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So jogging in the street as opposed to biking would be safer? I like the cut of your jib.
I never said running in the street would be safe either. Thats one thing I love about this area is the number of greenways we have. When I was living in Fl we didn't have that, it was only the beach.
I never said running in the street would be safe either. Thats one thing I love about this area is the number of greenways we have. When I was living in Fl we didn't have that, it was only the beach.
It was meant to be sarcastic.
Roads are unsafe for bikes, greenways are unsafe for joggers due to bikes. I just stay at home and jog in place on my patio overlooking the rolling hills and mountains of Madison.
Roads are unsafe for bikes, greenways are unsafe for joggers due to bikes. I just stay at home and jog in place on my patio.
I've jogged/walked Indian Creek Greenway, Greenway behind providence, and Wade Mountain greenway and I never felt unsafe. When fast cyclists are moving toward me I can easily step off the pavement. If they are coming from behind they usually slow down and go around. My own observations show that the faster cyclists usually have a harder time navigating around the slower cyclists or walkers with several dogs.
I travel over Cecil Ashburn often and it is terrible. Should be a law against cyclists on some roads.
They shouldn't be allowed on Old Big Cove Rd. If ever there was a road not suited to bicycling, its that one. Yeah, it looks like a nice quiet country road south of GSES, but there is a significant volume of traffic to two large neighborhoods on that portion of the road. The road is narrow, some hills and turns have short line of sight, and there is ZERO shoulder. Even bicycling among traffic doing the posted 40mph limit is dangerous there, and we all know that a lot of traffic will always be well above the limit on such a country road. The line of sight is so limited that there its illegal to pass there. You'll often seen a line of cars stuck behind some bicyclists, with no choice but to putt behind them or gamble with the oncoming lane.
Seems to me the simple solution is extending the Flint River Greenway from Hays Preserve to the River Ridge neighborhood on Old Big Cove, and an access route for the neighborhoods along Taylor Rd. A huge number of bicyclists live in these neighborhoods. I often see them in packs of 4 or more, and they ride during dangerous twilight hours.
I have personally witnessed way too many close calls on Old Big Cove. It's just a matter of time before someone, perhaps a pack, is hit.
Last edited by DvlsAdvc8; 08-28-2014 at 12:04 PM..
And two more got hit this morning with one fatality.
WAFF
Top Stories
One fatality in Lauderdale County crash
Christyn Owens
Posted: 09/01/2014 11:33 AM
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A driver of a vehicle hit two bicyclists as they rode Northbound on Highway 207 Monday.
One bicyclist was taken by ground ambulance to the hospital in Athens, and has been pronounced deceased.
They other bicyclist was taken by air ambulance to the hospital.
State Troopers are investigating at this time.
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And two more got hit this morning with one fatality.
They shouldn't be allowed on Old Big Cove Rd. If ever there was a road not suited to bicycling, its that one. Yeah, it looks like a nice quiet country road south of GSES, but there is a significant volume of traffic to two large neighborhoods on that portion
Just where ARE bicyclists supposed to bicycle then, on Mars? If they can't bicycle on a country road, what IS there? Be real, my friend.
To be blunt--maybe the country roads shouldn't be so busy. Maybe they're excessively busy from too much "rat running," that is, people in cars taking shortcuts on country roads instead of sticking to the 4-lane highways, and maybe they're the ones in the wrong and they ought to stay off of those roads unless they live on them.
I do not know that stretch of road, but I have seen that sort of "rat running" behavior on other such roads where I'm at, and I think something ought to be done about it. Once a tow truck towed our disabled car, in a neighborhood I know well, and he was taking every back road you could think of, totally avoiding major established 4-lane roads meant for large tow trucks, and he grumbled about everything that got in his way, and I actually told him "well you're not on a road designed for tow trucks, you should be on the 4-lane roads. If I lived on this road, I wouldn't want you back here either." (In fact, there were "no trucks" allowed signs on those roads, signs he was totally ignoring.)
I am not shy about bicycling on busier roads, but I tend to stay to the right as much as possible (one such road has a wide shoulder that sort of functions as a bicycle lane, and I in fact stay way to the right). More to the point, I also will take more secluded roads vs the "main" ones on my bicycle if they are available to me. Many such roads also have "no trucks allowed" signs (meaning 18-wheelers), these are roads clearly meant for a more laid-back style of life and are roads whom the residents have chosen for their secluded nature and lower volumes of traffic. Making it clear just how much this is the case, many such roads don't even have a road divider, and they can barely accommodate 2 cars total, even smaller ones. You will see tractors on those roads, people walking, etc.
So there you have someone, me in this case, consciously taking the more secluded roads when they are offered, trying to appease people who want the busier roads to be free of obstructions so that they can move on down the road. Yet, on many such occasions, I've bicycled on such, only to still experience a bunch of "whoosh whoosh" from a huge amount of cars considering the secluded nature of the road, when those cars have "main" roads, 4-lane and the whole bit, available to them. I say to myself "there is no way that many people live on this road," and then I notice that it's a slight shortcut between 2 points, yet there is a 4-lane road that does the same thing, yet it's designed for large volumes of cars, and is maybe 0.3 miles longer than the "country road" route.
