Really Houston? (San Antonio, Mart, Anton: living, legal, shop)

[kylejack]

Originally Posted by gsmj

There is nothing in the Texas Transportation Code that bans bicycles from using sidewalks. In the City of Houston, only within "business districts" can you not ride on the sidewalk:

[url=http://www.bikehouston.org/resources/bicycling-laws/city-of-houston-bicycle-ordinance/]City of Houston Bicycle Ordinance « BikeHouston[/url]

Which is a great many places in Houston. A business district is defined as the 600 feet surrounding any contiguous 300 feet of business frontage. That means you can only ride the sidewalk in unused or purely residential neighborhoods.

[kylejack]

Originally Posted by ToyYot

His methods are counter productive to the cause. P*ssing everyone off does not help anything.

He was riding down Memorial drive a couple of days ago, an entire section of that road is being rebuild from property line to property line, sidewalks and all. What a great time to install bike/pedestian friendly sidewalks instead of bleating on about the right to put soft tissue in front of 5000lbs of metal travelling at 45mph.

If you get pissed off by having to give at least 3 feet to cyclists, you're part of the problem. This is the law.

[gsmj]

Originally Posted by kylejack

If you get pissed off by having to give at least 3 feet to cyclists, you're part of the problem. This is the law.

There's a difference in being an advocate and an antagonist. I think that was his point; that you get more flies with honey.

[vegankris]

Originally Posted by kylejack

Which is a great many places in Houston. A business district is defined as the 600 feet surrounding any contiguous 300 feet of business frontage. That means you can only ride the sidewalk in unused or purely residential neighborhoods.

Hi Kyle so happy to see someone posting on CD with some intelligent arguments

[kylejack]

Originally Posted by gsmj

There's a difference in being an advocate and an antagonist. I think that was his point; that you get more flies with honey.

Okay, but from his perspective, someone has just aggressed against him by passing at an unsafe distance. He's understandably upset about that.

[Nairobi]

Originally Posted by PedroMartinez

Pig-headed is slowing down everyone by riding a bike on a major thoroughfare during rush hour when there is no bike lane. That is a "I don't care how much it screws it up for everyone else, I have a right to screw it up" mentality.

Yes, they're always the problem. It's never the guy doing 60 in a 45, or the idiot with half of his truck in the bike lane because he doesn't "see anyone there".

You're clearly one-sided on this, and you're not even trying to hide it.

How about a little reading comprehension on your part.



Additionally, these roads are supposed to be paid for via gasoline and registration fees; therefore, if you don't have a car, how are you helping pay for those roads. I have to pay for using the roads for every car I might have. I can't just pay for one car and use others on the road for free. If bikes are used on the roads, they need to help pay for those roads.

Like most states, motor fuel tax only pays for a percentage of roadways. The rest comes from other taxes and funds, which all people are paying for in some form or fashion.

Your logic also rests on the flawed assumption that cyclists don't own vehicles. Since I'm sure many if not most of them do, they would be paying for road use with your alleged user fees of gas tax and car registration. How about pedestrians? Can they not use the crosswalks if they haven't contributed to said user fees?

You claim that requiring cyclists to take on certain taxes and fees would give them a right to road use and that they would subsequently earn the respect of motorists. You and I both know that's a lie. If fellow motorists can't even respect each other, there's no way they'll give any kind of breathing room to people on bicycles.

So, are you demanding that we have bike lanes or are you demanding that bikes should be able to destroy traffic for everyone on major thoroughfares without bike lanes during rush hour?

I have the right to stand in front of the city hall door at 7:45 in the morning, but forcing everybody to have to maneuver around me to enter the building would be a pig-headed thing to do.

If they aren't breaking any laws, this is something I suggest you just get over. On any given day, my trip from Point A to Point B is always interrupted by a motorist and not a cyclist.

Honestly, I'm starting to feel like a lot of the resentment towards cyclists comes from those people who don't have the will or courage to do what they do.

[gsmj]

Originally Posted by kylejack

Okay, but from his perspective, someone has just aggressed against him by passing at an unsafe distance. He's understandably upset about that.

Of course. But do two wrongs ever make a right in a civilized society? As frustrated as he is, what he's doing is no different than if I purposely threw basketballs from my driveway at cars driving too fast down my residential street.

[kylejack]

Originally Posted by gsmj

Of course. But do two wrongs ever make a right in a civilized society? As frustrated as he is, what he's doing is no different than if I purposely threw basketballs from my driveway at cars driving too fast down my residential street.

Except that he is just using his voice and expressing his opinion.

[sealock713]

Originally Posted by ToyYot

Being a deliberate obstruction doesn't exactly further the cause.

I don't get why cyclists can't use the sidewalk, its not like anyone really uses them and I know I'd feel alot safer biking.

Why don't people just obey the law? Giving a cyclist 3 feet is required by law. Riding on the sidewalk is against the law.

[ToyYot]

Originally Posted by kylejack

Okay, but from his perspective, someone has just aggressed against him by passing at an unsafe distance. He's understandably upset about that.

No. He was riding down a major road at rush hour with a big sign sticking out from his bike for no other reason then to p*ss everyone off. That's not constructive, that's selfish and antagonistic.

I actually support anything that makes riding safer but the attitude that the only solution is the status quo on laws that have existed as long as I've been alive is, to steal a phrase, pig headed at best.

How about some solutions that are workable? Any ideas??