tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post5147543522814875313..comments2024-03-18T08:41:35.438-04:00Comments on Lovely Bicycle!: Bike Lane Etiquette?Velouriahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00359329171411037482noreply@blogger.comBlogger46125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-91008944949906327672013-12-12T06:31:15.424-05:002013-12-12T06:31:15.424-05:00I've read many of your comments on this blog. ...I've read many of your comments on this blog. You strike me as the kind of person who'd offer constructive criticism to a fellow cyclist, yet you'd acquiesce to a badge (... a glorified title, if you will)? Dafuq?<br /><br />Which god? /troll bait modeAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-5918501076046149702011-02-08T12:38:54.875-05:002011-02-08T12:38:54.875-05:00When I encounter a person riding the wrong way com...When I encounter a person riding the wrong way coming towards me, I move as far right as I can to FORCE THEM into the trafficJDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12150074381995367740noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-78096410035546684262011-01-23T13:55:30.014-05:002011-01-23T13:55:30.014-05:00Whats most important is to look how other cyclists...Whats most important is to look how other cyclists and traffic behaves and adapt to that. In Sthml you get run over if you walk in a bike lane or bike path. Bus drivers are totally lacking sympathy for life and limb of all other traffic if you walk in their lanes or designated areas. And dont count on cyclist to ring a bell, they are likely to just pass you at one Angstrom´s distance!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-54011789351256271572010-10-09T14:08:49.498-04:002010-10-09T14:08:49.498-04:00Daniil--good point re: turning. I agree that bikes...Daniil--good point re: turning. I agree that bikes turning right should occupy more of the turn lane to avoid cars squeezing in.<br /><br />There is a narrow bike lane there that suddenly expands into a turn lane (that you see in the picture) while the real bike lane continues straight. It indeed sets you up to be too close to the curb, unless you first look to your left and merge to centre at the moment that the turn lane appears.MDIhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10810401918223629618noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-60079010121077586862010-10-08T16:23:04.023-04:002010-10-08T16:23:04.023-04:00In the photo relating to turning(#6) you seem to b...In the photo relating to turning(#6) you seem to be pretty far right in the lane. I believe it would be safer to be in the middle of the lane. This would prevent drivers from trying to turn around you and trapping you against the curb. Although, there really should be a bike turn box in that line like this http://commutebybike.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/bike-box.jpg<br /><br />I love the blog btw, keep up the awesome work.Daniilnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-61734004783643298872010-10-07T12:57:12.960-04:002010-10-07T12:57:12.960-04:00@MDI: We experienced a very similar thing in Amste...@MDI: We experienced a very similar thing in Amsterdam, where in the main center of the city, there are a lot of roads where bicycles, pedestrians, and cars all share the roads, and people were very patient and considerate, when needing to pass and when being passed. Of course, the population in the center of the city is dense enough that you can't really drive very fast even if you wanted to, so probably people just get used to it and don't worry about it. The whole feeling of the city there felt much more relaxed and much less frantic than most places we've been in the U.S. - which of course makes for nice traffic, because you know people are actually watching out for you and will stop or move if they need to, they're not just in a huge rush to go as straight and fast as possible (both people driving and on bikes).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-54507569723826334622010-10-06T18:02:28.085-04:002010-10-06T18:02:28.085-04:00rob, MDI, good comments. Interesting the diversity...rob, MDI, good comments. Interesting the diversity of strong views on this, among cyclists. That says something.<br /><br />Thanks for this post Velouria.Bifhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05543158648103470697noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-70531026946403940312010-10-06T17:11:27.585-04:002010-10-06T17:11:27.585-04:00Velouria-
Hi. I'm the same anon from 11:20pm...Velouria-<br /><br />Hi. I'm the same anon from 11:20pm. I suspect drivers are better behaved on the bikelane-equipped roads b/c they see the signs and road paint, and therefore *know* that you're "allowed" there. The problem is, on roads without bikelanes, they think you're not "supposed" to be there, as there is no bikelane. In Philly last here, some blowhard in one of the dailies was anti-bikes at all, and his argument, such as it was, relied on the notion that cyclists should stick to the roads with bikelanes.<br /><br />We need better education for all roadway users *far* more than we need bikelanes. Having bikelanes on roads that are already open to bikes seems redundant. We might as well try to ride 2 bikes at once, while we're at it.<br /><br />-robAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-23248448235667009992010-10-06T14:25:20.565-04:002010-10-06T14:25:20.565-04:00We've just returned from Provincetown on the C...We've just returned from Provincetown on the Cape. Everyone cycles in Provincetown, it's simply like nothing else. Maybe it's the unique traffic situation, (driving a car there is a huge hassle) but there are no bike lanes yet drivers are extremely courteous while passing cyclists not just in town but everywhere else. Cape Cod is some sort of velo-paradise.MDIhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10810401918223629618noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-78063778919378713062010-10-06T03:44:27.150-04:002010-10-06T03:44:27.150-04:00I'm also somewhat ambivalent about whether bik...I'm also somewhat ambivalent about whether bike lanes are a good or a bad thing precisely because it can send the message that cyclists are somehow not entitled to use the roads as motorists are. Sharrows and "share the road" signs seem as though they might perhaps be a better option, but then again sometimes there are some apparently significant gains in safety after bike lanes go in.