Looks like they cracked down on Critical Mass (Houston, White Oak: movers, theatre)

[dalparadise]

Critical Mass started in San Francisco about 30 years ago with the declared intent to regularly disrupt traffic in the Financial District and bring bicyclists rights to light. It is a huge monthly problem here and M*******s are not well regarded by most people in the City, including other bikers.

That said, the movement has been quite successful in making SF one of the most bike friendly cities in the country. Bicycles are legally allowed to take a full lane anywhere in SF and in fact, are now protected with a 3 ft. buffer law that tickets motorists who get too close. Buildings downtown have secure bicycle parking. Bicycles are welcome on BART, CalTrain and Muni buses, which have bike racks. The Golden Gate Bridge has a dedicated bike lane, as does the new eastern span of the Bay Bridge and there are many areas of the City where traffic lanes have been designated as bike lanes, regardless of the rights of cyclists to take a full lane.

I'm not sure if Houston could ever be as bike-friendly as SF, because traffic moves faster on Houston's wide streets. In SF, bikes rarely slow cars down in City traffic. It's usually the other way around.

[xsatyr]

Originally Posted by dalparadise

Critical Mass started in San Francisco about 30 years ago with the declared intent to regularly disrupt traffic in the Financial District and bring bicyclists rights to light. It is a huge monthly problem here and M*******s are not well regarded by most people in the City, including other bikers.

That said, the movement has been quite successful in making SF one of the most bike friendly cities in the country. Bicycles are legally allowed to take a full lane anywhere in SF and in fact, are now protected with a 3 ft. buffer law that tickets motorists who get too close. Buildings downtown have secure bicycle parking. Bicycles are welcome on BART, CalTrain and Muni buses, which have bike racks. The Golden Gate Bridge has a dedicated bike lane, as does the new eastern span of the Bay Bridge and there are many areas of the City where traffic lanes have been designated as bike lanes, regardless of the rights of cyclists to take a full lane.

I'm not sure if Houston could ever be as bike-friendly as SF, because traffic moves faster on Houston's wide streets. In SF, bikes rarely slow cars down in City traffic. It's usually the other way around.

Houston has passed the 3 ft. law this year and you can bring bikes on the metro rail. They are also developing a 150 miles of bike paths to make it easier and safer for bicyclists to commute around the city.

[theSUBlime]

Originally Posted by KerrTown

But bicycles are legally vehicles too, who also have to obey traffic laws. If there is a traffic jam caused by a mass of bicyclists, it's no different than the afternoon weekday rush-hour along Smith and Louisiana Streets caused by the cacophony of private automobiles and diesel commuter buses.

Helmets are not required for riding motorcycles in Texas (yet). Should that reinforce negative connotations about motorcyclists?

Typical car-centered ignorance. Most people think that a red on a right-turn signal light still means that the right on red laws apply, but a left on red is still illegal. And bicycles are not vehicles and they are properly driven on the sidewalk.

Oh yeah, sorry if I wasn't clear. I fully understand that and I always follow the laws when I cycle. My point was actually if a cyclist blew through a bunch of cars like in that gif, it would be a lot more difficult to make sure they were ticketed and penalized, since there is no license plate.

[testmo]

Dont drive around the critical mass route on the one night a month they do it if you dont have to

[iNviNciBL3]

*Cyclist logic*
" Lets get in front of traffic and go 10 mph! "

Road Rage at SF Critical Mass You're going to kill someone? If you get in my way 8H12024 - YouTube

[things and stuff]

Typical Tundra driver. Wants to kill somebody because they delayed his long commute by 20 seconds. Probably doesn't mind being in traffic jams created by all the people like him commuting all over the damn place or due to road construction from trucks tearing up the road.

[TVC15]

Critical Mass just seems ignorant to me. There has to be a better way.

Modern city roads were built for motor vehicles and motorcycles. And yes it is unfortunate that these roads were not designed to accommodate bicyclists. However Critical Mass is a lame way to push your way through.

In SF many bicyclists act as if the car or motorcyclist is in the bicyclists way. I have seen them holding up rush hour traffic for people who are trying to get out of the city. This is the attitude that hurts the Critical Mass effort and turns drivers off.

[TVC15]

This is what will continue to occur when bicyclist's expect to share a road that was not designed to be shared with motor vehicles.

Man on Bike Killed by Muni Bus Driver at Bryant and Division | Streetsblog San Francisco

[things and stuff]

Originally Posted by TVC15

This is what will continue to occur when bicyclist's expect to share a road that was not designed to be shared with motor vehicles.

You man the roads can't physically handle the bike due to some sort of design flaw or limitation? Bikes are too heavy? Bikes are too wide? Explain yourself when you claim a road isn't designed to handle a bicycle.

I'm pretty sure most roads that accommodate a car can also accommodate a bike. Doesn't have to be at the same time. As a frequent car driver in Houston you should already be familiar with getting into a single-file line during traffic and the process of changing lanes.

[TVC15]

Originally Posted by things and stuff

You man the roads can't physically handle the bike due to some sort of design flaw or limitation? Bikes are too heavy? Bikes are too wide? Explain yourself when you claim a road isn't designed to handle a bicycle.

None of the above.

Simply bikes are not motor vehicles. The roads were designed with one thing in mind...motor vehicles.

When the roads were designed they were not designed for both motor vehicles and bicyclists. If that were true then you would have see a designated bike lane put in at the time of development.

The exact reason why we will continue to see bicyclists killed in cities that have Critical Mass enforced rights.