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Vehicles belong on the road. Sidewalks are for pedestrians. It makes no sense for a bicyclist to take side streets. They generally increase the length of a commute.
Well then, we'd better start putting kids on tricycles, sk8-boards, and roller-blades in the street too.
Well then, we'd better start putting kids on tricycles, sk8-boards, and roller-blades in the street too.
Keep in mind that children need to be accompanied by adults and in most states they must be at least 13 years old to ride on non-residential roads. Skateboards and rollerblades are not considered vehicles.
In all, but one state, a large portion of taxes to maintain roads are taken from taxes collected outside of gasoline tax, tolls, and vehicle registration fees.
Any time I've tried to research this I've run into a quagmire of taxes being shifted all over the place. Right off the top you have about 20 or 30 percent of the federal fuel tax being shifted to mass transit.At the state level it varies widely. In PA for example the Turnpike which is a toll road was relatively in very good financial order until recently when they startd robbing money from them to pay for other roads.. They have had to raise the rates substantially. Half the toll is used for the Turnpike, half goes to PennDOT forother road projects and on top of that you're paying a fuel tax. There is also substantial amount of money being shifted from the state fuel tax to mass transit, in particular SEPTA.
And THAT is what I'm most angry about since I believe Speed Limits should be abolished! At least you're honest.
Let's just get something straight here. There is no such thing as "traffic-calming." What is really happening is motorists are getting more P*$$ed-Offed! You may slow the traffic, but you're increasing Road Rage.
My street is a major cut through for people trying to avoid the main arteries. In the seventies, as this neighborhood developed, wide suburban streets with long sight lines were common. In the first few years, this was not an issue, because the drivers were local, but as the surrounding area developed, it became more congested, and non-locals discovered that they could cut a few minutes out of their commute by using my neighborhood to avoid the traffic signals. My street in particular became a raceway, leading to many near misses at rush hour between students walking to school and inattentive commuters. The bike lanes were added about ten years ago to calm traffic, which has helped, but not to the extent needed.
Quote:
Originally Posted by NJBest
Why not just put up speed limit signs?
Speed limit signs are posted up and down my street, and they are ignored. When things get really bad, I call the Sheriff's department, and they send a deputy out to issue tickets. That works really well...for about two weeks after he leaves, and then they're right back at it. I'd very much like to see the addition of more traffic calming devices. A crosswalk re-design up the way has done a great job of slowing traffic, but by the time drivers reach my end of the street, they're going fifteen miles or more above the speed limit right next to a popular bike trail and major park/playground. That's a tragedy waiting to happen.
We have bike lanes on busy streets around here as well. As a cyclist, I never use them though because with people texting while driving, it would be crazy to do so. That would be a good way to get run over. I think they should just use the sidewalks for pedestrians and bikes, at least for our town. It is much easier for a cyclist to navigate by a pedestrian than it is for 100 cars to go by a cyclist in traffic. Also, there are not really that many pedestrians around here on the sidewalks. If they made the sidewalks a bit wider, it would be no different from the paved bike trails that they have. They are just wider sidewalks.
I drive VERY aggressively and have been for over 35 years, while maintaining a PERFECT driving record and maintaining my professional DRIVING job. I guess I must not be a criminal after all, but have taught many other road traveling wayfarers a lesson as well as countless J-walkers.
I've been arrested a few times, booked once, and pulled-over dozens of times, but to all of no consequence.
My criminal record consists of a few counts of Criminal Damage to Property and Trespassing, all of which was committed while behind the wheel of a vehicle and usually related to a car chase spawned by someone who thought they could SLOW ME DOWN!
I do agree that parking can be lost to new bike lanes, but this brings up an important question. Is the primary function of roadways transportation or in some cases should vehicle "storage" take precedent? Also is it the function of gov't to provide a subsidized place for you to park or should parking be dealt with by the private sector, off the street?
The private sector has failed horribly at providing parking due to the costs of enforcement which lack economies of scale and the oligopolies that are frequently in place for larger parking structures. The result is that the consumer has to pay substantially more than it costs to create the parking space as all of the overhead plus profits for the oligopoly are shifted onto the consumer.
The purpose of a roadway is transportation, but being transported to a location also requires being able to get out of the vehicle at that location. When I was deciding where to live, I crossed off the entire east coast because most of it had spectacular failures for road systems. The crappy whether didn't hurt either. It seems NC and possibly Florida provide the only reasonable places to live that are technically on the East Coast.
5. Bicyclists should be kissing the cars hoods as they pass! Bikes don't pay any taxes for the roads, they don't use any gas, therefore no taxes are collected from them running on the roads.
Interesting.
How do you feel about electric cars?
Do you feel that somebody driving a F350 that gets 15 MPG has more rights to use the road than my 50 MPG Diesel wagon?
Do you feel that somebody that drives 30000 miles a year has more right to the roads than somebody that drives 5000 miles a year?
My car gets over 800 miles from one tank.
Do I have a right to use YOUR roads if I don't fill up my tank while I am in your town?