<br /><br />I'm fortunate to live in a very bike friendly community here in the Fraser Valley, so most motorists actually seem to be quite accommodating and so far I haven't had any close calls despite the lack of bike lanes. It definitely was much scarier riding in Vancouver when I used to live there.<br /><br />AmmoboxriderAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-83591947573255574972010-10-05T23:32:13.456-04:002010-10-05T23:32:13.456-04:00Anon 11:20 - I am comfortable cycling both in traf...Anon 11:20 - I am comfortable cycling both in traffic lanes and in bike lanes, but in Boston I have to say that the behaviour of drivers has notably improved on roads where bike lanes have been placed.Velouriahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00359329171411037482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-88461134695790995142010-10-05T23:20:45.229-04:002010-10-05T23:20:45.229-04:00boycott bike lanes. they create more problems than...boycott bike lanes. they create more problems than they solve and, in my neck of the woods, they send the worng message to drivers re: the cyclists' right to the road--ALL roads, excepting freeways and suchlike.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-47052001120239527182010-10-05T21:44:05.294-04:002010-10-05T21:44:05.294-04:00I think bike lanes are not generally designed for ...I think bike lanes are not generally designed for two bikes to travel side by side. Passing within the bike lane, on the left or on the right puts cyclists closer together than is safe.<br /><br />What follows is that the passing cyclist must first look back and then temporarily merge left with car traffic to pass safely.<br /><br />That's what I do, anyway, and if car traffic is either too heavy, or too fast or too slow, then I can't pass and must wait. I've had cyclists pass me on the right, squeezing between parked cars or utilizing a gap in them and it's very unnerving. Fortunately, this only happens rarely and most cyclists here appear to know to pass as a car would, on the left.MDIhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10810401918223629618noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-796870435948198262010-10-05T19:26:51.631-04:002010-10-05T19:26:51.631-04:00I'm confused about one point.
If you're...I'm confused about one point. <br /><br />If you're riding to the far left to avoid dooring, but you want people to pass you on the...left, aren't you leaving no room on the left for them to pass you?<br /><br />I'm a novice biker and I don't always know when people plan to pass me but if they yell out "on the left" if there's room or "on the right" - fine. But it just seems like riding all the way to the left is asking for them to pass you on the right? Or expect that they announce they're passing you, have a dialogue about it, move and then they pass you on the left?jesse.anne.ohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14875750144950761412noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-68237398883494510262010-10-05T13:33:44.553-04:002010-10-05T13:33:44.553-04:00While the danger of traffic coming up behind you w...While the danger of traffic coming up behind you while you cycle in the bike lane (or shared road lane) is real, the statistics I saw still point at "doorings" as a more serious threat. It makes sense to choose the lesser evil here.<br /><br />My personal take on it is: The people who are behind you can/should see you ahead, but the people opening the door do so when they don't see you or don't even think to look. It also happens to be a very violent dismount, capable of serious injury.MDIhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10810401918223629618noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-21145095272054082062010-10-05T13:31:36.245-04:002010-10-05T13:31:36.245-04:00@ Kung Foo Sausage,
Unfortunately most drivers in ...@ Kung Foo Sausage,<br />Unfortunately most drivers in the USA do NOT look before opening their doors, and unfortunately hitting a door or being hit by a door being opened can have devastating consequences far beyond the impact of the door. If you are knocked sideways or fly over the door, it is quite possible to land in the traffic lane under the wheels of oncoming traffic.cyclerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10331461189944538729noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-30109164080753212010-10-05T13:06:56.692-04:002010-10-05T13:06:56.692-04:00I think the only point I'd disagree with is th...I think the only point I'd disagree with is the one about your positioning in the cycle lane so as to avoid parked car doors.<br /><br />As a part of learning to drive (certainly in the UK) you are told to watch for people exiting parked vehicles, as well as when you are parked to watch for other road users passing before you exit.<br /><br />That being the case, the onus is on the occupant of the parked vehicle to be aware of you cycling past.<br /><br />Asside from that, I would rather cycle into an opening car door than be hit by a wayward car as it passed me by.<br /><br />My view is that you ought to be either in the centre of the cycle lane, or preferably towards the inside of it, and not near the busy traffic. The lane is there for your safety - it would be a shame to not use it for such.KungFooSausagehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04224434367416623291noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-38612097093752192672010-10-05T07:55:07.194-04:002010-10-05T07:55:07.194-04:00Last week I was downtown and witnessed something h...Last week I was downtown and witnessed something heartwarming, an officer ticketing one of our local hipsters for riding his bike in circles on the sidewalk in front of the museum I was working in. I found the look of confusion and injured entitlement on the guys face gratifying in a petty, smallminded way. Then I noticed that the cop had parked her car in the bike lane and left the door halfway open. I thought about faking a door-strike and sueing the bloomers off the city but decided not to tempt fate, God's watching and I'm probably overdue for a snowball to the ear or a wiffleball bat in the spokes as it is...