Yeah nah you’re pretty much right. What you’re seeing is I think the vehicular cycling style that John Forester advocated to his MAMIL cult. Cyclists only do that on Turtle Island. You should watch some videos of cycling in the Netherlands, it’s exactly how you describe there, except on streets where the speed limit is 30km (19M) per hour and few cars drive.

On Turtle Island, a lot of what you’re seeing is a practical response to poor infrastructure. Does the bike lane continue into the intersection? Do bikes get the same right of way as pedestrians in the intersection? Do drivers know that bikes have right of way in the intersection? Cause if bikes have to become pedestrians in order to not be cars, bikes will become pedestrians. That’s just safety, that’s just making the laws as they practically exist in terms of compliance work for them. I bet those cyclists would love a protected bike lane with raised crossings through intersections.