Go Back  Bike Forums > Bike Forums > Advocacy & Safety
Reload this Page >

Advocacy Thread... What Have YOU Done Today???

Search
Notices
Advocacy & Safety Cyclists should expect and demand safe accommodation on every public road, just as do all other users. Discuss your bicycle advocacy and safety concerns here.

Advocacy Thread... What Have YOU Done Today???

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
Old 09-23-11, 10:08 AM
  #351  
Commander, UFO Bike
Thread Starter
 
K'Tesh's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Subject to change
Posts: 1,419

Bikes: Giant, Trek

Mentioned: 8 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 20 Post(s)
Liked 9 Times in 6 Posts
Sent a followup email to my last post with this little section of The Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD), which has been administered by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)







Section 2C.64 Object Markers for Obstructions Within the Roadway
Standard:
01 Obstructions within the roadway shall be marked with a Type 1 or Type 3 object marker. In addition to markers on the face of the obstruction, warning of approach to the obstruction shall be given by appropriate pavement markings (see Section 3B.10).
Option:
02 To provide additional emphasis, a Type 1 or Type 3 object marker may be installed at or near the approach end of a median island.
03 To provide additional emphasis, large surfaces such as bridge piers may be painted with diagonal stripes, 12 inches or greater in width, similar in design to the Type 3 object marker.
Standard:
04 The alternating black and retroreflective yellow stripes (OM3-L, OM3-R) shall be sloped down at an angle of 45 degrees toward the side on which traffic is to pass the obstruction. If traffic can pass to either side of the obstruction, the alternating black and retroreflective yellow stripes (OM3-C) shall form chevrons that point upwards.
Option:
05 Appropriate signs (see Sections 2B.32 and 2C.25) directing traffic to one or both sides of the obstruction may be used instead of the object marker.

Section 2C.65 Object Markers for Obstructions Adjacent to the Roadway
Support:
01 Obstructions not actually within the roadway are sometimes so close to the edge of the road that they need a marker. These include underpass piers, bridge abutments, handrails, ends of traffic barriers, utility poles, and culvert headwalls. In other cases there might not be a physical object involved, but other roadside conditions exist, such as narrow shoulders, drop-offs, gores, small islands, and abrupt changes in the roadway alignment, that might make it undesirable for a road user to leave the roadway, and therefore would create a need for a marker.
Standard:
02 If a Type 2 or Type 3 object marker is used to mark an obstruction adjacent to the roadway, the edge of the object marker that is closest to the road user shall be installed in line with the closest edge of the obstruction.
03 Where Type 3 object markers are applied to the approach ends of guardrail and other roadside appurtances, sheeting without a substrate shall be directly affixed to the approach end of the guardrail in a rectangular shape conforming to the size of the approach end of the guardrail with alternating black and retroreflective yellow stripes sloping downward at a angle of 45 degrees toward the side of the obstruction on which traffic is to pass.
04 Type 1 and Type 4 object markers shall not be used to mark obstructions adjacent to the roadway.
Guidance:
05 Standard warning signs in this Chapter should also be used where applicable.
Section 3B.10 Approach Markings for Obstructions
Standard:
01 Pavement markings shall be used to guide traffic away from fixed obstructions within a paved roadway. Approach markings for bridge supports, refuge islands, median islands, toll plaza islands, and raised channelization islands shall consist of a tapered line or lines extending from the center line or the lane line to a point 1 to 2 feet to the right-hand side, or to both sides, of the approach end of the obstruction (see Figure 3B-15).
Figure 3B-15 Examples of Applications of Markings for Obstructions in the Roadway

