Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Bike lanes have sped up car traffic in New York City

vox.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

71–80 of 303 posts

Re: Bike lanes have sped up car traffic in New York City

#71

Post by DanBC »

bane wrote: post #67
soperj wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm one of those bikers who hates sharing roadways with cars. It's not that I have to share, but between taking up so much of the road, pure safety concerns for bikers(since automobile drivers win every single colition) and generally shitty entitled attitude lots of car drivers seem to have (most likely because there are more of them so they think they own the road) I get my hackles raised every time I see one on the…

Well, you are aware that the roads were built for cars right? Would you walk in the middle of the road? No, because that's idiotic and stupid. But sit on a few pounds of rubber and tubed aluminum, travel only slightly faster than the same moronic pedestrian and now it's a smart commuting idea? You've chosen to go out and share the roads that were built for cars and decided for every driver (who are actually entitled…

> Well, you are aware that the roads were built for cars right?

No, they were not. They were built for horses - with and without carriages - and bicycles and motorbikes and cars and vans and trucks and buses.

> You've chosen to go out and share the roads that were built for cars

Criminal offence for cyclists to use the pavement.

Re: Bike lanes have sped up car traffic in New York City

#72

Post by nether »

bane wrote: post #28
shiftpgdn wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A cyclist is just a brief inconvenience. It's the same as a school bus or slow driver in a lane requiring you to go around. Every bike on the road is one less car causing traffic. It's crazy to want infrastructure for JUST cyclists when the road is a perfectly good way to travel.

The road is not a perfectly good place for bikes to travel. It's like saying the conveyor belt in an automated slaughter house is a good place to dance because it's flat and doesn't move too fast or that pedestrians should just walk down the middle of the road because it's not a bad walking surface. The biggest possible problem is that as the auto driver you become responsible for any bike rider you come into contact…

> The biggest possible problem is that as the auto driver you become responsible for any bike rider you come into contact with because they are unprotected regardless of the circumstances of the contact. I didn't ask them to get on the road with me, but I'll sure as hell be held responsible for their decision if something happens.

This is bullshit. If you hit and kill a pedestrian, you're not always at fault, even though they always have the right of way. Likewise, often drivers who kill cyclists get off scott free:

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/10/opinion/sunday/is-it-ok-to...

and here's an example of it happening again, from five days ago:

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/beach-633885-city-attorne...

Drivers like you are the reason cyclists have started wearing GoPros. If cyclists were so belligerent, you should mount a dash cam to start documenting their offenses.

Re: Bike lanes have sped up car traffic in New York City

#73

Post by tzs »

apendleton wrote: post #44
bane wrote: post #13

I'm one of those drivers who hates sharing roadways with bikers. It's not that I have to share, but between slowing traffic down, pure safety concerns for the biker (who I as the automobile driver am responsible for in the case of an accident) and the generally shitty entitled attitude lots of bike riders seem to have (probably earned from dealing with irritated drivers like me) I get my hackles raised every time I s…

So you think your particular mode of transport should have exclusive use of a public right of way that everyone owns and everyone's tax dollars pay to build and maintain, but it's cyclists that have the shitty entitled attitude?

Wait...you don't think particular modes of transport should have exclusive access to particular public rights of way that everyone owns and everyone's tax dollars pay to build and maintain?

So does that mean you think motorcycles should have access to the sidewalks, and pedestrians should be able to walk in the street?

Re: Bike lanes have sped up car traffic in New York City

#74

Post by vonmoltke »

soperj wrote: post #32
bane wrote: post #13

I'm one of those drivers who hates sharing roadways with bikers. It's not that I have to share, but between slowing traffic down, pure safety concerns for the biker (who I as the automobile driver am responsible for in the case of an accident) and the generally shitty entitled attitude lots of bike riders seem to have (probably earned from dealing with irritated drivers like me) I get my hackles raised every time I s…

I'm one of those bikers who hates sharing roadways with cars. It's not that I have to share, but between taking up so much of the road, pure safety concerns for bikers(since automobile drivers win every single colition) and generally shitty entitled attitude lots of car drivers seem to have (most likely because there are more of them so they think they own the road) I get my hackles raised every time I see one on the…

> I see more people driving break the law every day while driving then I've ever seen bikers do in my entire life. People are jerks regardless of what they use to commute with.

I see more people driving breaking the law every day while driving than I have ever seen bikers in the road, not counting the peloton from the local bike store. Speaking in absolute numbers in this case isn't meaningful, because in most areas of the US the number of people using cars for transportation far, far exceeds the number using bicycles.

Re: Bike lanes have sped up car traffic in New York City

#75

Post by heydenberk »

bane wrote: post #22
lotsofmangos wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"I get my hackles raised every time I see one on the roads. Bikes aren't automobiles no matter how much we debate about it. They shouldn't be sharing the road with cars." Horses must really piss you off then.

People around where I live are smart enough to keep their horses off of the roads and onto horse trails (or in a trailer when they're transporting them). And despite having hundreds of miles of dedicated bike trails I still get stuck behind some guy in full bike kit going 15 mph in the middle an undivided 2 lane 45 with double yellow at least once a week. Being a 15-20 minutes late because he couldn't be bothered to…

Being in a full bike kit doesn't mean someone is playing Tour de France. For people (like me) whose quotidian bike commute is 10+ miles each, it is incredibly uncomfortable to wear street clothes, and it's very inconvenient to ride several 5+ miles out of the way to take an isolated path. Besides which, the impossibly small portion of infrastructure that doesn't allow car traffic often requires cyclists and pedestrians to mix on narrow paths that are poorly maintained.

