This is an overview of how the Dutch do it as presented by a city planning guy from Seattle. Lengthy, but I was glued to the screen.
Guerrilla Bike Lanes in San Francisco
91–100 of 274 posts
Re: Guerrilla Bike Lanes in San Francisco
#92Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yes because a 20 pound bike does exactly the same damage as a 6000 pound car. Both to driver and victim. Excellent thought process. Also slapping plates on bikes will totally fix the issue of theft. Cars never ever get stolen, because they have plates. I disagree with your underlying assumptions and your suggestions. What you are suggesting would penalize the sorts of people who rely upon their bicycles to get to wor…
Bicycles are banned on sidewalks in most major cities because a head on collision can still easily cause a fatality. When the existing traffic laws on bikes are rarely enforced, this becomes a much more likely outcome as the laws are ignored.
Who the hell rides on the sidewalk in a major city? It's faster to ride in traffic in major cities, and since the drivers are usually stuck in heavy traffic, they're less likely to suddenly do something idiotic. It's probably safer for everyone if cyclists ride in the road where they belong downtown, which by itself should be reason enough to ticket lawbreakers. (Of course I'm sure you'll agree that anyone doing 56 in a 55 should be pulled over, too! /s)
That said, if you start ticketing people for riding on sidewalks in the suburbs, pretty soon you won't have any bicyclists at all in the suburbs. Drivers are much, much worse on suburban and rural roads in my experience. Not because they're less skilled or less likely to be texting while slapping the kids and fiddling with the radio, but because they're going faster. Downtown they're all stuck in traffic (haha!).
Re: Guerrilla Bike Lanes in San Francisco
#93Bike lanes in SF:
https://www.google.se/search?q=bike+lanes+SF&safe=off&client...
Bike lanes in Stockholm: https://www.google.se/search?q=bike+lanes+stockholm&safe=off...
Bike lanes in Amsterdam: https://www.google.se/search?q=bike+lanes+amsterdam&safe=off...
I guess SF / USA have something to learn from Europeans and that is to build some shit between the bike lane and the car lane. Let it be cones, rails or whatever just not a painted line.
Re: Guerrilla Bike Lanes in San Francisco
#94Earlier 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…
> people on bicycles don't always obey the laws which are in place to protect both them and motor vehicle drivers I'm willing to buy an argument that "vehicular cycling" (using the road in a way that's similar to a car) can be safer in certain circumstances and that obeying traffic lights, stop signs, and so on can help cyclists and drivers share the road more safely. I have certainly felt that way when I've cycled i…
> On the other hand, the idea that traffic laws are there to protect cyclists just doesn't make sense to me.
I think traffic laws encourage predictability and predictability leads to safety for everyone -- cars, pedestrians, and cyclists.
Having driven in 3rd world countries a few times where traffic laws were completely ignored, it was always shocking to drive again in the US. Everything seemed so controlled and ordered by comparison.
Re: Guerrilla Bike Lanes in San Francisco
#95Here is an outside view, fwiw, the official recommendations for bike lanes in Germany. In German, but lots of pictures!
http://www.kompetenzzentrum-radverkehr.de/fileadmin/redakteu...
Question: Is there an association like AAA is for cars that represents bikers in the US? That could take on the discussions with the government.
Re: Guerrilla Bike Lanes in San Francisco
#96Earlier quoted context omitted.
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.
> It's extremely easy to pull over a cyclist! Compared to a car that is.
It's also quite easy to take a bike through a park or somewhere a car can't go and get away...
Re: Guerrilla Bike Lanes in San Francisco
#97Earlier quoted context omitted.
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.
I believe this is directly contradicted by the statistical evidence. I'll see if I can find a reference...
Edit: you are correct that at high speeds (over 50km/h) bike helmets become less effective when hit by a car. However, many car/bike accidents occur at speeds below 50km/h, in which case helmets can and do save lives. [1]
One could make a similar statement to yours regarding any safety device. A seatbelt probably won't save me if I hit a truck going 120km/h in my car. But it will help in a lot of other situations, so I'll still wear it.
[1] http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/experts-prove-cycle-hel...
Re: Guerrilla Bike Lanes in San Francisco
#98As a life-long New Yorker (Manhattan and more recently Brooklyn) I just don't understand why anyone would ever ride a bike in NYC, period. I even stopped rollerblading in NYC when some asshole driving backwards (presumably to get a parking spot) nearly killed me and did knock me silly. I have a motorcycle license I got one summer when I had free time. I learned that cars and pedestrians are your enemy, and that you w…
Heh, just today I was biking down a hill in a segregated lane. Green lights ahead of me, all the way to the waterfront. Some guy in the crosswalk, going against the signal (I have green lights for several blocks), left to right across the street. I'm half a block away but I'm going downhill and going pretty fast. I yell, "Watch out!" He keeps moving, so I start to veer to the left to go around him to the left. THEN h…
"I'm half a block away but I'm going downhill and going pretty fast. I yell, "Watch out!""
At that time, you should have started braking. The road isn't yours, even if others break/bend the rules, like you do, when you 'never' cross the lights.
Re: Guerrilla Bike Lanes in San Francisco
#99I'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…
> to avoid inconveniencing drivers
I used to cycle like that, in London.
I moved to Copenhagen, and quickly had to change my behaviour. Drivers are firmly at the bottom of the heap here, and everyone knows it. It's inefficient and confusing to others to disrupt this.
Re: Guerrilla Bike Lanes in San Francisco
#100Earlier quoted context omitted.
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 reasonab…
Copenhagen has plenty of narrow roads in the city centre.
Many don't have a bike lane. If there's no room to overtake safely, most drivers simply wait.