Comments on: Help Is on the Way for Bicyclists

By: Peter Black

Peter Black — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 19:14:24 +0000

this guy: http://www.andersonfordistrict5.net/index.html

By: astroknott

astroknott — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 02:23:00 +0000

Reply to Sheryl,

Maybe they are more polite where you live. I may have given the wrong impression. They aren't ALL jerks, most of them are very polite. But there is a sizable percentage of them, at least here, that are … um … shall we say … rear ends.

And, yes I have been on a bike and I know traffic can be quite frightening. Which further amazes me that some of them seem to have such an …. "attitude".

And, no, I don't get aggressive when they annoy me. I haven't so much as honked. I have no desire to squash anyone. Besides, if I ran over a bike I might scratch my paint, or get blood on my car. We can't have that. ;o)

By: Sheryl Canter

Sheryl Canter — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 19:56:50 +0000

Well, that begs the question… WHO??

By: Peter Black

Peter Black — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 17:18:15 +0000

There have been attempts at changing state laws here in California for bikes: essentially, Bikers would regard stop signs as yields, and red lights would be treated as stops. In SF, bikes have become really popular. However, there is one man holding up the redesign of much of the city's streetscape to make it more bike friendly. Essentially, this man believes that more bikes would equate to more idling by cars in the city. Therefore, the carbon footprint would go up. He's literally brought the case to court, forcing the city to perform a comprehensive EIR of the bike plan…

By: Sheryl Canter

Sheryl Canter — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 16:46:30 +0000

I've never seen that. When I've seen cyclists when I'm in a car, they are always trying very hard not to get hit – as I am when I'm a cyclist. I don't know if you've ever been the bike rider in this situation, but it's very frightening to have a car pass you fast and close. What if you (the biker) went over a bump and veered a little to the left? That can easily happen on a bicycle. There's balance involved – bikes are not as easily controlled as cars.

Do you get aggressive when a bike rider annoys you? If so, next time try to remember how fragile flesh-and-blood is, and how vulnerable bikers are to being crushed by your ton of steel. More and more cities are providing bike lanes that are physically separated from traffic and I strongly support this.

By: astroknott

astroknott — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 20:27:45 +0000

All of your article sounds good. I have one complaint though. Its not with your article but a peeve I have with cyclists. At least the ones who ride cross country on 10 speeds. They seem to think they own the road. I can't tell you how many times I have come up behind two or more cyclists riding side by side blocking auto traffic. They wont ride single file and let traffic pass. If it was a car driving at 15 miles an hour I would expect them to show common courtesy and pull over to the side so faster traffic can pass. But not cyclists! It's no wonder that many of them get hit by cars. If they want to share the road then they need to show some courtesy to cars. They seem to think the road was made for them. I hate to break it to them but roads are made for cars. They need to get out of the way or stay on bike trails.