At that point, you in the cars are in the wrong for sure. You may have a point about 4-lane roads, especially if there are no shoulders or the like, but when you consciously choose a country road for your commuting, you have no business griping about not being able to break the sound barrier on such roads. You are easily as out of your element there as cyclists are on the freeway. Anymore, I like it when there are things on such roads to slow down speeders, because frankly you don't belong there. Once, on such a road, a train was going down the tracks and stopped, blocking the roads completely for 10-15 minutes while people in their cars became irritated. I actually stood on the shoulder and laughed at them, yelling out "serves you right, you have no business being back here unless you live here." Stick to the 4-lane highways and stop your "rat running" already.
Just where ARE bicyclists supposed to bicycle then, on Mars? If they can't bicycle on a country road, what IS there? Be real, my friend.
To be blunt--maybe the country roads shouldn't be so busy. Maybe they're excessively busy from too much "rat running," that is, people in cars taking shortcuts on country roads instead of sticking to the 4-lane highways, and maybe they're the ones in the wrong and they ought to stay off of those roads unless they live on them.
I do not know that stretch of road, but I have seen that sort of "rat running" behavior on other such roads where I'm at, and I think something ought to be done about it. Once a tow truck towed our disabled car, in a neighborhood I know well, and he was taking every back road you could think of, totally avoiding major established 4-lane roads meant for large tow trucks, and he grumbled about everything that got in his way, and I actually told him "well you're not on a road designed for tow trucks, you should be on the 4-lane roads. If I lived on this road, I wouldn't want you back here either." (In fact, there were "no trucks" allowed signs on those roads, signs he was totally ignoring.)
I am not shy about bicycling on busier roads, but I tend to stay to the right as much as possible (one such road has a wide shoulder that sort of functions as a bicycle lane, and I in fact stay way to the right). More to the point, I also will take more secluded roads vs the "main" ones on my bicycle if they are available to me. Many such roads also have "no trucks allowed" signs (meaning 18-wheelers), these are roads clearly meant for a more laid-back style of life and are roads whom the residents have chosen for their secluded nature and lower volumes of traffic. Making it clear just how much this is the case, many such roads don't even have a road divider, and they can barely accommodate 2 cars total, even smaller ones. You will see tractors on those roads, people walking, etc.
So there you have someone, me in this case, consciously taking the more secluded roads when they are offered, trying to appease people who want the busier roads to be free of obstructions so that they can move on down the road. Yet, on many such occasions, I've bicycled on such, only to still experience a bunch of "whoosh whoosh" from a huge amount of cars considering the secluded nature of the road, when those cars have "main" roads, 4-lane and the whole bit, available to them. I say to myself "there is no way that many people live on this road," and then I notice that it's a slight shortcut between 2 points, yet there is a 4-lane road that does the same thing, yet it's designed for large volumes of cars, and is maybe 0.3 miles longer than the "country road" route.
At that point, you in the cars are in the wrong for sure. You may have a point about 4-lane roads, especially if there are no shoulders or the like, but when you consciously choose a country road for your commuting, you have no business griping about not being able to break the sound barrier on such roads. You are easily as out of your element there as cyclists are on the freeway. Anymore, I like it when there are things on such roads to slow down speeders, because frankly you don't belong there. Once, on such a road, a train was going down the tracks and stopped, blocking the roads completely for 10-15 minutes while people in their cars became irritated. I actually stood on the shoulder and laughed at them, yelling out "serves you right, you have no business being back here unless you live here." Stick to the 4-lane highways and stop your "rat running" already.
I'm not quite sure what this has to do with anything. Cars are allowed to be on those roads. Many roads north of 72 are high traffic two lane roads in the county in and out of the cities to subdivisions. Blame the counties for refusing to widen and keep up with the population increase.
I believe in biking for the health of our citizens, the relief it gives the roads by taking cars off them, and the kindness done to the environment. I wish Huntsville could be the safest, most bike-friendly city in the United States. I am so sorry for the recent accidents. Let's come together and make safe biking a priority.
I'm not quite sure what this has to do with anything. Cars are allowed to be on those roads. Many roads north of 72 are high traffic two lane roads in the county in and out of the cities to subdivisions. Blame the counties for refusing to widen and keep up with the population increase.
It has to do with the fact that people have no shame in taking more "back" roads on their work commutes, often-times making previously quiet/quaint country roads quite busy, and then such people are apparently some of the very same ones griping about bicycles.
Well--tough. You chose a secluded country road to drive on, don't be griping about the bicycles, or the people walking their dogs etc. Different roads have different intended purposes, even if they're legally accessible by any. Just as some call for cyclists to, if they're going to take busy roads, to at least stay out of the way of all of the heavy traffic by keeping right and the like, in like manner I think we can call for people in cars to show some respect when they're on country roads.
That especially goes if such people are the ones griping about bicycles on the 4-lane roads.
Yes, those cars do have the legal right to be on those roads, but I still think they have no business being back there, at least in large numbers. A few here and there, okay, but to make it busy, no, that's wrong.
Okay, the other roads weren't widened--oh well. That still doesn't make it okay.
If people are going to call for bicycles to stay off of busy roads, or to at least stay on the shoulders/bicycle paths, then in like manner I think we can start calling for people to stop "rat running" so much on their work commutes and stick to the 4-lane highways as much as possible.
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