Cars vs Bicycles vs Pedestrians

In my very short commute to work, I was pissed off twice by pedestrians and cyclists. The first being at a four way stop. I was the only one there, but I saw 4 cyclists not too far away coming from my right. They didn't look like they were going to stop, so I didn't go. Good thing I stayed because the first guy just kept going, but finally saw me and stopped...well into the intersection. It drives me crazy when they feel they don't have to obey traffic laws.

Not even 2 minutes later some girl was doing her walk of shame home, which was hilarious, but the dumb girl was walking in the BIKE LANE and not the sidewalk. When I passed her, I shook my fists and yelled to get on the sidewalk. My windows were down, so it wasn't effective. A cyclist was trying to ride in the bike lane but couldn't because of the idiot in walking in it. The cyclist had to get into the right car lane to pass the walk of shame whore. (I shouldn't be so mean as I have done that walk before....granted I walked on the sidewalk.)

Motorists aren't better...they are all idiots. Don't get me started on Oregon drivers who cruise in the passing lane and go BELOW the speed limit. Happens all the time. I don't care how laid back the Northwest is....some people like to be on time.

 

I just had ANOTHER problem with a cyclist. I was walking on a campus SIDEWALK and some jerk on a bicycle was barreling down top speed on one that ran at an angle. I stopped because I didn't think he would. Then I yelled, "IT'S A SIDEWALK!" His smartass response was. "yup" as he continued to speed down the sidewalk. I don't even think it was a silly student. I think it was a professor.

Then I came back into the office bitching about it and the dumbass receptionist (who I have seen riding her bike on a sidewalk while on her CELL PHONE) says, "Then why are the bike racks on the side walk?"

So you can walk your bike to them...that's what I'd do. People like me can't stop quickly or change directions while walking. The handicap should be able to feel safe on an effing sidewalk.

I'm going to go to jail because I'm going to clothesline a bicyclist. I'm going to start saving up money now for bail and a lawyer. People need to A) learn manners....that's a whole thread in and of itself and B) Learn the rules.

I hate people so much sometimes.

 

Yes, I have learned over time that walking, riding, driving, people are generally all the same no matter the mode. Meaning that if they are a jerk walking, they are a jerk riding, and more than likely a jerk driving.

 

I frequently commute via bicycle. I like the exercise and the relative cheapness when compared to automobile or mass transit. My city has put in miles upon miles of bike lanes over the last several years. We consistently rank top two in cycling cities in America despite being cold and icy 4 months out of the year, so I feel fairly spoiled.

I'm not sure how the laws are elsewhere, but here we aren't required to use bike lanes, even if they exist. This is convenient, because it is difficult to make a left-hand turn across two lanes of traffic. Bike only paths exist to provide us with options.

I don't think that cyclists should have to follow the same rules as cars. I think the particulars of cycling necessitate rule modifications. For instance, momentum is a lot more important on a bicycle - I'm a big fan of the rolling stop provided it's done with care. Aside from the rolling stop, I try to follow the laws when it makes sense to do so, which is how car drivers typically do it too. I am frequently appalled by the stupid shit I see people doing, and that included drivers, cyclists and pedestrians. Foolishness knows no particular mode of transportation.

 

It should be noted in that video that the drivers are also not perfect. I think it's best to say, humans don't like to follow rules.

 

this is why i fucking love this place. i think that cyclist rights are really important but it would be infinitely easier to promote them if only we realized how much of a "problem" cars could be earlier. everyone owning their own car was all fine and dandy when cars were first being made and "traffic" wasnt even a word yet, but now with the whole "my car and i have an ancient right to take up space that no others have" attitude, it seems like other modes of transportation could be (and i'm just spitballing here) considered inferior to those whose lives are spent in a car

 

I loved this video...everyone is an idiot. I'm surprised there weren't more accidents, but I guess people are just used to that sort of movement through an intersection in NY.

 

that video is crazy, gives me cause to appreciate living in a town of 600 some people where only two streets are paved. Is it no big deal to see people riding a horse through town out here and finding the accompanying dropping that they leave.

 

Speaking of Minneapolis, I just read this article about its cycling infrastructure. Sounds good.

http://spacingtoronto.ca/2011/08/01/learning-from-minneapolis/

August 1st, 2011
Learning from Minneapolis

By Jake Tobin Garrett // 1 Comment


When one thinks about cycling friendly cities in the United States, it's cities like Portland or perhaps New York, with its recent high-profile bike lanes additions, that come to mind. However, Minneapolis has also proven to be a great cycling city (and was, in fact, named the number one cycling city in the United States by Bicycling Magazine in 2010). It ranks, according to the US Census Bureau, as the second highest percentage of bicycle commuters among the 50 largest cities in the US, with 3.9% of commuters using their bikes. Bike commuting has also doubled since 2000, with a drop of 20% in bike-car collisions recorded since the 1990s [PDF].
So I was excited when a few weeks ago I found myself in Minneapolis with ten days to kill and a fresh subscription to their public bike share program, NiceRide (supplied by Montreal’s Bixi, the same company that does Toronto’s). A one-year subscription to the system of 95 stations cost a mere $60, but as luck would have it was on sale for $30 during my trip.