Support:
02 See Chapter 3E for additional information on approach markings for toll plaza islands.
Guidance:
03 For roadways having a posted or statutory speed limit of 45 mph or greater, the taper length of the tapered line markings should be computed by the formula L = WS. For roadways where the posted or statutory speed limit is less than 45 mph, the formula L = WS2/60 should be used to compute the taper length.
Support:
04 Under both formulas, L equals the taper length in feet, W equals the width of the offset distance in feet, and S equals the 85th-percentile speed or the posted or statutory speed limit, whichever is higher.
Guidance:
05 The minimum taper length should be 100 feet in urban areas and 200 feet in rural areas.
Support:
06 Examples of approach markings for obstructions in the roadway are shown in Figure 3B-15.
Standard:
07 If traffic is required to pass only to the right of the obstruction, the markings shall consist of a two-direction no-passing zone marking at least twice the length of the diagonal portion as determined by the appropriate taper formula (see Drawing A of Figure 3B-15).
Option:
08 If traffic is required to pass only to the right of the obstruction, yellow diagonal crosshatch markings (see Section 3B.24) may be placed in the flush median area between the no-passing zone markings as shown in Drawings A and B of Figure 3B-15. Other markings, such as yellow delineators, yellow channelizing devices, yellow raised pavement markers, and white crosswalk pavement markings, may also be placed in the flush median area.
Standard:
09 If traffic can pass either to the right or left of the obstruction, the markings shall consist of two channelizing lines diverging from the lane line, one to each side of the obstruction. In advance of the point of divergence, a wide solid white line or normal solid double white line shall be extended in place of the broken lane line for a distance equal to the length of the diverging lines (see Drawing C of Figure 3B-15).
Option:
10 If traffic can pass either to the right or left of the obstruction, additional white chevron crosshatch markings (see Section 3B.24) may be placed in the flush median area between the channelizing lines as shown in Drawing C of Figure 3B-15. Other markings, such as white delineators, white channelizing devices, white raised pavement markers, and white crosswalk markings may also be placed in the flush median area.
K'Tesh is offline  
Old 09-28-11, 01:39 PM
  #352  
Commander, UFO Bike
Thread Starter
 
K'Tesh's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Subject to change
Posts: 1,419

Bikes: Giant, Trek

Mentioned: 8 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 20 Post(s)
Liked 9 Times in 6 Posts
Sent this to several people in the city, advocacy groups, the media, and legal system a few weeks ago...

In the photo below, you can clearly see that my bike was going against traffic... Thus this grate isn't a danger, Right? Wrong...




Below is a photo taken on 2011/8/14... You might remember the 2011 Providence Bridge Pedal? Where over 19,000 cyclists may have ridden past this grate, going against traffic (legally). I was riding with someone, who was ahead of me, so I couldn't wait to get cyclists in the pictures...



But I used a nearby cone to mark the hazard, then called it into the 24 Hour Maintenance Hotline (503) 823 1700.



And on Thursday 2011/9/16, I went back to see what it looked like...



Nothing has been done.

How much did PDX pay out to Gary Dunkley? (answer $100,000 https://bikeportland.org/2007/10/31/c...ate-spill-5732)

When I call in a hazard, it's REAL... and fixing them is a lot cheaper than settlements in the long run.

Lets get these things fixed before someone else gets hurt.

This is what I found the other day when I went back to check in on it...



You can move mountains with enough leverage.

I've sent a "Thank You" note since then.

Last edited by K'Tesh; 09-28-11 at 05:23 PM.
K'Tesh is offline  
Old 10-03-11, 10:55 PM
  #353  
Commander, UFO Bike
Thread Starter
 
K'Tesh's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Subject to change
Posts: 1,419

Bikes: Giant, Trek

Mentioned: 8 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 20 Post(s)
Liked 9 Times in 6 Posts
Back to the Sunset MUP... Here's a couple of day and night photos before ODOT went to work:





And some from tonight's "after".



Took them tonight at 7pm(ish).

See Something? DO SOMETHING!!!
K'Tesh

Last edited by K'Tesh; 10-03-11 at 10:59 PM.
K'Tesh is offline  
Old 10-04-11, 08:03 PM
  #354  
24-Speed Machine
 
Chris516's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Wash. Grove, MD
Posts: 6,058

Bikes: 2003 Specialized Allez 24-Speed Road Bike

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1 Time in 1 Post
I took these pictures today. Then I told the city in question, about the problem. The bushes n' leaves are halfway out into the path.

The contact info they gave me, as far as the phone # for the 'public works' department didn't work.

