EK
To clarify why potholes and such are dangerous in the bike lanes – if your wheel gets sucked into a rut or grate and you go down, you will likely get run over by a car as you skid. If the road condition is better in the car lane (and it often is), it is safer to ride there. If you are in the middle of the driving lane and see a pothole coming, you can more safely go around it because you do not have to quickly swerve into traffic – you’re already in it.
I have wrecked my bike more than once on city streets (crossing the “Missing Link” in Ballard I hit the railroad tracks that are not at a correct crossing angle, and bouncing down missing cobblestones). My first thought is always “I hope there is not a car nearby to run over me.”
I can think of an example in West Seattle where it would be safer to ride in the traffic lane than hugging the curb where the sharrows are painted. On Beach Drive south of Alki, much of the far right portion of the street is riddled with potholes and cracks. This is a beautiful street to ride on, but the road condition sucks so much it’s hard to imagine why the city thought this would be a good commuting route.