when will cyclists be taken seriously
12-02-07, 02:31 AM
#1
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12-02-07, 03:13 AM
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I ride along that road all the time! I hope the council does go ahead with that plan, but I'm not getting my hopes up just yet.
12-02-07, 03:30 AM
#3
Every lane is a bike lane
Those separate bike lanes are a stupid idea anyway. If they tried that idea up here, the thing would be full of debris, broken glass and other rubbish within a week, and most cyclists would just be using the traffic lanes regardless. And where do you ride when the dog walkers and rollerbladers take over?
If you just leave the existing roadway as it is, you actually have more space because there are no barriers to clog it up, and you don't divide road users.
I used to think Melbourne was a good place to ride, but the proliferation of these types of "facilities" in recent years is making me revise that opinion.
If you just leave the existing roadway as it is, you actually have more space because there are no barriers to clog it up, and you don't divide road users.
I used to think Melbourne was a good place to ride, but the proliferation of these types of "facilities" in recent years is making me revise that opinion.
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12-02-07, 07:21 AM
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Segregation vs. integration. When gas hits $6/gallon we'll see gobs of cyclists. Perhaps then we can get what's most needed - education & enforcement.
12-02-07, 07:35 AM
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I always like to see people thinking about safer cycling, but they always come up with these kind of expensive plans, instead of the obvious. At least obvious to me. Reduce speed limits 15 and 25 everywhere except the interstate. Very heavily enforced. ALL road users would then be much, much safer.
12-02-07, 08:40 AM
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I can see advantages and disadvantages to each method...
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Webshots is bailing out, if you find any of my posts with corrupt picture files and want to see them corrected please let me know. :(
ISO: A late 1980's Giant Iguana MTB frameset (or complete bike) 23" Red with yellow graphics.
"Cycling should be a way of life, not a hobby.
RIDE, YOU FOOL, RIDE!"_Nicodemus
"Steel: nearly a thousand years of metallurgical development
Aluminum: barely a hundred
Which one would you rather have under your butt at 30mph?"_krazygluon
12-02-07, 10:10 AM
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Now if only the "bike lane"/"wide outside lane"/"excluded cyclist" types would advocate that I might actually agree with them.
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Don't run red lights, wear a helmet, use hand signals, get some cycle lights(front and rear) and, FFS, don't run red lights!
shameless POWERCRANK plug
Recommended reading for all cyclists - Cyclecraft - Effective Cycling
Condor Cycles - quite possibly the best bike shop in London
Don't run red lights, wear a helmet, use hand signals, get some cycle lights(front and rear) and, FFS, don't run red lights!
12-02-07, 10:16 AM
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Separated center of the road bikelanes is an idea that I've never thought about. That may be a good idea. Of course, not to the exent in this picture, we don't need this much room for bikes...yet.
12-02-07, 10:35 AM
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I always like to see people thinking about safer cycling, but they always come up with these kind of expensive plans, instead of the obvious. At least obvious to me. Reduce speed limits 15 and 25 everywhere except the interstate. Very heavily enforced. ALL road users would then be much, much safer.
12-02-07, 10:44 AM
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Would you really want a center bikelane? It would make me feel trapped, especially on busy roads where just getting to and from the bike lane could prove problematic.
12-02-07, 12:11 PM
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25 mph? That is ridiculously low on anything but a residential or farmland area, or maybe in dense city traffic. Most people on a bike riding downhill can easily exceed that. A lot of people can go faster than that on the flats.
12-02-07, 12:16 PM
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When the roads look like the above picture I'll be sure to park my bike in the middle of the car lane and block it off.
12-02-07, 12:20 PM
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No- what is ridiculous is 43,000 people a year dying on the roads.
12-02-07, 12:24 PM
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12-02-07, 12:29 PM
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No one is going to take seriously such a loopy proposal, nor the ideologues who make them.
12-02-07, 02:23 PM
#18
Every lane is a bike lane
That said, I tend to agree with you in general terms. Unfortunately, a lot of "advocates" tend to go for this sort of tokenism with the whole "lower speed limits" thing (which only upsets everyone else, resulting in the limits never being enforced) or the sort of thing described in the OP. mandovoodoo best summed up what was needed, but "advocates" will never campaign for anything like that because overall cyclist safety just isn't on their agenda.
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12-02-07, 02:38 PM
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Motorists like it because there are few traffic lights and no tram, apparently. These seem like factors that make it attractive to cyclists as well. (After all, you say you use all the time.) Few alternatives for cyclists?
From the article, it sounds like the proposed project will be rather short in length. Is that your impression? Thanks!
12-02-07, 03:35 PM
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I've been to Melbourne. The only thing I can think of is that people there don't have much experience in the art of complaining. In other places people have many things to complain about and they learn at an early age. But, people in Melbourne may go through their entire lives with maybe only one or two things to complain about. Complaining, it's new stuff for them and they just don't have it down just yet.
Apart from the J turns and that there doesn't seem to be a distributor of Pepto Bismo, I can't think of anything in Melbourne to complain about. And I can't complain about the J turns because I don't quite understand them enough to make a proper complaint. So I'll just let it slide.
Apart from the J turns and that there doesn't seem to be a distributor of Pepto Bismo, I can't think of anything in Melbourne to complain about. And I can't complain about the J turns because I don't quite understand them enough to make a proper complaint. So I'll just let it slide.
