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Guerrilla Bike Lanes in San Francisco

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Re: Guerrilla Bike Lanes in San Francisco

#81

Post by xapata »

zodiac wrote: post #51
bsimpson wrote: post #17

As a well-traveled cyclist, I yearn for the truely separated roadways my peers ride in other places. In Holland, for instance, their cycletrack treatment is closer to a special sidewalk for bicycles than a repainted stretch of highway. Each mode of transportation (walking, riding, driving, mass transit, etc.) has its own path. This separation of concerns (segmented by both mass and speed) makes getting around safer a…

> I've tried getting off my bike and asking people (as kindly as possible) to move, explaining how parking in the bike path puts me life at risk. The nicest response I've gotten was being told to go fuck myself Wow, this makes me so angry. Is it possible to call the cops on them?

I take photos and send them to 311. Sometimes the report gets marked as "car tagged", but I've never got an answer as whether that's a traffic ticket.

Re: Guerrilla Bike Lanes in San Francisco

#82

Post by snovv_crash »

brokenmachine wrote: post #66
bigiain wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, but the last few weeks they've been heavily enforcing their new-ish $375 penalty for not wearing a helmet... Who would've guessed that NSWPolice would selectively apply the new laws and penalties???

I actually have no problem with those fines but they should be enforcing the 1m rule as well. Why wouldn't you wear a helmet as a cyclist anyway? It sucks that NSWPolice are more interested in fining cyclists and are ignoring people actually putting other people's lives in danger. When I drive and I see people riding with no helmet, I can't help but think to myself, "well you obviously don't care about your own safet…

>Why wouldn't you wear a helmet as a cyclist anyway?

Because a dinky bicycle helmet won't change anything if you are hit by a car. Even a motorcycle helmet won't help. The only time a helmet helps is in low speed accidents.

Re: Guerrilla Bike Lanes in San Francisco

#83

Post by pjbster »

steveax wrote: post #36
Etzos wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the bigger problem is that people on bicycles don't always obey the laws which are in place to protect both them and motor vehicle drivers. The parent mentioned cyclists who run through traffic lights and similar infrastructure with wanton disregard for the situation (I have witnessed this many times myself). This creates a situation that is dangerous to everyone involved and is quite illegal. However, there…

Stop sign/light honoring daily bike commuter here who often scolds cyclists that do not obey the law, but I think you'll find that the statistics do not bear out the danger you present. How many fatalities (or even serious injuries) result from cyclists blowing through stop signs? If you remove the offending cyclist from that stats, I'd guess you're looking at about zero. I do remember a case in PDX a few years ago w…

I seem to remember a trial which was piloted in London (UK) a few years back which permitted a cyclist to go through a red light if turning left. Can anyone shed any light on how this worked out?

Re: Guerrilla Bike Lanes in San Francisco

#84

Post by dasil003 »

I've spent most of my life with cycling as my primary mode of transportation, living in Minneapolis, Santa Fe, London and SF/Oakland. I ride fast and generally try to go with the flow to avoid inconveniencing drivers while also being considerate to pedestrians. I think this traffic cone thing is pretty cool, but I have a larger observation to make:

Here's the thing about SF: everyone is way too fucking agro. Drivers freak out when they can't drive 50mph down a city street. The cyclists are banging u-locks on hoods because someone cut them off. Everyone is road raging like crazy.

I lived in London for 3 years, with all the narrow streets and everything overcrowded to the bursting point. Central London is 10x as crowded as SF in every way, and yet somehow the pedestrians, cyclists and drivers all manage to co-exist. It's not a panacea for sure, it obviously can't compare to Amsterdam, but the whole Keep Calm and Carry On mentality definitely applies to transportation. You know what happens? Buses pass other buses by going into the oncoming traffic lane and oncoming traffic moves over to accommodate them. Pedestrians spill into the streets sometimes, and cars don't kill them. Vans and lorries sometimes drive up onto the pavement (ie. sidewalk) in order to get around an obstruction. Pedestrians pull off to the side of the walk way if they need to pay attention to their phone. Everyone implicitly acknowledges: hey, it's crowded, we have to cooperate to get where we're going.

SF could use a lot more of that attitude. I thought the west coast was supposed to be chill.

Re: Guerrilla Bike Lanes in San Francisco

#85

Post by snovv_crash »

oasisbob wrote: post #68
falcolas wrote: post #42

As a former bicyclist, and a current motorcyclist and "cager", let me give one piece of advice that has kept me alive to this day. Your safety and protection is entirely up to you. No government, painted lines or traffic cones are going to save you on the road. When you're on the road, the only thing that matters is "the right of weight". If you're hit by a car, and you're not in a protective cage of steel, it's not…

> If you're hit by a car, and you're not in a protective cage of steel, it's not going to matter if the other person was in the right or the wrong. You're still dead. I get the point you're trying to make, but you're papering over some big trends. If the car that hits you is going 20 MPH, you've got a 5% chance of being dead. At 40 MPH, you're looking at more like a 85% chance. Ride defensively - sure, but remember t…

There's more of a spectrum than simply being alive or dead. What are you going to do with a broken femur or pelvis?