So, I am going to see if they even care to do anything about it.
Attached Images
File Type: jpg
Picture 002.jpg (88.5 KB, 7 views)
File Type: jpg
Picture 003.jpg (101.3 KB, 8 views)
Chris516 is offline  
Old 10-05-11, 10:42 AM
  #355  
Senior Member
 
hotbike's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Long Island, New York
Posts: 3,751

Bikes: a lowrider BMX, a mountain bike, a faired recumbent, and a loaded touring bike

Mentioned: 10 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 256 Post(s)
Liked 90 Times in 75 Posts
"halfway out into the path"...?
That's putting it mildly. Looks more like three quarters out into the path.
hotbike is offline  
Old 10-10-11, 02:28 PM
  #356  
24-Speed Machine
 
Chris516's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Wash. Grove, MD
Posts: 6,058

Bikes: 2003 Specialized Allez 24-Speed Road Bike

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1 Time in 1 Post
Originally Posted by hotbike
"halfway out into the path"...?
That's putting it mildly. Looks more like three quarters out into the path.
Three cheers for your keen eye!!!

Yes, You are right!!

It is 75% into the path. An even more pressing issue on the sidewalk of that same road, about 2mi. north, is the dead carcass of a deer, it isn't an adult. The deer was hit n' killed sometime between last Thursday evening and, last Friday evening.

I have called the county police, the fire department('hoping' they could use their HazMat truck to pick it up and dispose of it), and the Humane Society. They all had one excuse after another for not bothering to pick up the deer. I can smell the deer carcass a 100yds. away it is so putrid.

Since it is on a state road, I am almost thinking of calling the state's DNR. The deer is on the route that gives me a good hill workout.

If there is anything to be positive about the situation, when I have been up in that direction, I have been warning people, that if they head in the direction of the deer carcass, to be ready for the awful stench.

I am going to call Animal Control in the morning. This is getting ridiculous.
Chris516 is offline  
Old 10-10-11, 02:33 PM
  #357  
Senior Member
 
mikeybikes's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Edgewater, CO
Posts: 3,213

Bikes: Tons

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Originally Posted by K'Tesh
Excellent. Plenty of advance notice of a path hazard.
mikeybikes is offline  
Old 10-12-11, 05:05 AM
  #358  
Senior Member
 
hotbike's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Long Island, New York
Posts: 3,751

Bikes: a lowrider BMX, a mountain bike, a faired recumbent, and a loaded touring bike

Mentioned: 10 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 256 Post(s)
Liked 90 Times in 75 Posts
Yes. A few years back there was a dead possum on the Bike Route (to Bayville, on Long Islands North Shore)and it absolutely stank. You couldn't breathe. Made my eyes water, and the flies were horrendous .

Anyway, I got around to clearing weeds from a Bike Lane on Saturday, and finished the job yesterday (tuesday) and managed to flag down a Glen Cove Beautification pickup truck, to ask about having the piles of weeds hauled away. It was too much for his small pickup, he said he would call someone at a city office and have a bigger full size pickup haul away the weeds. I made three piles, each three feet high.
The weeds in this case were the bushy kind, and they branched out and covered 125% of the bike lane. the whole area between the curb and the fog line, including the zebra stripes, and completely obscuring the fog line from view.
I used hedge trimmers; did not pull them up. Didn't want the dirt from the roots getting in my sandals. I thought I was going to die from over exertion, but I drank all my water and went home. Sunday and monday were hot~ 85 degrees F, and Monday was a holiday (Columbus day) so the city trucks wouldn't be available neither those two days . Sorry, No pictures. I have to wonder if it's worth photographing piles of dead weeds, I have better stuff I can fill my album with. But like I said, it was too much for a small pickup truck , and a full size pickup had to be called in, picture it in your mind.
hotbike is offline  
Old 10-12-11, 07:47 AM
  #359  
24-Speed Machine
 
Chris516's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Wash. Grove, MD
Posts: 6,058

Bikes: 2003 Specialized Allez 24-Speed Road Bike

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1 Time in 1 Post
I called the city about the weeds and overgrown bushes in the pics I posted. They told me that section of the road(which is considered to be a state highway) is the state's responsibility. So I called the state highway administration. They told me that they only had one guy for the entire county doing that sort of stuff. If that were true, why do I see state road crews with two or three guys to the crew.

