Comments on: Groan. Ride of Silence: The People Speak

By: Coghauler

Coghauler — Tue, 19 May 2009 20:14:54 +0000

With the Blog Master’s indulgence….
this video has brought to mind an
idea I have not seen expressed here,
yet.
What single thing, just one, would make
Tucson a platinum level experience for
cyclists? There are many needs, no doubt.
The League of American Whatevers has many
criteria for meeting the standard generally
throughout the country. And Davis (CA) did
this and Portland did that to get it, but
what would meet the need of TUCSON riders.
Something that would make them all say, “Wow,
this is really nice!”
I don’t mean to include the finishing of the
gold level stuff that has been started by the
tireless efforts of those who deserve endless
accolades….truly. (Thoses things are really nice)
I saw something in the video that would serve
Tucson riders really well in more ways than one.
I liked the fact that the bike lanes (shoulders)
in Copenhagen had their own surfacing. We have
many great bike lanes in wonderful condition,
especially the recent ones and they get better
with each improvement. But if they are not that,
then they are torturous. The ‘whump-whumps’..those
rhythmic cracks that make you want to get off
the bike and walk. And the dangerous in-line breaks
that can grab and throw a thin tire. Those are
dangerous and require extraordinary attention.
The potholes and breakage between asphalt and concrete
of the curbs. It’s a shame we have to wait for the
whole road to go to shit before we have a safe
surface…it is more critical for bikes than cars.
I’ll go anywhere with traffic, but I’ll avoid a route
with too much poor surface. Just 2-3 inches of chip-
seal would do. It has made a big difference to some
of the residential streets and would make me say,
“Wow, this is really nice.”

By: Buttercup

Buttercup — Tue, 19 May 2009 19:23:56 +0000

Remember the context. This is the comment section from the Arizona Daily Star. You should just consider yourself lucky that the commenters didn’t link bike riding to ‘illegal aliens’ coming to the US to fill the roads with bikes which are the Spawn of Satan(tm).

The last comment really gets me too. This person talks about people who walk in the street. There are many places in Tucson where there are NO sidewalks and people MUST walk in the street. Tucson Blvd just south of Glenn – the other day I had to share the bike lane with a person in a wheelchair going the wrong way. But I looked and there was no other way for this guy to travel.

Why is there a seemingly god-given right to drive everywhere, when bikes and pedestrians don’t have the same rights. Is carheadedness next to godliness?

By: Coghauler

Coghauler — Tue, 19 May 2009 19:00:18 +0000

Exactly, Rex!
That’s parity. When we are using
our bikes just as we would a car,
we can choose the road and we deserve
the space. We can choose a lesser
traveled road or multi-use trail if
we want to avoid cars and they can
take the interstate if they want to
avoid bikes.
This is a great video:
http://vimeo.com/1910758
the green wave…as opposed to
Broadway’s red wave.

By: Rex

Rex — Tue, 19 May 2009 18:09:07 +0000

Scott, I understand what you’re saying, however, I live at Pima and Swan. Taking Arroyo Chico is out of my way and adds significant time to my commute. I agree that it’s safer and quieter, but I also feel that by ceding my right to ride Broadway, it’s another win for the carheads. Then we have to ask if all cyclists should stop using Broadway and the other arterial streets and limit ourselves to side streets. I try to minimize the risk to myself by following traffic laws-yes, I even stop at red lights-I just don’t think it’s to much to ask for some space on the roadway.

By: P.S.

P.S. — Tue, 19 May 2009 17:26:19 +0000

I love how No. 2 suggests that bicyclists have no expectation of safety even if they remain in the bike lane.

By: Bicycle Mark

Bicycle Mark — Tue, 19 May 2009 17:17:53 +0000

Scott, Arroyo Chico is NOT as fast as Broadway IF you stop for the stop signs, plus the road surface on AC is pretty bumpy (I have to go slower to keep stuff from falling off).

By: Scott

Scott — Tue, 19 May 2009 15:23:15 +0000

Point taken Rex, but I gotta ask… why risk your life on Broadway in the first place when just a few blocks south is the almost deserted and just as quick Arroyo Chico bike route? Yeah, I know we have a right to play chicken with the idiots and cell-yackers on Broadway, just like we have the right to hit ourselves in the head repeatedly with a brick – I just don’t get why, when this town is so full of more mellow alternatives.

By: Rex

Rex — Mon, 18 May 2009 21:51:19 +0000

So I’m riding home Friday down Broadway. Just past Venice, a car passes me with the right side tires on the white line, then proceeds half way into the bike lane and continues down Broadway. Yes, it’s a black & white. Clearly the cops aren’t concerned about a 3′ passing distance or respecting a bike lane, so why would the motoring public?

By: Coghauler

Coghauler — Mon, 18 May 2009 18:18:17 +0000

Sometimes I wonder if the cops’
non-enforcement of wrong way
riding and no-lights-at-night
and flagrant stop sign running
isn’t a ploy to work public
sentiment against cyclist.
These things irk me as a cyclist
and the BAC has spoken its same
concern to enforcement only to
land on deaf ears. Maybe the official
policy is to ticket these things, but
out on the street they are given
the ‘by’ too often not to be seen
as deliberate.
BTW..saw our two cycle celebrities,
Ignacio & Daniella, at the theater
last night in the cycling promo. Stars
are born….wonder how many takes it
took.

By: Lauren

Lauren — Mon, 18 May 2009 17:20:34 +0000

Scary stuff as usual, Erik.

That last one really gets me. The person isn’t capable of putting together coherent sentences, so it’s hard to imagine him/her operating a motor vehicle. The incompetence combined with the carhead perspective (“they are allowed on the road, but they shouldn’t be”) is a serious danger.