Re: Bike lanes have sped up car traffic in New York City

#76

Post by everyone »

sxcurry wrote: post #60
bane wrote: post #13

I'm one of those drivers who hates sharing roadways with bikers. It's not that I have to share, but between slowing traffic down, pure safety concerns for the biker (who I as the automobile driver am responsible for in the case of an accident) and the generally shitty entitled attitude lots of bike riders seem to have (probably earned from dealing with irritated drivers like me) I get my hackles raised every time I s…

I totally agree - bikes should not be sharing the road with angry entitled nasty car drivers. Solution - get rid of the cars. Seriously. Make all traffic lanes in city cores bikes only, and make public transit free for everyone. Have dedicated hours at night when delivery vehicles can use the roads. BTW, I drive and bike and would be willing to give up a lot of the convenience of using my vehicle if these measures co…

In civilised countries (eg. Germany, Netherlands) cars are not allowed in the city centre. because of congestion, pollution, danger of death.

Re: Bike lanes have sped up car traffic in New York City

#77

Post by mturmon »

turar wrote: post #58
bane wrote: post #13

I'm one of those drivers who hates sharing roadways with bikers. It's not that I have to share, but between slowing traffic down, pure safety concerns for the biker (who I as the automobile driver am responsible for in the case of an accident) and the generally shitty entitled attitude lots of bike riders seem to have (probably earned from dealing with irritated drivers like me) I get my hackles raised every time I s…

As a motorist who sees cyclists daily, I have yet to see a cyclist obey a stop sign. I see blatant disregard for stop signs every single day. Same thing for red lights -- I see cyclists routinely disregard red lights, unless crossing a busy road, where disregarding a red light will certainly get them killed.

As a motorist who drives with other motorists daily, I'm appalled at the driving habits of motorists.

I rarely see them obeying simple traffic rules.

Motorists seem incapable of obeying posted speed limits, and seem not to understand the meaning of the amber light. Motorists also have a problem with roll-stops.

I have yet to see a motorist using turn signals properly.

In consequence, I've started advocating that motorists should drive their cars on the sidewalk until they can demonstrate proper respect for the rules of the road.

Re: Bike lanes have sped up car traffic in New York City

#78

Post by turar »

dllthomas wrote: post #65
turar wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a motorist who sees cyclists daily, I have yet to see a cyclist obey a stop sign. I see blatant disregard for stop signs every single day. Same thing for red lights -- I see cyclists routinely disregard red lights, unless crossing a busy road, where disregarding a red light will certainly get them killed.

Where are you located? In Oakland, I certainly see some bicyclists break the rules, but I probably see more abiding by them. (And I see cars and pedestrians break rules, as well...)

Edmonton, Alberta. I live in a central/downtown location, where most streets are quiet 2-lanes. And like I said, I have never seen a cyclist actually stop at a stop sign. Most don't even slow down -- just a quick check to make sure they're not going to get killed, and blow right past.

Re: Bike lanes have sped up car traffic in New York City

#79

Post by soperj »

bane wrote: post #67
soperj wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm one of those bikers who hates sharing roadways with cars. It's not that I have to share, but between taking up so much of the road, pure safety concerns for bikers(since automobile drivers win every single colition) and generally shitty entitled attitude lots of car drivers seem to have (most likely because there are more of them so they think they own the road) I get my hackles raised every time I see one on the…

Well, you are aware that the roads were built for cars right? Would you walk in the middle of the road? No, because that's idiotic and stupid. But sit on a few pounds of rubber and tubed aluminum, travel only slightly faster than the same moronic pedestrian and now it's a smart commuting idea? You've chosen to go out and share the roads that were built for cars and decided for every driver (who are actually entitled…

There are people who do this kind of inane shit. There have been a number of cases where people tie thin metal wires across bike trails and on roads that are designated biker first.

You are aware that it is legal to ride your bike on the road right? As much as you want roads to be for cars only, they aren't.

Re: Bike lanes have sped up car traffic in New York City

#80

Post by mindslight »

heydenberk wrote: post #57
mindslight wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The police tend to look at cyclists the way you do, and many times don't find fault with drivers even if cyclists are KILLED much less injured or have their bikes destroyed. I mostly drive these days, but I'm no friend of cars in general or police for that matter. However it's important to keep in mind that injustices occur both ways, and forming blanket statements is a great way to end up just talking past one ano…

>> However it's important to keep in mind that injustices occur both ways, and forming blanket statements is a great way to end up just talking past one another. That's not true. Did you look at the New York Times article? The prosecution rate of motorists who kill cyclists in non-hit-and-run crashes is close to 0. In several major cities, it is actually 0. So no, the injustices do not go both ways.

Your point does not refute what I said. It shows that no drivers have been criminally blamed, ruling out one kind of injustice against drivers. Other injustices, such as undeserved wrongful death/bodily injury compensation may have occurred.

Regardless, OP isn't normally this obtuse. He's clearly reacting to a perceived injustice, even if it does not exist. Please read my above comment again and try to understand why I wrote it.

Post reply on HN