<br /><br />SpindizzyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-25271565359322001532010-10-05T01:51:14.087-04:002010-10-05T01:51:14.087-04:00Ah, one of my favorite topics. Door zone bike lane...Ah, one of my favorite topics. Door zone bike lanes. DZBLs. I agree with Samantha, above, who says riding on the left of the bike lane doesn't neccessarily keep you out of the door zone. Open car doors are 35 to 45 inches wide, reportedly. Your handle bars/elbows need at least another 2 feet width. If a car is parked very close to the lane (look at that car in front of the van in your first three photos) there is precious little if any room in the lane if a door swings open. <br /><br />DZBLs make you ride a tightrope between the door zone and the vehicles passing by on your left. The passing motorists don't know this and think you have a whole bike lane to yourself when really you do not, and you need the option of going into their lane and they don't understand or expect this. To me these kinds of bike lanes advertise a safety factor that is false, and serve to cause confusion and a possibility for surprises between motorists and cyclists that are dangerous. Be careful everyone.Bifhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05543158648103470697noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-289587255104290132010-10-05T00:25:05.918-04:002010-10-05T00:25:05.918-04:00Great post and much needed. With each new school ...Great post and much needed. With each new school year here in Flagstaff along come a whole slew of new bicycling NAU students unused apparently to biking on city streets. The most common problems I observe are failure to properly signal and traveling the wrong direction on a bike lane. Usually, the student/rider is not only traveling the wrong direction in the bike lane but on the wrong direction on a one-way street.She Rides a Bikehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10269615938898501712noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-80804829033436900962010-10-04T21:06:55.640-04:002010-10-04T21:06:55.640-04:00As I was cycling to the high school where I work, ...As I was cycling to the high school where I work, some lady honked loudly three times and stayed behind me. We have no bike lanes but I was cycling as close to the sidewalk as possible but on the street. She could have easily passed me but yet, when we got to the stop light she yelled "Get on the damn sidewalk!" I can't. There are children walking to school. It was plain rude. I took out a notebook and wrote her license plate (I won't do anything, but it scared her.)Sr. Helgahttp://incarnatewordpostulant.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-36385615983862028602010-10-04T19:28:15.703-04:002010-10-04T19:28:15.703-04:00kara-- that's exactly the point of the shared ...kara-- that's exactly the point of the shared lane markings: it tells drivers that cyclists are "allowed" to be on the road just as are drivers, and it brings (hopefully) a level of awareness to drivers that there are cyclists who may be using the road too.<br /><br />dave-- not all local police have the same understandings of the laws, especially new laws. i know that here, there are some police who don't like to accept that cyclists have certain rights, and see them as a nuisance (the old "why can't they just drive cars like the rest of us" mentality). then there are others who are very supportive of cyclists. i think the laws are changing so rapidly and many police just don't bother to keep up with them. for example, i almost got doored by a cop parked on the side of the street. he never bothered to check for cyclists in the bike lane. yet, there's a new law in MA that makes it a requirement for drivers to check for cyclists before opening their doors into traffic. (how enforceable such a law is is anyone's guess, but hopefully even if not enforceable, it will eventually bring an awareness to the general public).somervillainhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13903377050982678550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-35035740129323807572010-10-04T16:48:05.059-04:002010-10-04T16:48:05.059-04:00It sounds as though you don't care for Boston ...It sounds as though you don't care for Boston very much...so why not move? it does not sound as though you are tied down caring for elderly parents or tied to schools. And the cat will no doubt readjust to a new view. <br /><br />So if that is what would make you and the CoH happy...take a risk...pack the bikes...hit the road. After all, you can always come back if the cows are ill-tempered and the rural life does not suit. It makes me a little sad to think that someone is not pursuing her dream if she can. And you seem very much like the sort of person who can.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-31922396027150942582010-10-04T15:27:47.210-04:002010-10-04T15:27:47.210-04:00We just got a whole slew of new bike lanes in down...We just got a whole slew of new bike lanes in downtown Salt Lake City. Well, they are actually shared bike lanes with cars (there is just a green bike 'path' painted in the middle of the traffic lane). Essentially they are just telling motorist that bikes can use the whole lane. I don't love the idea of a sharing a lane with a car. Feeling their engine and impatience breathing down my neck, especially when I am on my slow Pashley and can't keep up with traffic. But I suppose it is better than being off in the gutter where drivers are still annoyed that I am not over far enough when there is really no safe place for me to ride. At least in the shared bike lane, they may be annoyed but they can't really say anything about it since I am exactly where I am allowed to be. Another plus, they can see me clearly and act accordingly.Karahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12232157346482774504noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-45713657914094488952010-10-04T15:04:38.768-04:002010-10-04T15:04:38.768-04:00The law depend on the city police, and what they u...The law depend on the city police, and what they understand as legal. Here in my city, at a car-bike fatality, the police woman spoke to the TV news reporter and said "it is a shame, he should have been on the sidewalk where he belonged"<br />We are slowly getting a few bike lanes, but cars use them too.Davehttp://davidnewtonguitars.squarespace.com/noreply@blogger.com