Undercover sting underway to catch motorists violating the 3 foot law (Houston: homes, schools)

[DJboutit]

There use to be a guy I would see in the mornings riding is high end bike in my neighborhood blowing through stop signs weaving in and out of traffic. These are the type of bike riders I hate they think they own the road I do not have a problem with bike riders that follow all traffic laws

[LocalPlanner]

Local streets, those without a state or federal highway number, are almost entirely funded by municipal and county property / sales taxes, not gas taxes. So it's incorrect to say cyclists don't help fund roads, since I would think they are paying local taxes.

[oespinoza83]

Originally Posted by LocalPlanner

Local streets, those without a state or federal highway number, are almost entirely funded by municipal and county property / sales taxes, not gas taxes. So it's incorrect to say cyclists don't help fund roads, since I would think they are paying local taxes.

Correct, but most anti-cycling people ignore this. They also ignore the fact that I don't know a single cyclist who doesn't have a vehicle (and pays taxes, registration fees, etc. on them). Unfortunately, cyclist in urban American cities won't ever get away from angry Americans needing to get to their local Starbucks faster, the drive-thru at McDonalds, or onto the jammed highways. Everyone is always in a rush to get nowhere.

And I speak solely as a rider/racer who rides in the outskirts of the suburbs where I "cause traffic issues" less often. I do agree that people are more friendly and open towards cyclists out here when compared to the urban loop of the city.

[1AngryTaxPayer]

Originally Posted by eric3781

No joke. I seriously believe that bicycles don't belong on the roads. There are cars on those roads for pete's sake. They could be killed!

Ban bicycles on the roads. It is for their own safety.

Do you not care for the safety of the bicyclist community?

They'll ban autos on interstate freeways before bikes on side streets if safety is the key concern. Those semis are dangerous doncha know.

[1AngryTaxPayer]

Originally Posted by LocalPlanner

Local streets, those without a state or federal highway number, are almost entirely funded by municipal and county property / sales taxes, not gas taxes. So it's incorrect to say cyclists don't help fund roads, since I would think they are paying local taxes.

Plus, I know very few people that don't own a car besides their bike.

[Cbink]

Originally Posted by oespinoza83

Correct, but most anti-cycling people ignore this. They also ignore the fact that I don't know a single cyclist who doesn't have a vehicle (and pays taxes, registration fees, etc. on them). Unfortunately, cyclist in urban American cities won't ever get away from angry Americans needing to get to their local Starbucks faster, the drive-thru at McDonalds, or onto the jammed highways. Everyone is always in a rush to get nowhere.

And I speak solely as a rider/racer who rides in the outskirts of the suburbs where I "cause traffic issues" less often. I do agree that people are more friendly and open towards cyclists out here when compared to the urban loop of the city.

I agree that cyclists also pay taxes on the road in some form, but you can't deny that there are certain cyclists who deliberately aggravate drivers. This comes in many forms such as weaving in and out at lights, taking up a whole lane unnecessarily when keeping to the right just a little would allow a car to pass safely and leave a decent (> 3ft) gap as they go past and running lights/stop signs.

Don't get me wrong,I want cyclists to be safe, I'd like to go out on the road with my son and feel safe, but the cyclists also need to obey by the rules of the road. It's a two way street.

[oespinoza83]

Originally Posted by Cbink

I agree that cyclists also pay taxes on the road in some form, but you can't deny that there are certain cyclists who deliberately aggravate drivers. This comes in many forms such as weaving in and out at lights, taking up a whole lane unnecessarily when keeping to the right just a little would allow a car to pass safely and leave a decent (> 3ft) gap as they go past and running lights/stop signs.

Don't get me wrong,I want cyclists to be safe, I'd like to go out on the road with my son and feel safe, but the cyclists also need to obey by the rules of the road. It's a two way street.

I agree with your first paragraph. A few bad apples spoil the bunch and give us all a bad name. The ironic thing about your statement though, the first paragraph, can easily be describing drivers I deal with more often than I would like. Heh.

[houston-nomad]

Originally Posted by oespinoza83

I agree with your first paragraph. A few bad apples spoil the bunch and give us all a bad name. The ironic thing about your statement though, the first paragraph, can easily be describing drivers I deal with more often than I would like. Heh.

THIS. There are plenty of lousy, obnoxious drivers out there, but nobody is claiming that cars should be banned from the roads.

[slingshot]

Everybody thinks that they are special. Well, you're not.

[Thila]

I love my bicycle and would ride it to work each day if I could do it safely on a path. Create more bike paths that are CONNECTED to one another. No way would I use one of the tiny paths painted on existing roads. Take a look around...sidewalks do not exist in many places. I wouldn't want to be one of the officers on that patrol against an F350 pickup.

Something I am noticing is that many people griping about the cyclists are the same ones griping about Houston traffic. Let's be forward thinking and try to embrace all forms of alternate transportation. Commute times are becoming atrocious. I know...digression in the discussion.