Road Diet Op-Ed by GPPF (sales tax, price, law)

[Troubleshooter]

TSPLOST??? Is that the sound of the pie thrown in the face of the driver needing to get to work by those wanting emphasis placed on alternative transportation?

Gasoline taxes pay for all state and federal projects, including all projects on numbered state, US, and Interstate routes.

People who do not want to be subjected to landlords must usually live outside major cities and commute to work. Landlords buy up most of the land inside cities and convert it to horrid high-density rentals.

[Troubleshooter]

Bicycles should not be considered a serious transportation mode until we can get most of the bicycle riders to actually obey all of the traffic laws.

[GeorgiaLakeSearch]

Originally Posted by Troubleshooter

Bicycles should not be considered a serious transportation mode until we can get most of the bicycle riders to actually obey all of the traffic laws.

But they are being green so it's okay.

[cqholt]

Originally Posted by Troubleshooter

Bicycles should not be considered a serious transportation mode until we can get most of the bicycle riders to actually obey all of the traffic laws.

As a commuting cyclist myself, nothing annoys me more than a cyclist running a red light. I can see doing a rolling stop at a stop sign, but there is no excuse for running a red light.

[AnsleyPark]

Originally Posted by cqholt

As a commuting cyclist myself, nothing annoys me more than a cyclist running a red light. I can see doing a rolling stop at a stop sign, but there is no excuse for running a red light.

My favorite is when they ride between lanes of cars or between and curbs and then run through the traffic signal. Those folks are creating their own problems.

[CCATL]

Originally Posted by cqholt

As a commuting cyclist myself, nothing annoys me more than a cyclist running a red light. I can see doing a rolling stop at a stop sign, but there is no excuse for running a red light.

Agreed. I bicycle commute as well, and when I see other bike commuters fly by me when I am stopped at the red light and just go through, I want to scream at them and let them know why so many people hate us. Fortunately, I see more cyclists following the rules than not, but people in cars are only going to notice those not following the laws.

[jsvh]

Originally Posted by Troubleshooter

TSPLOST??? Is that the sound of the pie thrown in the face of the driver needing to get to work by those wanting emphasis placed on alternative transportation?

The majority of TSPLOST went to roads. But I am now glad it failed and think we should make user fees cover each mode of transportation.

Originally Posted by Troubleshooter

Gasoline taxes pay for all state and federal projects, including all projects on numbered state, US, and Interstate routes.

False.
Highway Statistics 2004 - REVENUES USED BY STATES FOR HIGHWAYS - 2004 - Table SF-1
For Georgia, we only collected $77 Mil Fuel taxes out of $2 Bil in highway spending (in 2004). And all users fees account for only 25% of Highway spending in GA. ( http://www.city-data.com/forum/30959907-post5.html )

Originally Posted by Troubleshooter

People who do not want to be subjected to landlords must usually live outside major cities and commute to work. Landlords buy up most of the land inside cities and convert it to horrid high-density rentals.

False. In cities proper 52.1%, a majority, own their home. (for 2010 census, compared to 67% nationally).

[westau]

Originally Posted by jsvh

The majority of TSPLOST went to roads. But I am now glad it failed and think we should make user fees cover each mode of transportation.



False.
Highway Statistics 2004 - REVENUES USED BY STATES FOR HIGHWAYS - 2004 - Table SF-1
For Georgia, we only collected $77 Mil Fuel taxes out of $2 Bil in highway spending (in 2004). And all users fees account for only 25% of Highway spending in GA. ( http://www.city-data.com/forum/30959907-post5.html )



False. In cities proper 52.1%, a majority, own their home. (for 2010 census, compared to 67% nationally).

Sticking with that flawed % I see.

[jsvh]

Originally Posted by westau

Sticking with that flawed % I see.

Lets see your source showing that roads are 100% user fee paid. Because I call BS.

In fact. Here you go, updated stats: http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policyinform...atistics/2011/

I see no way you can look at a slice of these numbers and think you are getting above 50% from user fees. In fact 25% might be too high, looks like GA collected $668 Mil (fuel, vehicle tax, and tolls) out of $3.4 Bil total budget is closer to 20%. Guess that study was being generous (or it was just older data).

[Troubleshooter]

Originally Posted by CCATL

Agreed. I bicycle commute as well, and when I see other bike commuters fly by me when I am stopped at the red light and just go through, I want to scream at them and let them know why so many people hate us. Fortunately, I see more cyclists following the rules than not, but people in cars are only going to notice those not following the laws.

I live in a university town, and you won't believe what I have seen and what has happened.

1. We have had multiple cases of the same accident, including several injuries and fatalities. What happens is that a bicycle being illegally ridden on a sidewalk in the wrong direction on a one-way street collided with a turning vehicle entering that street. The amazing fact is that the bicycle usually crashed into the back of the turning vehicle, and the crash flipped the rider under the wheels of the vehicle.

The bicycle appears at speed from a direction the driver of the other vehicle does not expect traffic (other than pedestrians) to come from. Often it is hidden by the "street trees" the government stupidly plants between the street and the sidewalk. The bicycle rider does not slow down at the intersection, because the cross street has to stop.

The driver of the other vehicle sees nothing coming, so he starts his turn. Now the bicycle is so close it can't stop in time. It crashes into the back of the other vehicle. The front wheel is caught on the fender or bumper of the other vehicle. This flips the bike over, throwing the rider under the other vehicle. The wheels of the other vehicle then run over the rider.

2. Another type of accident is also prevalent. A bicycle passes a stopped motor vehicle on the right. The stopped motor vehicle simultaneously starts to turn right, and hits the bike. Since the bike approached from one of the blind spots of the vehicle, the driver never saw it. In many of these cases, the vehicle was in an exclusive right turn lane.

3. A third type of accident is also unique to bicycles. A car drives up to the curb, and stops to unload a passenger. The passenger opens the door, and a bicycle traveling at speed crashes into the door. The bicycle is either passing on the right on the street, or riding on the sidewalk.

4. There is a "bicycle rights group" here that is telling bicycle riders that a bicycle is a pedestrian because the bicycle has no motor. But this is dangerous, because the pedestrian laws assume no pedestrian goes faster than 4 mph. Anything going faster than that while obeying the pedestrian rules is a hazard. Segways should not be considered pedestrians, because they can go as fast as 12 mph.

5. In every bicycle-motor-vehicle accident in the past 25 years, the bicycle rider caused the accident by breaking some traffic law, including:

- Riding on the sidewalk (illegal in most states, but usually combines two laws)
- Suddenly entering traffic from private property (or from a sidewalk) without the required full stop
- Using a crosswalk instead of the intersection
- Not stopping at a stop sign
- Disobeying a traffic signal (or "obeying" the pedestrian signal, rather than the vehicle signals)
- Riding between lanes, or on the edge of the road (instead of joining a line of stopped cars)
- Using the wrong lane
- Riding the wrong direction on a one-way street
- Riding on the wrong side of the road
- Passing a stopped vehicle on the side it is signaling a turn toward)
- No headlight at night
- Flashing headlight or taillight at night (means something else)
- Riding in a cluster and obeying traffic laws as though the cluster were one vehicle
- Blocking faster traffic by not letting it pass
- Cutting through private property to avoid a traffic control device