The dead deer I found on the bike trail last week, a couple miles north of there, is definitely going to require more than one person.
Chris516 is offline  
Old 10-12-11, 08:10 AM
  #360  
Commander, UFO Bike
Thread Starter
 
K'Tesh's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Subject to change
Posts: 1,419

Bikes: Giant, Trek

Mentioned: 8 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 20 Post(s)
Liked 9 Times in 6 Posts
Originally Posted by hotbike
Yes. A few years back there was a dead possum on the Bike Route (to Bayville, on Long Islands North Shore)and it absolutely stank. You couldn't breathe. Made my eyes water, and the flies were horrendous .

Anyway, I got around to clearing weeds from a Bike Lane on Saturday, and finished the job yesterday (tuesday) and managed to flag down a Glen Cove Beautification pickup truck, to ask about having the piles of weeds hauled away. It was too much for his small pickup, he said he would call someone at a city office and have a bigger full size pickup haul away the weeds. I made three piles, each three feet high.
The weeds in this case were the bushy kind, and they branched out and covered 125% of the bike lane. the whole area between the curb and the fog line, including the zebra stripes, and completely obscuring the fog line from view.
I used hedge trimmers; did not pull them up. Didn't want the dirt from the roots getting in my sandals. I thought I was going to die from over exertion, but I drank all my water and went home. Sunday and monday were hot~ 85 degrees F, and Monday was a holiday (Columbus day) so the city trucks wouldn't be available neither those two days . Sorry, No pictures. I have to wonder if it's worth photographing piles of dead weeds, I have better stuff I can fill my album with. But like I said, it was too much for a small pickup truck , and a full size pickup had to be called in, picture it in your mind.
I don't have to picture it in my mind... I've lived it...


The load of weeds and black locust trees I cleared from N. Interstate Ave. by KTesh
K'Tesh is offline  
Old 10-12-11, 12:39 PM
  #361  
24-Speed Machine
 
Chris516's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Wash. Grove, MD
Posts: 6,058

Bikes: 2003 Specialized Allez 24-Speed Road Bike

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1 Time in 1 Post
Originally Posted by K'Tesh
I don't have to picture it in my mind... I've lived it...


The load of weeds and black locust trees I cleared from N. Interstate Ave. by KTesh
While I don't have vehicle, I think once the pavement is dry again(since it rained last night), I will just bike up to location in the pics I previously posted, and just use my bare hands to clear away the overgrown portion of the bushes, then just throw all of it back behind the bushes. The state can clean up the mess after-the-fact.
Chris516 is offline  
Old 10-12-11, 01:22 PM
  #362  
Commander, UFO Bike
Thread Starter
 
K'Tesh's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Subject to change
Posts: 1,419

Bikes: Giant, Trek

Mentioned: 8 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 20 Post(s)
Liked 9 Times in 6 Posts
Originally Posted by Chris516
While I don't have vehicle, I think once the pavement is dry again(since it rained last night), I will just bike up to location in the pics I previously posted, and just use my bare hands to clear away the overgrown portion of the bushes, then just throw all of it back behind the bushes. The state can clean up the mess after-the-fact.
I typically find that it's easier to ask for forgiveness than permission when it comes to bike/ped infrastructure.

Sorry I didn't mention it earlier, but Thanks for taking up the cause you guys!
K'Tesh is offline  
Old 10-13-11, 09:53 AM
  #363  
Senior Member
 
hotbike's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Long Island, New York
Posts: 3,751

Bikes: a lowrider BMX, a mountain bike, a faired recumbent, and a loaded touring bike

Mentioned: 10 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 256 Post(s)
Liked 90 Times in 75 Posts
Thanks for the picture. What are those- Light Rail Tracks?

