veggiemafia

I've seen two ghost bikes around town, one at the corner of Baum and Liberty and one on Craig St. near the PNC Bank. Are people getting killed in Pittsburgh, or are these just to acknowledge that someone was hit by a car?

jodypolk

yinz be safe, n'at...

dmg

I think it's just for people being hit - they usually have a legend that says "a cyclist struck here" or something like that. No one has died what I know of.

SingleSpeeDemon

With that thought it seems one of those bikes could be in honor of you, Vegman.

irideacenturion

Did you get hit again ... or is he refering to the first time that lady hit you?

SingleSpeeDemon

^^^Referring to the first time.

Sorry...I like to live off of other people's life experiences. They're usually more exciting than my own.

scheissmacht

I left at age 8, I'm so glad I never talked like that

sykerocker 

Heck, that's normal speech (ex-Johnstown boy).

veggiemafia

So yeah, people are just getting hit. The one on Baum and Liberty is a particularly ****ty/scary story.

ghostbike.org to check it out.

EyeRobot

The only time I've ever been knocked over by a car in Pittsburgh is when I was walking.


Now Florida, on the other hand...

Diggidy_Dylan

The one I saw here in Portland was, cyclist killed at this intersection. And the bike was painted in all white and had a bunch of candles and mementos.

Mofopotomus

yeah, there are a bunch of those around. Makes me sad everytime.

Eulogy13x

I ride past that one every day on my way to/from school. People are anus-holes on that street, none of the lights have turn lanes or arrows, and everyone's trying to go left, and the people who aren't going left are trying to get into the right lane to get around the people going left, which of course is where I am. I get yelled at least one morning a week, and have had my handlebars clipped by side mirrors and whatnot several times by cockheads who tried to squeeze past me in the same lane. Usually, I catch 'em at the next light and whack their window to scare 'em and yell "how do YOU like getting hit?," but I think this story might be sufficient to get me to change my route.

xJAHx

Four that I know of: Forbes & Devon Rd (CMU), Craig @ PNC, Forbes @ McGee Hospital, and Baum & Liberty...all with signs like DMG quoted, "Cyclist struck here." Ghostbike.org has the first one that I mentioned listed at Forbes & Morewood, close enough.

For the past year or so, there was a ghost bike at Allegheny River Blvd & Sandy Creek Rd (on your way to Verona from the Highland Park Bridge), where I believe that a cyclist was killed.

Any thoughts as to why they put a bike lane on Liberty without actually using lines to demarcate the protected area through Bloomfield? They simply painted a bicycle in the psuedo bike lanes every 100 yards or so…

JAH

veggiemafia

It's not technically a bike lane. They're called sharrows (as in share arrows) and it's more of a thing to indicate to motorists "hey yinz guys! this is where bikes go, jagoff!" while not delineating a section of the roadway off specifically for us. Sharrows are kind of debated, some people like them (I like them in principle, but people through Bloomfield don't pay any attention to them at all, and I know I'm forced to go into the middle of the lane because someone is parking or is stopped there with their flashers on like flashers make everything ok) and others think that they're basically just a kludge and ineffective.

entukay

interestinggg... i've never seen them but I am going to have to check out for them.

oh and... go steelers

dmg

Yaarrggh.... Baum is not a street that I would choose to ride on if there's any alternative. Centre is a lot better, and cutting down Negley to Ellsworth is better still. I'm scared to drive on Baum most of the time.

There's an explanation of the use of the sharrows here. My understanding is that it was a compromise due to the on-street parking - I think it works out a lot better for cyclists, since it doesn't put you directly in the door zone (one of my big problems with bike lanes as a whole), yet it increases the visibility of bikes. There have been a lot more people riding on Liberty since they've gone in, so that's pretty cool, and there is a dedicated bike lane once you cross Main Street, where it's less of a commercial area.

Has anyone seen the new bike markings on the Birmingham Bridge? Pretty hot.

xJAHx

Sharrows, I see. Prior to this enlightening, it seemed to me like I was riding from an area with a designated bike lane (Liberty closer towards the city) to an area where the urban planners said, "Good luck."

As for the B-ham bridge, the bike lanes are things of beauty. This picture is from Erok at bike-pgh:



Damn, you could almost be convinced that the city is promoting cycling.

J

Jose Perez

You are not kidding. I've never been anywhere as bike UNFRIENDLY as Florida. Motorist seem to enjoy buzzing you at speed, no shoulders to speak of on most roads, and cars treat bike lanes like an extra passing lane. I'm surprised you don't hear more bad stories coming out of Florida.

Eulogy13x

Whoa, when did they do this? I haven't been across the bridge in maybe a month, but I'd swear they weren't there then!

veggiemafia

Yeah, I haven't been down that way either, because I don't really have any reason to go to the South Side, but damn, guess where I'm going tomorrow just to check it out.

Negative Force

Ghost bikes for people just getting hit by cars, and the same ghost bikes for people who were killed?





Weird.

Eulogy13x

I believe the placard on the bike tells the difference. It either says "Cyclist struck here" or "Cyclist killed here" depending on the situation. In other news, I took Center Ave. today instead of Baum. Definitely slower traffic (good), but now there's parked cars, so you have to watch out for being doored (bad). Might try Ellsworth tomorrow.

Be safe, b!tches.

xJAHx

Center > Baum for sure. In the tight areas, just own the lane. If you are betwixt 15-20mph, you are moving at least as fast as the traffic...which would undoubtedly get stopped at a light if they attempted to pass you and move at any speed.

Ellsworth is full of parked cars on one side near the business district, but once you make it to the end of Shadyside/N. Oakland, you just have to watch for people rolling through the stop signs in the residential area.

I ride between UPMC Presby and UPMC Shadyside often; Ellsworth is the winner on most occasions.

J

artblur@artblur

i "almost" get hit every day in miami.... people here think of it as a sport