Bicycle Coalition Proposes Bike Lanes on Peachtree (Buckhead: university, assessment)

[cqholt]

Originally Posted by arjay57

When I came in this morning traffic was light so I took a lap through downtown, stopped by the Krispy Kreme on Ponce and came back up to Midtown just to see what was happening. There was only one cyclist in sight, a guy down near Grady High school.

Get out on a bike and you'll be surprised.

[abalashov]

Originally Posted by arjay57

When I came in this morning traffic was light so I took a lap through downtown, stopped by the Krispy Kreme on Ponce and came back up to Midtown just to see what was happening. There was only one cyclist in sight, a guy down near Grady High school.

If you're posting this at 7:58 AM and referring to "this morning", implying you're already somewhere (e.g. at work), you were a bit early. Few cyclists in Midtown live on a schedule that geriatric. Please, morning's just begun.

And their commutes are short enough that they generally don't have to. If you want to see people biking to work, definitely look 8:30+.

Also, in the case of tech folks, or, software engineers at any rate, which probably account for some nontrivial percentage of commuters, there's an often unofficial, unacknowledged norm of coming in at 10-11 and staying until late. That's what most engineers did at every company I've ever worked at, big or small.

cqholt makes a good point. Most cyclists were invisible to me until I got a bike.

[CCATL]

Originally Posted by abalashov

If you're posting this at 7:58 AM and referring to "this morning", implying you're already somewhere (e.g. at work), you were a bit early. Few cyclists in Midtown live on a schedule that geriatric. Please, morning's just begun.

And their commutes are short enough that they generally don't have to. If you want to see people biking to work, definitely look 8:30+.

Also, in the case of tech folks, or, software engineers at any rate, which probably account for some nontrivial percentage of commuters, there's an often unofficial, unacknowledged norm of coming in at 10-11 and staying until late. That's what most engineers did at every company I've ever worked at, big or small.

cqholt makes a good point. Most cyclists were invisible to me until I got a bike.

This is the scariest part about being a cyclist.

And Arjay - what route was your lap? I bike to work every morning and get to midtown/downtown between 7:00 and 7:30, and I generally see at least 8 other bikers on Peachtree alone in that timeframe. Afternoon commute I see even more.

[Gulch]

Originally Posted by CCATL

This is the scariest part about being a cyclist.

And Arjay - what route was your lap? I bike to work every morning and get to midtown/downtown between 7:00 and 7:30, and I generally see at least 8 other bikers on Peachtree alone in that timeframe. Afternoon commute I see even more.

In my 10-minute commute this morning down Peachtree (in Buckhead) and Spring Streets, I saw about 4-5 at a glance.

[atler8]

A worker bee/dweller in midtown by day, a concern I have w/ adding in bike lanes on Peachtree (or anywhere for that matter) is with putting more bicyclists & their general wanton flouting of street rules into the traffic mix on a larger scale.
Peachtree is already a mess as it is.
I must have been an exception in my biking years as I always stopped at stop signs or red lights & signaled when turning or changing lanes, simple things that seem to have largely gone by the way side.

[cqholt]

Originally Posted by atler8

A worker bee/dweller in midtown by day, a concern I have w/ adding in bike lanes on Peachtree (or anywhere for that matter) is with putting more bicyclists & their general wanton flouting of street rules into the traffic mix on a larger scale.
Peachtree is already a mess as it is.
I must have been an exception in my biking years as I always stopped at stop signs or red lights & signaled when turning or changing lanes, simple things that seem to have largely gone by the way side.

A$$holes will be A-holes whether on a bike or in a vehicle.

[CCATL]

Originally Posted by atler8

A worker bee/dweller in midtown by day, a concern I have w/ adding in bike lanes on Peachtree (or anywhere for that matter) is with putting more bicyclists & their general wanton flouting of street rules into the traffic mix on a larger scale.
Peachtree is already a mess as it is.
I must have been an exception in my biking years as I always stopped at stop signs or red lights & signaled when turning or changing lanes, simple things that seem to have largely gone by the way side.

