161–170 of 317 posts
If you don't live in NYC you should know that a lot of bicycles in NYC are delivery guys riding electrified bicycles that go up to 20MpH. Many of them don't wear helmets and ride dangerously. I don't have anything to back this tip but the raise of deaths can be linked to raise of electric bicycles
Their stronger acceleration is probably a bigger problem.
With more bikes because of bike lanes, I hope the city will begin enforcing bike infractions more seriously. So many people on bikes are going way too fast in the bike lanes (and pedestrian pathways) and do not stop at red lights, etc. I was happy to see a person get stopped and ticketed for riding down a walkway to a bike path when there was a sign explicitly stating that riding on the path was not allowed. I've see…
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How does that work if the cyclist is going straight and cars are turning across them (e.g. Making a right turn). Does it not make it harder for the traffic to see the cyclist?
Protected intersections for bicycles are possible, and compatible with this kind of protected bike lane. http://www.protectedintersection.com/
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One thing I like about the newer NYC bike lanes is they put them inside of parked cars. It means you’re generally protected from traffic by a row of parked cars. And there’s a large enough buffer that you don’t have to worry about getting hit by an open door.
I know, right?! It’s sooo much nicer that way. That’s a good demonstration of how bikes are really just slightly faster pedestrians and not slow cars.
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A better pespective: people are people. They aren't drivers or bikers but just people. And the same person is a driver on one day and a biker on another. Guess what, drivers are also notorious for not following traffic rules -- not using blinkers, not stopping fully at a stop sign, driving above speed limits, running a light after it's already turned red -- thereby endangering the lives of others. It's not about whos…
> And the same person is a driver on one day and a biker on another. Yes, but cyclists try to act like pedestrians and move at speeds typical of vehicles. Pedestrians typically move between 2 to 6 mph. Cyclists move between 10 to 30 mph. While a motorist can see a pedestrian approaching a crosswalk and yield to them, it's much harder for them to see a cyclist in time to yield to them because of how much faster they m…
It's not productive to lump every cyclist together, or every driver together. At the end of the day, people are people, and some people who happen to be cyclist are shitty, while others who happen to be drivers are assholes. But that doesn't mean ALL cyclists are assholes, or all drivers.
Is there any sound comparison of protected bike lanes vs., for instance, 30kp/h zones with mixed bike/car traffic and sensible spacing? When cycling I find the cramped and the fast streets the most dangerous. And the pedestrians that cross into bikelanes. And slippery surfaces. So from my very private pov (I go around 25 to 30kph) there are much cheaper methods that I would want to give a try firat.
The Netherlands is probably Example #1, and IIRC they commonly have mixing zones for streets right in the city center that are rather pedestrianized, outside of that you'll mostly see separates bike lanes/paths.
This is big time for America. If our biggest city can’t show leadership on pedestrian and bicyclist safety, we can’t expect any other city to as well. New York is really lagging behind where it should be. Despite being by far the biggest American city, it is overrun with cars. Protected bike lanes, street improvements to make crossing the street safer, and dedicated bus lanes will improve the city for all New Yorkers…
Chicago has been doing a pretty good job of building out bike lanes. But it needs to be taken further still, and more quickly. However, the initiative needs a more robust implementation, with more consideration of driver behavior and parking needs. This is evident as many delivery trucks, Ubers etc. park in the lane (albeit, with emergency blinkers on, but it's a moot measure regardless) and push bicyclists into traf…
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My biggest pet peeve is when cops treat the bike lane as additional parking. I've seen cops do it just to walk into 7-eleven and buy a snack. I wonder if that will be addressed at some point.
Cops all drive into the city from Long Island. They don't understand how New Yorkers actually live and get around; to them a bike lane is a curiosity for weirdos who like to get around on a child's vehicle. Getting change in this regard will require either very serious change in how cops are regulated, or a change in cops' mindsets regarding cars and bikes. Not sure which I'd bet on happening first.
Don't get your hopes up, Uber drivers will still find a way to block the bike lanes.
If a bike lane is truly 'protected', that implies that between the road and the bike lane, there's a at least a curb if not an actual barrier.
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In my experience, cars actually go pretty slow in NY (Manhattan at least), even when there’s not a lot of traffic. I’m usually able to easily keep up with traffic on my bike.
This is definitely not true on the multi-lane avenues. You're thinking of the single-lane streets. One good solution for the avenues would be to time their rolling green waves for an average of 15 mph. They just recently started doing this in Brooklyn on a particularly dangerous road.