Bigbus

I've done that. Not sure if the employ ever got spoken to by his boss, but it sure felt good to vent!

Kat12

Right, that's what I mean. If it's not a shared lane with the cars' driving lane, then how is it a sharrow?

(There's a street I ride often to get to a friend's house that is confusing, too. It's marked as a sharrow, but it also has a parking lane. I think most people think the parking lane is a bike lane-- it's not marked as such, people usually park there, and it's wider than the other bike lanes around-- and that's problematic, of course, when one is riding and cars assume you should be there rather than in the actual lane for driving... IF there was no parking lane, I think people would be more likely to recognize that the sharrow markings mean... well... a sharrow, rather than thinking they're an indication that there's a bike lane.)

Kat12

And, in a world where delivery drivers are pushed to be fast fast fast, and it seems customers get more unreasonable and impatient by the day, I'm not going to begrudge someone trying to make a living doing something I'm glad I don't have to do, who's just trying to do their job the way they're expected to do it without getting in trouble (with either employer, customers, or both) for taking too much time. Where I used to live, "my" parking space at my building was the one closest to the door besides the handicapped space. There were several occasions where people thought this was the visitor parking and parked in my spot. I didn't really get annoyed at the delivery drivers... they were just trying to get the delivery done quickly and easily, and used a spot that had been empty for most of the day, and they'd be gone in a couple minutes; it was just coincidence that the five minutes they were there happened to be the exact time I got home.

homeless in ca.

Both streets have plenty of parking. There is no need to park in the bike lane. And most people don't. It's just a handful of people that are ignorant.

I'm not optimistic that legislators will listen to reasoned arguments. The special interests that own both parties have no use for bike paths. Active healthy people who live to old age are a burden.

Change is possible but the proven method is to change the culture. Take the current scandal surrounding police brutality. Lawyers and activists have been fighting corruption in the justice system for decades and run into a bureaucratic brick wall. Things are only starting to change because the public is sick and tired of this gruesome spectacle and the idea of non compliance is taking hold.

For cyclists the culture war is making reckless and negligent driving socially unacceptable.

homeless in ca.

https://saaq.gouv.qc.ca/en/road-safe...nals-bikeways/

homeless in ca.

Left my truck parked on Rue Girouard in Montreal for about 2 hours and forgot to turn the dashcam off. When I came back the delivery van was just leaving. I took some pictures with my phone and talked to the contractor who wanted to know why I was taking pictures. I told him I take pictures so I can complain to the city and create bad publicity for the businesses so they stop parking in bike lanes. I suggested to the contractor that they could have parked in the driveway but he said that spot was for "monsieur". I told him I thought parking in the bike lane was worse because it's dangerous for cyclists but he said they can just go around. Then he asked why I had nothing better to do.

For some reason my dashcam makes 1 minute long clips. I don't know how to splice them together so I just uploaded one clip where the driver almost nails a woman in the head with a two by four. And a screen grab of the delivery company's truck as it pulls up.

I posted the video and a picture on the delivery service's google page. 1/5 stars.

njkayaker

Interesting.

Using sharrows is unnecessary. The diamond is sufficient.

The name "sharrow" is related to being shared. So, the use of sharrows in a bike lane is weird.

Sharrows might not be sharrows in Canada but (AFAIK) they were originally created to convey something being shared.

Sharrows are used in the US and Canada but I'm not sure where else (they don't seem to be used in Europe).


Sharrows are not used in bike lanes in the US (there's no need to),

Diamonds are not used in bike lanes in the US either (AFAICT).

Daniel4

When you're tending to an issue very important to you and one involving public safety, there is nothing better to do.

Keep it up. I believe Montreal is a very progressive city. At least the Mayor is. Hope Longueuil is the same.

rydabent

Virtually ALL delivery vans, trucks, and cars think they have the right to just pull up and stop ANYWHERE, while they do deliveries. They even block cars in their parking spots until the driver comes out and moves their vehicles.

Daniel4

I once had a delivery vehicle (Purolator or Fedex) park right in front of my driveway so I couldn't get in. My house is a corner lot with the driveway at one end. So there's still about 50 ft or more of curb bordering nothing but grass behind him.

I got out and asked him why he couldn't have just parked the truck behind where he already was.