As for being hit from behind, as a motorcyclist this is one of my greatest fears - consider how often cars get rear-ended! As such, I actually feel that at traffic lights it is safer to lane split, as this also helps me get in front of the cars once the light goes green.

Re: Guerrilla Bike Lanes in San Francisco

#86

Post by techdragon »

brokenmachine wrote: post #66
bigiain wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, but the last few weeks they've been heavily enforcing their new-ish $375 penalty for not wearing a helmet... Who would've guessed that NSWPolice would selectively apply the new laws and penalties???

I actually have no problem with those fines but they should be enforcing the 1m rule as well. Why wouldn't you wear a helmet as a cyclist anyway? It sucks that NSWPolice are more interested in fining cyclists and are ignoring people actually putting other people's lives in danger. When I drive and I see people riding with no helmet, I can't help but think to myself, "well you obviously don't care about your own safet…

It's quite obvious why the helmet issue is so well enforced... It's extremely easy to pull over a cyclist! Compared to a car that is.

Re: Guerrilla Bike Lanes in San Francisco

#87

Post by adrianratnapala »

brokenmachine wrote: post #62
adrianratnapala wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Now I cycle to work and recently let my drivers license lapse. But the 1m rule sounds draconian to me. It means drivers have to keep about two metres from the kerb. That's not always possible on Sydney roads. Sure, if the cars are moving fast then I would like a wide space. But in heavier / slower traffic (which was the common case when I lived in London), then I only need a "lane" wide enough for me to ride through.…

That's the law, draconian or not. I personally don't want to come within 1m of a 1500kg vehicle, probably driven by someone playing with their phone, going faster than I am. It is possible on Sydney roads if drivers wait until there's an overtaking lane, which is actually the only legal solution. Anyway, it's never enforced so what difference does it make? Drivers will continue to only care about themselves and cycli…

> Countries with governments that aren't crap have separate tracks for cyclists,

It's not about crap governments. It's about practical responses to the world as it is.

Now I live in Munich and enjoy riding on dedicated bike lanes. But these are built on seriously wide roads. In Sydney that space is used for other things.

Such land-use decisions were locked in during the early 20th century. Now it's perfectly reasonable to think the Nazis made better land-use decisions than Labor and the UAP. But it's no use crying over spilled milk.

Re: Guerrilla Bike Lanes in San Francisco

#88

Post by apathy »

wwalser wrote: post #31
toomanybeersies wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You've had guns pulled on you for riding a push bike? Only in America. The worst I ever got when I rode my bike (I also got lazy) was a driver threatening to beat me up (while his wife and kids were in the car) after I had the nerve to turn from the turning lane at the traffic lights. On the other side, my brother pulled a screwdriver on a cyclist once (he's a real piece of work).

Pulling a gun is one thing. Actually pulling the trigger though? Four whole months in prison… http://www.streetsblog.org/2009/11/23/charles-diez-gets-120-...

Good god. If I were the guy getting shot at in that case I'd be planting IEDs on their roads. What a travesty.

Re: Guerrilla Bike Lanes in San Francisco

#89

Post by [deleted] »

falcolas wrote: post #42

As a former bicyclist, and a current motorcyclist and "cager", let me give one piece of advice that has kept me alive to this day. Your safety and protection is entirely up to you. No government, painted lines or traffic cones are going to save you on the road. When you're on the road, the only thing that matters is "the right of weight". If you're hit by a car, and you're not in a protective cage of steel, it's not…

[deleted]

Re: Guerrilla Bike Lanes in San Francisco

#90

Post by crazy1van »

stephentmcm wrote: post #21
Larrikin wrote: post #7

I don't mind giving up the road to cyclists in cities. I just hope that one day they are finally treated like cars. Bikes on city roads should have to be registered with plates. Bikes in many places in Japan are registered and it makes it a lot easier to figure out when someone is riding a bike they aren't supposed to have. The plates would hopefully go along with police actually enforcing the traffic laws on cyclist…

Seriously? This is easily the worst argument against bicycles I see bought up again and again. Next time you're driving count how many people you see breaking the law be it bicycle, pedestrian or motor vehicle. Now count how many you see receiving fines/being talked to by the police. But let's go ahead and agree with you and add number plates to bicycles - ignoring the huge costs incurred by the state - how exactly d…

> Next time you're driving count how many people you see breaking the law be it bicycle, pedestrian or motor vehicle.

If I don't count minor speeding (<10 mph over), I see a much higher percentage of cyclists breaking the law than cars. I drive through a busy four way stop while commuting and nearly every bicyclist does not stop and about half don't even slow down. I don't think I've ever seen a car just completely blow right through the intersection.

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