Anyway, the weeds were not picked up, despite a phoner call to DPW. And when I went by to check, there were workers doing something else (flushing a fire hydrant), and I told them, too. I went back again with nylon twine, they were gone, and I bundled the debris into FOUR bundles, about fifty pounds each (they got wet, it rained),
And another DPW truck came by, and I talked with the driver, and he said they would pick it up Tomorrow.

But the bundled weeds are now out of the road shoulder (zebra stripes, "bike Lane"), so I don't really care.

Now if they can run a street sweeper through, it will be fine.
hotbike is offline  
Old 10-13-11, 01:04 PM
  #364  
24-Speed Machine
 
Chris516's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Wash. Grove, MD
Posts: 6,058

Bikes: 2003 Specialized Allez 24-Speed Road Bike

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1 Time in 1 Post
Originally Posted by K'Tesh
I typically find that it's easier to ask for forgiveness than permission when it comes to bike/ped infrastructure.

Sorry I didn't mention it earlier, but Thanks for taking up the cause you guys!
Please expound on that? Unless I am misinterpreting what you mean, I have been forgiving on the aforementioned overgrowth, to the point that I would get off my bike and walk my bike past it. I had been doing this for more than a year. When I finally felt, 'enough is enough' and started getting on the authorities to take care of it. The other day when I had checked of the status of the previously mentioned dead deer, I stopped at the overgrown bushes and started taking care of them myself, with just my bare hands. I will check again, when it stops raining.
Chris516 is offline  
Old 10-13-11, 02:43 PM
  #365  
Commander, UFO Bike
Thread Starter
 
K'Tesh's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Subject to change
Posts: 1,419

Bikes: Giant, Trek

Mentioned: 8 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 20 Post(s)
Liked 9 Times in 6 Posts
Originally Posted by Chris516
Please expound on that? Unless I am misinterpreting what you mean, I have been forgiving on the aforementioned overgrowth, to the point that I would get off my bike and walk my bike past it. I had been doing this for more than a year. When I finally felt, 'enough is enough' and started getting on the authorities to take care of it. The other day when I had checked of the status of the previously mentioned dead deer, I stopped at the overgrown bushes and started taking care of them myself, with just my bare hands. I will check again, when it stops raining.
Read my comment as "cut first, ask forgiveness later". It can't hurt to also photograph before, during, and after (multiple angles help). I've never been arrested for my actions. I feel that if I ever was, and I had photographs showing the conditions, I think that would sway a judge/jury into my favor (especially if I can show that I tried to contact the authorities in the past, and nothing was done). Often municipalities have ordinances banning overhanging vegitation, and can have steep fines (Beaverton will charge you $250/day for overgrowing blackberries or other noxious vegetation if you are cited).

Last edited by K'Tesh; 10-13-11 at 02:51 PM.
K'Tesh is offline  
Old 10-15-11, 12:45 PM
  #366  
Senior Member
 
hotbike's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Long Island, New York
Posts: 3,751

Bikes: a lowrider BMX, a mountain bike, a faired recumbent, and a loaded touring bike

Mentioned: 10 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 256 Post(s)
Liked 90 Times in 75 Posts
Roadside Vegetation Management-Keeping the Bike Lanes Clear

Thought I'd show what these tools look like.


Hedge Cutters.


Pruning Shears.


Lopping Shears (which I've often referred to). These have a Lot of Leverage, due to the long handles, relative to the short blades.


Wood Saw. This saw is shown with it's cardboard sheath. The blade is VERY Sharp , and care should be used not to cut anyone, or blood loss.
hotbike is offline  
Old 10-15-11, 03:23 PM
  #367  
Commander, UFO Bike
Thread Starter
 
K'Tesh's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Subject to change
Posts: 1,419

Bikes: Giant, Trek

Mentioned: 8 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 20 Post(s)
Liked 9 Times in 6 Posts
Thanks for the photos hotbike, I figured I should do the same. So, here's my Weapons of Choice...



Pruning Saw, Compound-Action Bypass Lopper, Victorinox Swiss Army (Ranger Model) Knife, Bypass Pruning Shears, and a Machete.
K'Tesh is offline  
Old 10-15-11, 03:56 PM
  #368  
The Drive Side is Within
 
Standalone's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: New Haven, CT, USA
Posts: 3,334

Bikes: Road, Cargo, Tandem, Etc.