Another time, I was driving and entering a plaza but there was a car stopped right at the driveway. The driver must have pulled over to either check his text or map. When I got out I pointed at all the other parking spaces that were available. This happens all the time at grocery stores where a lineup of cars are parked under the no parking signs because the drivers are waiting for someone.

indyfabz

I have done it before. One time I almost got hit by a truck while riding to work. I called the business and told the person who answered what had happened, including the driver telling me to go "f" my mother who, by chance, had recently died. The guy I spoke with was very receptive and said, sounding exasperated, "I know exactly who you are talking about." when I described the driver. He said he would speak to the driver. I got the distinct impression that it was not the first time there had been an issue with that driver.

Bigbus

You like to believe that businesses give a hoot about public relations, but sadly, so many don't.

indyfabz

I was thinking more about risk management. Ever notice those "How is my driving?" stickers on the backs of company vehicles? Good way to reduce/eliminate additional risk/costs created by habitually bad drivers. I have called to report a couple of drivers using those stickers.

Re: the experience I described above, imagine if that diver ends up injuring someone. If I were the injured person's lawyer I would certainly ask if the company during discovery if it had ever received complaints about the employee's driving. Might possibly lay the groundwork for punitive damages.

Paul Barnard

I thought of this thread the other day when I saw an office supply delivery truck parked in the bike lane at the pin drop. It was drizzling. The driver had a dolly with about 4-5 boxes on it. I scanned the area closely to see where a very conscientious driver might park to make the delivery. There was no reasonable option. As a cyclist I would have no problem going through the burden of safely moving around the parked vehicle. I don't understand why the guy should have to drive around for who knows how long looking for a place to park or park some distance away and deliver wet supplies to his customer. Thinking about the bigger picture, about 8 times more pedestrians are killed each year in the USA than are cyclists, so why is forcing him to push his dolly across 3-4 intersections or more a better solution than me going around?

https://www.google.com/maps/place/83...!4d-90.0744781

homeless in ca.

There's an alley.

https://www.google.com/maps/@29.9456...7i16384!8i8192

Paul Barnard

The alley isn't a reasonable option.

njkayaker

???

That's not an "alley". It's an access to a parking lot.

homeless in ca.

Then the driver should find a proper parking space.

Paul Barnard

There wasn't a reasonable one. That's why I made the post. I am not so selfish that I can't see life through the lens of others and empathize with them. I do note that you didn't take a stab at answering my question.

Paul Barnard

During the work day, there are cars parallel parked on the left side with a narrow swath to go around them.

homeless in ca.

I had my own moving truck. And there's no excuse for parking in the bike lane. Not only is it illegal and dangerous and antisocial but my customers wouldn't like it. They'd think I'm a schmuck. So you just shouldn't do it.

Some buildings even have a doorman or security guard who won't let you park in the driveway either. Drivers have to find a place to park, load everything on a dolly and bring it through the garage. However long that takes. Those are the rules.

When people pay for delivery or hire movers they expect someone to bring the proper equipment and do the job right. No shortcuts.

Drivers who park in the bike lane are bums.


This one?

Too easy. The big picture is that cyclists and pedestrians are killed by bad drivers. And making bad drivers obey the rules will make the roads safer for everyone.

Paul Barnard

It was so easy that you dodged it. The delivery driver didn't have the option of making them better drivers. Answering my own question, I am not so selfish that I'd have a delivery driver walking several blocks across several intersections to deliver his freight. It served a greater overall good for me to simply go around.

All road users in tight CBD areas have to deal with freight/delivery trucks parked in travel lanes. I have to go around them when I am driving my auto on a near daily basis. I am not so prima donna that I think I should never have to suffer such an inconvenience on my bicycle. Keep up your indiscriminate crusade. In many cases, reasonable people like myself are going to laugh at you. Smart people realize that it does a disservice to the cycling community to cry wolf in certain cases.

Cyclaholic

I think the driver in the OP parked perfectly fine.

Paul Barnard

I didn't see anything that looked like it would be a challenge to negotiate, but then again I don't live in the perpetually aggrieved state that so many of the "me" minded cyclists do.

AlmostTrick

I don't think you can pin that on any one generation. I know plenty of old timers in the perpetually aggrieved state. They even have their own news networks to cater to their perceived grievances.