I always stop at stop signs, red lights, etc. on my bike. I see a large amount of other bikers that do as well. I also see a number who don't. But if this is going to be the argument against bike lanes on Peachtree, then you should also argue to ban cars from Peachtree. It scares me how many countless drivers I see texting/emailing while driving, and paying 0 attention to the road. I have seen a number of accidents (especially at North and Peachtree) from things like this. I also see people fly past me easily going 20mph over the speed limit, and aggressive drivers swerving in and out of traffic while doing this. None of this should be happening on any roads in a dense area, but especially not on Peachtree, where there are loads of pedestrians and bikers. This city has a MAJOR problem with traffic enforcement laws. On another note, I am always amazed by the number of people hot-boxing in their cars during the morning. I never noticed this until I started biking, but it truly scares me how many people are blatantly breaking the law or getting high while driving.

[atler8]

Originally Posted by CCATL

I always stop at stop signs, red lights, etc. on my bike. I see a large amount of other bikers that do as well. I also see a number who don't. But if this is going to be the argument against bike lanes on Peachtree, then you should also argue to ban cars from Peachtree. It scares me how many countless drivers I see texting/emailing while driving, and paying 0 attention to the road. I have seen a number of accidents (especially at North and Peachtree) from things like this. I also see people fly past me easily going 20mph over the speed limit, and aggressive drivers swerving in and out of traffic while doing this. None of this should be happening on any roads in a dense area, but especially not on Peachtree, where there are loads of pedestrians and bikers. This city has a MAJOR problem with traffic enforcement laws. On another note, I am always amazed by the number of people hot-boxing in their cars during the morning. I never noticed this until I started biking, but it truly scares me how many people are blatantly breaking the law or getting high while driving.

Yes, all of that is a concern. My intent is not to single out any one form of traffic as being a factor for danger.
I've written here on previous threads about the vehicular traffic as well as the pedestrian traffic & how problematic it all is together specifically in the current state of midtown. ALL 3 of those types of traffic commonly flout the rules.
Even though I'm a pedestrian as part or my morning & afternoon commute, and also walk at lunch whenever possible, I cringe at the lack of etiquette that my fellow pedestrians exhibit in midtown toward each other & toward vehicles that are following the rules.
Much of the problem seems to be rooted in senses of entitlement & self-absorption as well as a lack of concentration. All together that's a good rule of thumb for getting involved in a pedestrian/vehicular accident or altercation.
On a side note of my gripes for pedestrians, I cannot tell you how many times I have had to give way & step aside on a narrow stretch of sidewalk to an advancing throng or group of pedestrians advancing 2 or 3 abreast toward me who refuse to share the walkway.

[cqholt]

Originally Posted by CCATL

I always stop at stop signs, red lights, etc. on my bike. I see a large amount of other bikers that do as well. I also see a number who don't. But if this is going to be the argument against bike lanes on Peachtree, then you should also argue to ban cars from Peachtree. It scares me how many countless drivers I see texting/emailing while driving, and paying 0 attention to the road. I have seen a number of accidents (especially at North and Peachtree) from things like this. I also see people fly past me easily going 20mph over the speed limit, and aggressive drivers swerving in and out of traffic while doing this. None of this should be happening on any roads in a dense area, but especially not on Peachtree, where there are loads of pedestrians and bikers. This city has a MAJOR problem with traffic enforcement laws. On another note, I am always amazed by the number of people hot-boxing in their cars during the morning. I never noticed this until I started biking, but it truly scares me how many people are blatantly breaking the law or getting high while driving.

I'll take hot-boxing any day over texting and driving. Might even get a puff...

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by CCATL

And Arjay - what route was your lap? I bike to work every morning and get to midtown/downtown between 7:00 and 7:30, and I generally see at least 8 other bikers on Peachtree alone in that timeframe. Afternoon commute I see even more.

Well, I usually come in to Midtown on Peachtree. It was such a nice morning I decided to cruise on downtown, where I zigged and zagged around for a while, and then I took Piedmont back up to Ponce and detoured over to the KK for a coffee refill. Since I haven't been on Ponce in a while, I drove on down and rambled through Virginia Highland. Then I took Virginia back to 10th, cruised though midtown and took Peachtree back to the office.

I love our town and enjoy just checking things out and admiring the scenery.