Mentioned: 4 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 120 Post(s)
Liked 44 Times in 28 Posts
The family attended 15O / Occupy New Haven today on our cargo and family bikes. Lots of overlap between bike advocacy folks and the popular anti-corporate sentiment out there.
__________________
The bicycle, the bicycle surely, should always be the vehicle of novelists and poets. Christopher Morley
Standalone is offline  
Old 10-15-11, 04:39 PM
  #369  
24-Speed Machine
 
Chris516's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Wash. Grove, MD
Posts: 6,058

Bikes: 2003 Specialized Allez 24-Speed Road Bike

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1 Time in 1 Post
Originally Posted by K'Tesh
Read my comment as "cut first, ask forgiveness later". It can't hurt to also photograph before, during, and after (multiple angles help). I've never been arrested for my actions. I feel that if I ever was, and I had photographs showing the conditions, I think that would sway a judge/jury into my favor (especially if I can show that I tried to contact the authorities in the past, and nothing was done). Often municipalities have ordinances banning overhanging vegitation, and can have steep fines (Beaverton will charge you $250/day for overgrowing blackberries or other noxious vegetation if you are cited).
I don't know why it didn't register the first time I read it. This time I understood it immediately.
Chris516 is offline  
Old 10-17-11, 10:04 AM
  #370  
Senior Member
 
squirtdad's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: San Jose (Willow Glen) Ca
Posts: 9,840

Bikes: Kirk Custom JK Special, '84 Team Miyata,(dura ace old school) 80?? SR Semi-Pro 600 Arabesque

Mentioned: 106 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2337 Post(s)
Liked 2,818 Times in 1,539 Posts
Advocacy or Charity work???? Spent 3 hours fixing bikes at a homeless shelter with my son and one of his classmates. Took for ever to do a simple fix because the thread for the crank extractor were hosed up. use a bolt to apply pressure and keep extactor tool alligned and used to tool to recut threads. Put on a donated sealed cartridge to replace origina bearings...... the little all bearing retainer looked like tin foil. Result one very happy down on his luck guy who spent time telling the kids to stay in school. www.goodkarmabikes.org
__________________
Life is too short not to ride the best bike you have, as much as you can
(looking for Torpado Super light frame/fork or for Raleigh International frame fork 58cm)



squirtdad is offline  
Old 10-17-11, 10:43 AM
  #371  
24-Speed Machine
 
Chris516's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Wash. Grove, MD
Posts: 6,058

Bikes: 2003 Specialized Allez 24-Speed Road Bike

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1 Time in 1 Post
Originally Posted by hotbike
Roadside Vegetation Management-Keeping the Bike Lanes Clear

Thought I'd show what these tools look like.


Hedge Cutters.


Pruning Shears.


Lopping Shears (which I've often referred to). These have a Lot of Leverage, due to the long handles, relative to the short blades.


Wood Saw. This saw is shown with it's cardboard sheath. The blade is VERY Sharp , and care should be used not to cut anyone, or blood loss.
The pruning shears are, what I need to find. So I go clean up the bushes that are intruding on the bike path.
Chris516 is offline  
Old 10-17-11, 11:27 AM
  #372  
Senior Member
 
hotbike's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Long Island, New York
Posts: 3,751

Bikes: a lowrider BMX, a mountain bike, a faired recumbent, and a loaded touring bike

Mentioned: 10 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 256 Post(s)
Liked 90 Times in 75 Posts
Originally Posted by Chris516
The pruning shears are, what I need to find. So I go clean up the bushes that are intruding on the bike path.
The small pruning shears are easy to carry. The other tools require large panniers.
I recommend ones with plastic handles, because they are lighter. The ones with metal handles weigh too much, Although I did have a pair , with plastic handles, that broke, but I got plenty of use out of them (like eight seasons).