Same situation here, but when I do ride a bike, I ride against traffic so I can see the cars coming and get out of their way. Same with when I'm walking in the street.
Dude, that is super dangerous. The law says your bike is the SAME as a car. You should follow the rules of the road because riding like that actually might be illegal. Would you drive your car the wrong way down the road?
I am in favor of bicycle lanes, as others have said, if the bicycle is in another lane out of the way, what is the issue?
If it's okay to the mods etc, I'd like to expand on what I quoted here, as it actually relates to the issue at hand. To wit:
Quote:
Originally Posted by randomparent
My street is a major cut through for people trying to avoid the main arteries. In the seventies, as this neighborhood developed, wide suburban streets with long sight lines were common. In the first few years, this was not an issue, because the drivers were local, but as the surrounding area developed, it became more congested, and non-locals discovered that they could cut a few minutes out of their commute by using my neighborhood to avoid the traffic signals. My street in particular became a raceway, leading to many near misses at rush hour between students walking to school and inattentive commuters. The bike lanes were added about ten years ago to calm traffic, which has helped, but not to the extent needed.
Speed limit signs are posted up and down my street, and they are ignored. When things get really bad, I call the Sheriff's department, and they send a deputy out to issue tickets. That works really well...for about two weeks after he leaves, and then they're right back at it. I'd very much like to see the addition of more traffic calming devices. A crosswalk re-design up the way has done a great job of slowing traffic, but by the time drivers reach my end of the street, they're going fifteen miles or more above the speed limit right next to a popular bike trail and major park/playground. That's a tragedy waiting to happen.
What the person in the quoted text is talking about, there's actually a term for it--ratrunning. Rat running - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. This is a practice I am highly against, with respect to cars and ESPECIALLY with respect to 18-wheelers etc, the latter being something you encounter on "secluded" roads in rural areas on occasion.
I used to live in the city, and yes we lived on a tiny 1-lane N/S road that connected two "main" E/W roads. However, 3/10ths of a mile down the way, you had a "main artery" N/S designed for that very purpose. Even so, periodically you'd see people zooming down our road instead, people who clearly didn't live there and were using our road as a commuting shortcut, and yes even if that's technically allowed, I think it's wrong. In some places, in fact, there are laws about this very practice. It's rude.
Morally speaking, if you don't live on that road, to me you don't have the right to be on it in a car/truck etc. Bicycles--that's okay, they're not noisy and intrusive on the same level, but cars/trucks driven by people who don't live there, they ought to absolutely stay out of there. I don't care that they're paid for by taxes and that they're public roads instead of private roads, I don't care. If you don't live there, stay out of there. That "commuter" traffic totally ruins the quality of life for people who actually LIVE there, and with the "main arteries" available, you have no excuse. Those roads were designed for you, those "back roads" were NOT.
I now live in the country, and you get that in the country too, people driving on 1-lane "country roads" vs staying on the 4-lane state roads that are right close-by and are the intended "main arteries" for any daily commuting. Truckers are especially bad about that, to the point that they've had to put up "No Trucks" signs to keep them out.
I say all of this to say this--people often-times tell cyclists to stick to those secluded roads and stay off of the main roads. Well besides the fact that I see no reason to keep cyclists off of "main" roads if there are bike lanes designed to keep them out of the way, the other thing is even when cyclists do take these secluded roads, they deal with "rat runners" who STILL grumble about cyclists getting in the way. Here in the country, you are always seeing truckers on those secluded roads where they really have no business being, and I do periodically hear truckers grumbling about joggers & cyclists even on those roads. I have actually told them on occasion "well you're not a 'main' road, and if you don't like it, don't go back there on your big rig, in fact I think they'd probably rather you didn't go back there."
If a cyclist like myself suggests that 18-wheelers ought to stay on the main arteries and not be zooming on those secluded roads where they really have no business being (and again, often-times signs specifically tell them this), you risk the usual wrath of "if it weren't for truckers your shelves would be empty." Okay, so what does that have to do with the argument at hand? If it weren't for cyclists and consumers in general buying from stores, thus necessitating those stock shelves purchases, then you truckers would be out of a job. It goes both ways, if that's the conversation you wish to have.
Regardless, that's the thing--even when cyclists do try and stay on those more secluded roads out of trying to be helpful, they're STILL act to catch grief from people who think it's their God given right to drive 80 mph even on a secluded "side" street dominated by residents walking their pets or children playing Hop Scotch--and yes, children SHOULD be able to do those things on such roads and if you don't like it, TOUGH. This is not US 280 or "Main Drag Boulevard," this is "Dirt Path 32" out in the country with farms dotting the landscape or "Dirt Creek Road" in the city with speed humps on it. STAY OFF THOSE ROADS if you don't live there and are zooming on your way to work. If you want to do 80 mph, stick to the 6 lane main arteries (and stay out of the bicycle lane if there is one, and there probably should be, and yes cyclists try and not be in the way anymore than you can help it).
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