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When Citi Bikes Are Faster Than Taxis in New York City

toddwschneider.com

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Re: When Citi Bikes Are Faster Than Taxis in New York City

#221

Post by dmm »

andrewla wrote: post #187
imgabe wrote: post #137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Better bike infrastructure keeps bikes off the sidewalk. As a biker you can't win. Drivers try to run you off the road, pedestrians don't want you on the sidewalk. Bike lanes are a solution, but the political will needs to be there. That being said, in places where bikers feel they have to use the sidewalk, they should absolutely yield to pedestrians.

In places where bikers feel they have to use the sidewalk, they should absolutely walk their bikes. It's what the law says and its very sensible all around. If you have to go the wrong way up a one-way street or if the road is blocked, you can just get off your bike and walk it for a block. It's not the end of the world to have to walk for a minute. As both a biker and a pedestrian in NYC, this seems so glaringly obv…

> they should absolutely walk their bikes.

In many places of the US you have sidewalks built because they were mandated by law but are rarely used.

A typical example will have a 4-lane 45+mph road next to big box retail stores. This type of road is unpleasant to bike on but the adjoining sidewalk is empty and, assuming it has sufficient visibility to allow the cyclist to avoid left and right hooks, is much safer than the road.

NYC is a fascinating and important place but for better or worse is very different from the typical US city.

Re: When Citi Bikes Are Faster Than Taxis in New York City

#222

Post by throwthisawayt »

dionidium wrote: post #153
dr_ wrote: post #4

As a pedestrian crossing the straw in NYC, you will typically wait for cars to stop, then walk about 2/3 of the way into the street, then peer into the bike lane to make sure no bikes are coming, then complete your crossing. Most of the bikers, from my experience, do not follow rules such as stopping at a Stop sign or for pedestrians or at their own bike designated stop lights. It may be nice to bike in the cities pa…

I'm a cyclist in NYC. Here's the other side of that: I see you. Let me describe a common scenario: I'm biking toward an intersection. I see a pedestrian moving into the street from 30 yards out. They're looking down at their phone. I see them the entire time. I know they don't see me. There's no chance we're going to collide, because I see exactly what they're doing and have been tracking them as I approach the inter…

You should wait till they cross the intersection instead of timing your cross with the pedestrian. You need to yield to the pedestrian as soon as they enter the cross walk - that's the law and what all road traffic is required to follow.

Re: When Citi Bikes Are Faster Than Taxis in New York City

#223

Post by ska »

Nimitz14 wrote: post #211
ska wrote: post #128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Even if you do, the bikes are not going to kill you. This is not true. It is less likely than with automobiles, but pedestrians are killed by bicycles from time to time. Obviously bicycle-bicycle accidents that happen in traffic are also dangerous.

Yes and people die from drinking too much water too.

Irrelevant to the case of killing other people in avoidable accidents.

Like automobiles, lots of cyclists (and I am one) believe that they are able to safely perform maneuvers they cannot, in fact, safely perform.

It's sensible to ask if there should be different rules for bicycle and automobile traffic. But if we change the rules, it shouldn't be based one what cyclists want or don't want to do, but on analysis of the safety and efficiency for everyone involved, including pedestrians.

Sometimes you just have to suck it up and lose momentum.

Re: When Citi Bikes Are Faster Than Taxis in New York City

#224

Post by sampo »

Sir_Cmpwn wrote: post #87
dkhenry wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What I have found is there is a tiny minority of people who _hate_ bikers. They tend to pop up and make wild claims about how dangerous bikers are, or how much they dislike how bikers use the streets since streets are for cars, and bikes are for children. What I have found in actually talking to people is most people support and encourage bikes, and would love to bike, but don't feel safe. Bikes make everything about…

>most bikers observe the traffic laws Not in Philadelphia, at least. I walk everywhere, and racking my brain for bike encounters I can only recall one of maybe 20 instances in which a bike actually stopped at a red light. I can recall at least a third of those instances where bikes were travelling the wrong way on a one way street, and another third with bikes on the sidewalk. That being said, I still think biking is…

> > most bikers observe the traffic laws

> Not in Philadelphia, at least.

This is mostly solvable by building better infrastructure. Just visit Netherlands or Denmark to see how well things could be organized.

When the infrastructure is bad, bikers (or people in general) will resort to odd behavior just to get by.

