Warnings to Cyclists Near the Bridge

Ash, nothing like cycling to get the out the hyperbole.

northsloperenter "I think the whole idea that bikes and cars can share roadways in the city is tragically stupid."...tell that to the millions who cycle everywhere everyday in hundreds of countries. There's a whole school of traffic thought that says that roads *should be shared more*, not less and it'd lead to safer roads.

I absolutely agree that respect is the key, and it's lacking on every front. Cyclists for peds, cars for cyclists, etc. If everyone drove considerately and looked out for others, there'd be a lot less hostility.

I also agree that the Brk Bridge situation is impossible, the entitled cyclists will never realize that for most peds including myself when one) a cycle lane is just a suggestion. Assigning a roadway lane is the only way to go.

I don't agree at all that it's hard to see cyclists...that's weird, they're taller than most cars, for one thiing. Even a kid on a cycle is obvious if you're paying attention, which is what a lot of drivers are not. If you can't drive safely, slow down or don't drive. Like the driver who killed the kid last week, what could've been his excuse? And of course there's never a penalty for killing a cyclist.

aah, schultz had to to say "without a helmet"...that's the Nazi trope of bike threads. Get over it, sch, I and millions of others world around don't wear one and we're doing fine. Has nothing to do with the issue anyway.

parkedslope:"everyone rode clunky 3-speeds, rang their bells constantly - and nobody wore spandex!"...the point I'd emphasise is that "everyone" was riding, not just a bunch of testosterone-fueled spandex clad speeders. We need to get your average middle-class person out biking to make it a normal activity. And please don't tell me about commuters, they're almost as bad as the speeders.

Posted by: cmu at September 12, 2008 9:18 PM

With all due respect, get a grip. 5th Ave (or even Flatbush) is hardly the death trap you make it out to be. Not sure what the point of "reaction time at 25mph" is, but if you're implying that having offset streets somehow makes it less safe to drive, I don't see how.

Narrow roads slow traffic; would you rather bike on 5th or PPW (no, don't answer that, you would not bike at all.)

As a once-regular driver and regular cyclist, I can say if you are paying attention, there's absolutely no difficulty in noticing a cyclist, they're different than cars and move differently, and studies have shown that *difference* from the norm is what one tends to notice more. I think it's not that drivers don't notice them, but that some are enraged by them.

I do agree that many are terrible drivers. And drive carelessly. But that's no reason for preventing cyclists from sharing the road.

And as for "expert cyclists" *they are* the problem, they go too fast, are too entitled and tend to yell at anything that impedes their forward progress.

Posted by: cmu at September 12, 2008 11:03 PM

linthemist: Helmets, another blazing-button issue. Tell you why. Millions don't wear them. In Australia, after they made them mandatory, cycling dropped 20-25%. They are of dubious use (yes, and I'll brace for the inevitable "I was hit and the car ran over my head and I'm only alive because of a helmet" anecdotes.) Vast difference between collision momentum when on a motorcycle and when (as I am) piddling along at 5mph on my bike and watching out for traffic. On any major impact, the helmet does not help. But I do recognize that it's impossible to convince the helmet gang.

But the *main reason* I have against helmets and spandex is that it makes cycling the "other". Not us. You have to buy the threads, don the casque and ride the carbon. In countries (European mostly) where cycling is more prevalent, *hardly anyone* wears them (see www.copenhagenize.com/, eg).

What we need to do is make the car not-King, make cycling be seen as normal as walking and you wouldn't want 'em.

nicksull: Agreed in principle, not practice. On occasion I'm guilty of a) b) and c) (never d)) because of expediency (too many trucks blocking the road), ease, or simply because, like jaywalking, I ain't gonna stop if it's safe to go thru. And I could argue that it's actually safer for me to go against traffic on, say, Carroll St from 5th Av and certainly faster to get to my house.

Now, if I were part of a stream of cyclists, I'd go along with the herd and obey every rule, but almost always it's me by myself.

Posted by: cmu at September 13, 2008 1:06 PM

I guess you never jaywalk...what city are you living in? And you never exceed the speed limit either. Or make a U-turn to grab a parking space.

You don't know how to read a nuanced reply. I make it VERY CLEAR that my OCCASIONAL using the sidewalk, etc, is because of other factors, or simply because IT IS SILLY for me to bike around 3 blocks instead of riding home (given the level of traffic in these areas.) I would not ride against traffic on PPW. I respect other traffic; if a biker is coming the other way, I've been known to stop. Nobody follows every traffic rule, they use their judgment (and accept the consequences if any.)

And in enlightened cities, including some in the US, it is LEGAL for bikes to ride against traffic on side roads. Check out copenhaganize.com and you might learn something about real cycling.

Help me understand this convolution: "everything about your answer is exactly why there is such animosity toward cyclists" regarding my comments about spandex. So I DON'T wear spandex and that engenders animosity and makes me part of the problem? Wow. It was meant to be IRONIC anyway,...but underscoring the valid point that if you look different, you might be treated differently.

Posted by: cmu at September 13, 2008 4:31 PM

lurker, I usually avoid peds in intersections, but may have to reconsider for at least one of them.

Posted by: cmu at September 14, 2008 3:36 PM