the side of the lane at the traffic light.

It is somewhat of a fallacy that drivers will give you more space because you have taken a lane. While you may be making them more aware of you there is little guarantee they will give you more room. As your example demonstrates, it sometimes even makes drivers more aggressive.

That said, she did pass you properly under the HTA. The only way she would get charged is if she actually had contact with you or if you could find a cop to charge her under the street racing provisions.