Re: When Citi Bikes Are Faster Than Taxis in New York City

#225

Post by e40 »

imgabe wrote: post #137
e40 wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What I have found is there is a tiny minority of people who _hate_ bikers. I walk 4 miles a day on city sidewalks. The number of times I have to yield to bikers on the sidewalk is disgusting[0]. And some of these bikers are going fast . I once saved a child that was about to run out of a store. I could see, from my vantage point, the biker and the child set for a collision course. I stepped in front of the biker, doi…

Better bike infrastructure keeps bikes off the sidewalk. As a biker you can't win. Drivers try to run you off the road, pedestrians don't want you on the sidewalk. Bike lanes are a solution, but the political will needs to be there. That being said, in places where bikers feel they have to use the sidewalk, they should absolutely yield to pedestrians.

pedestrians don't want you on the sidewalk

It is illegal to ride a bike on the sidewalk in every city I know of.

Pedestrians don't have lanes. Pedestrians don't have rules. They might turn suddenly to get into a car, or pop out of a shop. It is just selfish of bikers to think they should be on the sidewalk. It's very dangerous for us pedestrians. In the last 20 years, I've been hit twice on the sidewalk and had to jump out of the way, to avoid serious injury, many times.

Re: When Citi Bikes Are Faster Than Taxis in New York City

#226

Post by e40 »

ZeroGravitas wrote: post #171
e40 wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What I have found is there is a tiny minority of people who _hate_ bikers. I walk 4 miles a day on city sidewalks. The number of times I have to yield to bikers on the sidewalk is disgusting[0]. And some of these bikers are going fast . I once saved a child that was about to run out of a store. I could see, from my vantage point, the biker and the child set for a collision course. I stepped in front of the biker, doi…

A woman killed a few years ago by a bike? That's terrible. Not quite as terrible as one pedestrian being killed every 1.6 hours by cars though. (2015 figures for the USA)

Nice change of subject. I never said cars aren't dangerous to pedestrians.

Re: When Citi Bikes Are Faster Than Taxis in New York City

#227

Post by Cerium »

lettergram wrote: post #220
kpmariner wrote: post #210

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I do stop at red lights or at least slow down and make sure the way it is safe to cross, that isn't the problem. I just have to constantly jump up onto sidewalks. After stopping at the light - especially if there are cars trying to take a right and the way is clear - I will go before it turns green. I rarely stop at stop signs for four way stops. In general, traffic isn't paying attention. They will swerve blindly in…

Just an FYI in many states, cities, etc. It's legal to move to the bike lane for a right lane. That's why it's often a dotted white line. Not saying that's safe... But it is legally accepted

It is legally accepted, after checking to see if the lane is clear.

Re: When Citi Bikes Are Faster Than Taxis in New York City

#228

Post by firethief »

Sir_Cmpwn wrote: post #219
tomsthumb wrote: post #216

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Waiting at red lights _can_ be more dangerous than not waiting. Ask motorcyclists how they feel about being the lone vehicle at a redlight.

Are you going to elaborate on that, or should I conjure up a motorcyclist from thin air and ask them how they feel?

If that's a riddle to you, you are the danger

Re: When Citi Bikes Are Faster Than Taxis in New York City

#229

Post by dionidium »

throwthisawayt wrote: post #222
dionidium wrote: post #153

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm a cyclist in NYC. Here's the other side of that: I see you. Let me describe a common scenario: I'm biking toward an intersection. I see a pedestrian moving into the street from 30 yards out. They're looking down at their phone. I see them the entire time. I know they don't see me. There's no chance we're going to collide, because I see exactly what they're doing and have been tracking them as I approach the inter…

You should wait till they cross the intersection instead of timing your cross with the pedestrian. You need to yield to the pedestrian as soon as they enter the cross walk - that's the law and what all road traffic is required to follow.

As others have said, biking infrastructure in NYC (and in basically all U.S. cities) is an afterthought. It's been tacked onto an environment that was totally given over to cars (rather absurdly, given New York's status as the only truly pedestrian city in the U.S.).

What you're seeing is the cyclist's attempt to navigate an environment that's directly hostile to their interests. As long as nothing about that changes, this is what it's going to look like, because I'm not going to follow rules that make no sense for my mode of travel.

With respect, of course, to the fact that this is an unpopular opinion in some circles, I'm still just not going to do it. And, crucially, I'm comfortable with the social and legal consequences of my position.

Re: When Citi Bikes Are Faster Than Taxis in New York City

#230

Post by Sir_Cmpwn »

firethief wrote: post #228
Sir_Cmpwn wrote: post #219

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are you going to elaborate on that, or should I conjure up a motorcyclist from thin air and ask them how they feel?

If that's a riddle to you, you are the danger

Come on, I don't even drive. Get out of here with your pretentious angle, none of this helps your cause.
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