Originally Posted by
wsbob
People that roll and blow stop signs in Portland, aren't making any friends amongst most of the people having to drive and ride the bus...or that live in neighborhoods where cyclists roll through without stopping at stop signs.
People that
safely roll through stop signs = Very little to no risk to themselves or other road users.
People that
blow through stop signs = As ILTB pointed out previously are exaggerated fabrications.
I also don't care about making friends with other road users, wsbob.
Originally Posted by
wsbob
On one of the main routes having become popular for bike commuting in recent years, people not stopping for stop signs as they enter one of the city's most heavily congested thoroughfares, Broadway, pose particular problems on a complex section of NE Broadway intersected with small but important cross streets. Articles about this can be found on a search at bikeportland: 'Broadway Flint'. People on bikes not stopping at stop signs here are not the entire source of the problems, but their not stopping, raises potential for close calls and collisions.
I know this area very well and use this route often. Click the picture to expand it.
Visibility is EXCELLENT. If you're biking to this stop sign many times cars are not even approaching yet from the left because they're held up by the lights. For every 7 times I can roll through the stop sign safely, there are 3 times I actually have to come to a complete stop because motorized vehicles are already coming down Broadway.
This is also a popular stop sign for bored cops to ticket bicyclists.
Thousands of cyclists a week will run this stop sign. I can't recall the last time a cyclist was killed doing so, or caused any kind of car accident. The dangers you mentioned about Broadway are from other issues entirely. Like right hooks onto the side streets.
Originally Posted by
wsbob
In Portland, problems from people on bikes not stopping at stop signs have existed for years in another location on a street that started out as a sort of urban scenic recreational byway, and that gradually became a defacto bike commuter route, passing through a small, 7-9 block square, older 'garden style' Portland neighborhood. Search at bikeportland: Ladd's Addition. People living in the neighborhood don't mind bikes riding through, but but have found that bikes not stopping or even slowing at the stop signs, to at least a walking speed, works against the quality of life the neighborhood can offer.
Yes, when the Rich Elite of Portland in Ladd's Addition complain, oh boy are there police coming over to throw up a sting operation! Where are the police stings in East Portland? A STOP SIGN AT A ROUNDABOUT IS DUMB. Visibility is so good on the roundabout it is laughable they'd want me to stop. I know how to yield and this works 100% of the time. This is another area that thousands of cyclists a week will roll through the stop sign when it is safe to do so. Where's the harm? The quality of life in this neighborhood is haaardly hampered. What is far worse is the litter that pedestrians and cyclists are leaving in the gardens instead of using the trashcans.
Originally Posted by
wsbob
Portland, as I suppose occurs in other big cities with some regularity, has had people riding, cross streets in front of buses, obliging the bus driver to stop short...passengers falling, injuring themselves.
Yes, I recall......that one major incident with the bike ninja. When was that again? This is NOT a common occurrence, wsbob.