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Bike lanes have sped up car traffic in New York City

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

#101

Post by blocktuw »

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 is a great blog post by People for Bikes which debunks most of these common myths surrounding biking. http://www.peopleforbikes.org/blog/entry/bike-myths-debunked

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

#103

Post by mjmahone17 »

fidlefodl wrote: post #48
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…

> 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 don't think he (or many) would claim otherwise. The issue isn't the people who ride bikes, but rather the mode they choose to travel with and the impact it has on your drive. Bikers cause all sorts of added danger to both themselves, and you…

Then you should be in favor of increasing biking infrastructure so that you're much less likely to make a mistake involving a bicyclist. But all the things you've said are equally true about pedestrians, which is a more dangerous, per-mile-travelled, mode of transportation than biking. And bike lanes in NY make pedestrians safer, too.

As a driver, it is your responsibility to manage a two-thousand-pound weapon responsibly. As you have the most power to cause harm, you also have the most responsibility to prevent it. The biggest problem with vehicles in the US is that you're "entitled" to drive without learning how dangerous you are to everyone around you, and how to navigate that danger safely. And when a motorists causes a fatal "accident" (due to texting, medical conditions, etc.), they are almost never at fault, and their driving privilege is rarely revoked. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/10/opinion/sunday/is-it-ok-to...

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

#104

Post by DanBC »

TulliusCicero wrote: post #82
keepper wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Except I pay for the roads.. you know.. registration, taxes on gas, taxes on purchase of the car, etc etc... But hey, you're welcome to pay a little for the roads too ;)

Cars also inflict many externalities onto others that other forms of transportation do not (pollution, increased travel distance, injuries and deaths, etc.), and yet drivers seem less keen on paying extra to compensate for those costs.

About 29,000 people die from air pollution in the UK and about 1 in 4 of those may have been from traffic pollution. But death is cheap and people living longer with worse quality of life with COPD or similar costs money.

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/apr/29/diesel-en...

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

#105

Post by bane »

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…

> Make all traffic lanes in city cores bikes only, and make public transit free for everyone.

I was against you until this part. And now I'm totally with you. In the states it's tough though, the public transport system is woefully inadequate to support this idea.

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

#106

Post by jrockway »

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 cyclist who sees motorists daily, I have yet to see a motorist obey a stop sign.

When I'm stopped, I have to wave cars through when it's their turn to go because they don't understand how stop signs work. (Or assume I'm not really stopped, more likely. Stop signs are a disaster.)

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

#107

Post by TulliusCicero »

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.

Studies show similar rates of law-breaking for cyclists and drivers. This is obviously more problematic for drivers, since they're the ones operating multi-ton vehicles at high speeds. After all, a cyclist breaking the laws in the way you describe is probably putting only himself at risk.

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

#108

Post by bane »

recursive wrote: post #83
bane wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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? Yes, but they were also built for bicycles. > for every driver (who are actually entitled to be on the road in their cars) Yes, they are so entitled, but so are bicyclists. Motorists are also responsible for other motorists safety. > And then you've decided to inconvenience every single one of them When you drive a car, you do this also. I'm assuming you…

> You've deliberately designed this hobby to be a jerk. Some bicyclists that are jerks also, but mostly they seem to be as jerky as the population at large.

Don't make fun of my hobby! Tack fields were made for tack throwing, bikes should get off the trail if they don't want flat tires.

So long as I'm left in piece to throw my tacks on the tack field I won't be a jerk. It's all these bike riders running over my tacks and ruining my hobby that makes me so irritable.

edit go ahead and downvote, I have karma to burn. It hurts to see an equivalent situation tossed back at you doesn't it. Go ahead, take out your feelings with the downvote button.

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

#109

Post by penrod »

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?"

Unless you're referring only to freeways, that's a nice bit of revisionism. Especially in any city older than 100 years, the streets were built to carry trolleys, horses, carriages, omnibuses, and a variety of vehicles just as slow as bicycles. And cycles continue to be legal to ride on those roads. So you're managing to be both historically and legally wrong.

"I'm going to go out to my local bike trails and ... throw handfuls of thumbtacks in front of all the bikers"

I'd like to see how that works out for you.

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

#110

Post by turar »

jrockway wrote: post #106
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.

As a cyclist who sees motorists daily, I have yet to see a motorist obey a stop sign. When I'm stopped, I have to wave cars through when it's their turn to go because they don't understand how stop signs work. (Or assume I'm not really stopped, more likely. Stop signs are a disaster.)

By that do you mean they don't stop, or that they stop for too long to let you through, thinking that you're not going stop at all? (Assuming it's a 4-way stop). If latter, then I could be that motorist as well -- I will naturally assume that cyclists will NOT stop at stop signs (since I have never seen them do so), so I would let them through preventively.
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