TODAY's JOB:
Used the hedge trimers to remove vines from a fence, on a curve, at the bottom of a hill where there is an intersection.
hotbike is offline  
Old 10-17-11, 01:06 PM
  #373  
24-Speed Machine
 
Chris516's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Wash. Grove, MD
Posts: 6,058

Bikes: 2003 Specialized Allez 24-Speed Road Bike

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1 Time in 1 Post
Originally Posted by hotbike
The small pruning shears are easy to carry. The other tools require large panniers.
I recommend ones with plastic handles, because they are lighter. The ones with metal handles weigh too much, Although I did have a pair , with plastic handles, that broke, but I got plenty of use out of them (like eight seasons).

TODAY's JOB:
Used the hedge trimmers to remove vines from a fence, on a curve, at the bottom of a hill where there is an intersection.
I will check to make sure the handles are plastic.
Chris516 is offline  
Old 10-23-11, 03:22 PM
  #374  
24-Speed Machine
 
Chris516's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Wash. Grove, MD
Posts: 6,058

Bikes: 2003 Specialized Allez 24-Speed Road Bike

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1 Time in 1 Post
It wasn't bike related specifically. But when I was out on my bike coming back from the local 7-Eleven in the dark in the early evening, two days ago, I noticed a guy pushing a food cart like the ones' people see at tourist attractions.

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Railro...yland&t=m&z=18

The road where Railroad St. meets E. Deer Park Drive rises to meet the 'humpback' bridge that crosses over the CSX railroad tracks. The guy had a barely visible reflective vest with no lights of any kind on himself or his food cart. I 'shadowed' the guy all along Railroad St. crossing the CSX tracks at the second crossing and making a short left turn onto Oakmont Ave.. Had I not 'shadowed' the guy, he would most assuredly have been killed. Because all of Railroad St. and Oakmont Ave. is a 30mph zone, with no streetlights whatsoever.

Last edited by Chris516; 10-23-11 at 03:30 PM.
Chris516 is offline  
Old 10-24-11, 09:21 AM
  #375  
Senior Member
 
hotbike's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Long Island, New York
Posts: 3,751

Bikes: a lowrider BMX, a mountain bike, a faired recumbent, and a loaded touring bike

Mentioned: 10 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 256 Post(s)
Liked 90 Times in 75 Posts
Originally Posted by hotbike
Yes. A few years back there was a dead possum on the Bike Route (to Bayville, on Long Islands North Shore)and it absolutely stank. You couldn't breathe. Made my eyes water, and the flies were horrendous .

Anyway, I got around to clearing weeds from a Bike Lane on Saturday, and finished the job yesterday (tuesday) and managed to flag down a Glen Cove Beautification pickup truck, to ask about having the piles of weeds hauled away. It was too much for his small pickup, he said he would call someone at a city office and have a bigger full size pickup haul away the weeds. I made three piles, each three feet high.
The weeds in this case were the bushy kind, and they branched out and covered 125% of the bike lane. the whole area between the curb and the fog line, including the zebra stripes, and completely obscuring the fog line from view.
I used hedge trimmers; did not pull them up. Didn't want the dirt from the roots getting in my sandals. I thought I was going to die from over exertion, but I drank all my water and went home. Sunday and monday were hot~ 85 degrees F, and Monday was a holiday (Columbus day) so the city trucks wouldn't be available neither those two days . Sorry, No pictures. I have to wonder if it's worth photographing piles of dead weeds, I have better stuff I can fill my album with. But like I said, it was too much for a small pickup truck , and a full size pickup had to be called in, picture it in your mind.


Here's a picture AFTER, above. Neither the fog line nor the zebra stripes were visible before. You can see where I hacked the weeds away with the hedge clippers, lower right. And the city did send a street sweeper though before I took this picture. I see some stragglers , but it's nothing compared to how bad it was.

Then, when you get to the next intersection, you can ride on a physically separated bike path through Pratt Park:

The city plans to continue the separated path along the whole length of Glen Cove Creek. Sections are in place at either end, but there is a missing piece in the middle. The shoulder I cleared is the on-road connection between the two discontiguous sections at either end.
hotbike is offline  


Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.