Rails-to-Trails, Greenways, and Separated Paths
My absolute favourite part of biking in Minneapolis is using the greenways, which are pedestrian and cycling routes, often reclaimed from old rail corridors, which run through and around the city. Think the West Toronto Railpath, times a thousand. These greenways are not only completely separated from road traffic (the Midtown Greenway, pictured above, runs below grade with cross-traffic running through bridges over top), but they are serene places filled with greenery, gardens, and the occasional café or bike repair shop.
The city has also incorporated their many lakes into their greenway system. The Grand Rounds is a 50-mile winding bicycle and pedestrian path that encompasses almost the entire city. However, I did notice that many of the bike paths around the lakes were one-way only, leading me to believe that the city expected them to be used more for recreation than for commuters.
Now, the geography of Minneapolis, with its myriad lakes, is quite different from Toronto and allows for more opportunities for these types of pathways. However, there are still places in Toronto where similar off-street pathways could exist (completing the West Toronto Railpath would be a good start). As much as people have scoffed at Rob Ford’s fixation on creating bicycle trails through Toronto’s ravine system, we can learn from Minneapolis in that greenways, when planned seriously and with a mind to connectivity can really enhance and create great opportunities for safe and enjoyable urban cycling. The thing is that you have to make them go somewhere and connect to things if they are to be used by commuters as well as recreational cyclists.
During my stay in Minneapolis I used a greenway or separated off-street path almost daily. These connected me from where I was staying in Uptown, Minneapolis to the downtown core of the city and many other places. There were times these separated paths ran alongside roads at the same grade as the sidewalk and then continued seamlessly through parks, around lakes, and down into old rail corridors.
The city also contains many bicycle- and pedestrian-only bridges, such as the Martin Olav Sabo Bridge that connects the greenway over and around Minneapolis’ urban highway system. Just sayin’.

On the Road
Greenways and lake routes are all well and good, but only if they connect to a good street system. According to the City’s bicycle website, Minneapolis has 46 miles (about 74 km) of on-street bicycle lanes, with more planned for the future. I actually encountered very few bicycle lanes in the city, but also found that the level of traffic on many of the roads I was travelling, including those located in the downtown core, was such that I didn’t feel squeezed out.
What I did encounter were sharrow lanes that were painted green, where bikes and cars shared a lane space. This painted green lane did not give cyclists a dedicated space on the road, but acted like a visual cue to drivers that they should expect and give space to cyclists (for more on what these look like and how they work, check out another blog post I wrote).
Colour is being used more and more in bicycle infrastructure in order to alert drivers to the presence of cyclists on the road. New York, Vancouver, and Portland use colour in their bike boxes and through intersections. Toronto would do well to follow suit.
Minneapolis also unveiled its first bicycle boulevard this summer, with plans for five more in the works. A bicycle boulevard is a low-traffic, usually residential street, that runs parallel or near an arterial road that allows slow, safe travel for cyclists. Vancouver has bicycle boulevards, as does Portland, and there are several opportunities for them in Toronto.

NiceRide
If you have ever used a Bixi bike in Toronto, you’ll know what the experience of using the Minneapolis NiceRide system is like. However, NiceRide occupies a larger geographical space, with stations spread out farther than Toronto’s. This allowed me to ride pretty far out of the city’s centre while still being able to find a docking station. Yes, sometimes I had to walk a few blocks after docking my bike at one of these outer stations, but it made a huge difference in the usability of the system to be able to travel farther.
NiceRide has future plans to expand into more neighbourhoods in Minneapolis and even encompass the neighbouring city of St. Paul. Calls for expansion in Toronto’s system has focused on the fact that the busiest stations in Toronto are the ones at the systems edges. Indeed, if NiceRide only contained stations within the downtown core of Minneapolis, it would have been virtually useless to me.
I was sad to dock my final NiceRide bike and leave that beautiful city with its lakes and greenways and disarmingly nice population. Toronto could do worse than look to Minneapolis for a few tips-and-tricks to urban cycling.

 

Hey, that's my city. I spend some time in one of those green rectangles every morning. Our mayor is a pretty good guy when it comes to cycling.

 

Send alert recieved and brought me straight to post #33 (Charlatan's post with the article and picture). Interestingly the URl for that was for post 1648, which is also appended to the URl here as page-2#post-1684... I wonder if that number just keeps growing over time as more posts are made. Could get some pretty long URLs if it doesn't have some kind of reset or limit.

 

Maybe because it was sent by an administrator. I think I saw some way somewhere to send a thread or post to one person... can't remember exactly where.

 

Got the message chief!

 

Bloody hell... did I break something when I posted that?