SEATTLE IS one of the most bicycle-friendly cities in the United States — by one reckoning, the most bicycle-friendly. It’s also a city in which bike commuting is rapidly losing its appeal. In 2017, according to recent Census Bureau data, a mere 2.8 percent of Seattle’s workforce commuted to work by bicycle. That was down from 3.5 percent in 2016, and from 4 percent in 2015.
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*typo corrected.
Last winter, in the middle of a heavy snow storm with a lot of accumulation, during rush hour, a cyclist started to lose it and almost pitched into my lane in front of my truck. His head would have been squashed like an over-ripe pumpkin. And I was going less than 30k but couldn’t have swerved or braked in time.
I don’t care how you want to get to work, but if you can’t control your method, don’t blame me when I blast my horn and you shit your pants.
I think bike lances are a damned good idea, cyclists can settle disputes over say, right -of-way by jousting, Sir Lancelot style. It would make Vancouver’s West End a very exciting place in Summer.
Oh, darn–the “typo” in the title was corrected. And here I was looking forward to trying bicycle jousting…..
Mind you, bicycle lances would be a great way of getting pesky pedestrians out of the way.
Even children are smart enough to realize that in the winter you put the bicycles away until spring.
Bike riders may feel virtuous or trendy or athletic or whatever but getting around on a two-wheeled vehicle on icy streets surrounded by tons of moving steel and glass can only be described as stupid beyond belief.
After a couple of incidents, I persuaded myself to give up winter biking. I wasn’t that anxious to remind myself that Newtonian mechanics are indeed true.
I’ve tried winter biking. It only works if there isn’t much traffic and the street or bike lane’s been cleared of snow. It’s not too bad if you’re dressed for it, but I’ve taken my share of spills.
I haven’t done it for years. I can’t say I miss it. The only thing worse than winter biking is winter driving.
I get out on the river bike path about 5 days a week spring summer and fall. But you’re right B A, snow ain’t fun to ride in so I don’t. And if it’d too damn cold, I don’t. So far in Calgary it’s been very mild so I take advantage. It’s strictly about exercise and keeping the ole knees in shape. About 10 to 15 kms and I’ll mix in a big hill or two. That gets you puffing.
Oh Oh. Don’t tell Climate Barbie I’m puffing out ‘excessive’ carbon dioxide.
BA, in Finland they have extra wide side walks so that pedestrians and bikers can share. And you can get studded tires for your bicycle.
Edmonton has a number of sidewalks designated for both cyclists and pedestrians. As for studded tires, most winter cyclists I know made their own by putting sheet metal screws in regular ones. (Too much trouble for me, though.)
There are bike lanes all over Kelowna, and they cost lots to develop. It is rare to see a bike on them, though. Even in summer the use is sparse. Meanwhile, there are more cars and trucks per capital here than many other places in Canada. We even have a Jag dealership now, and Porsche etc. The bike thing is over promoted and under used.
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We gotta lot of bike lanes in Trawna – they ain’t bad. As stated above winter cycling is doable if u dress for it. There might be 5 or 6 major snow falls where u might as well skip the bike – but the roads are cleared pretty fast so u can get back on again soon enough.
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Ottawa (City) is buying into this virtue signalling big time.
They have created bike lanes on 3 major downtown streets (2 E/W 1 N/S) that had special designs at corners to give bikes priority, but actually were more dangerous. Still working on that one.
They have recently shut down Elgin Street, a major N/S corridor for a complete revamp that will give someone on a bike the right to ride in a traffic lane and hold up car traffic. A 4 lane road that will be come less than 2 lanes in areas as sidewalks and tree planting take over more space. Stupid, stupid design. The next two years for businesses on Elgin are a write-off, and I don’t think this design is going to help after it is done.
Sure glad I have nothing to do with downtown.
There is a series of interconnecting bike paths that avoid roads that are quite useful, go through some nice pleasant settings. Not cleaned well in the winter though.
Ottawa has two road season, winter and construction. Neither are good for pedestrians, bikes or cars.
The two-way bike lane on one-way O’Connor is the pinnacle of stupidity.
Edmonton tried that a few years ago. In my neighbourhood in Edmonton, bike lanes were installed along 106 Street one year. They were taken out again roughly a year later because of motorist complaints.
As a cyclist, there were stretches along which they didn’t quite work for me. They weren’t long enough to allow one to develop sufficient speed because they ran for short distances. The distances were short in order to provide curbside parking for certain apartment buildings.
I suppose the cyclists may have been having trouble riding around all the junkies, bums, and homeless clogging up central Seattle these days.
They wouldn’t have no trouble if they knew how to use dem bike lances!
}:-]
Suit up like them winged Polish hussars, baby:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmSZW6f0s_Y
And watch the junkies, bums, and homeless run for their lives like them Ottoman Janissaries!
I put away my motorcycle because the driver handbook states that two wheeled vehicles are dangerous to ride in the winter. Clearly stated, snow makes conditions hazardous for two wheeled transportation.
Then the government turns around and encourages cyclists.
Because our (newly retired) city Manager was a spandex-wearing bicyclist … he made EVERY (vehicle) Traffic lane in our city a … “shared vehicle lane” … and spray painted the “universal shared bike-vehicle lane symbol” on the pavement throughout town. So now, the spandex clad pricks get to ride up on my vehicle, while I’m stopped at a stoplight
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shared_lane_marking
I miss the old days, when a flimsy bike and rider didn’t slip by me … just about the time I start my right turns. I miss the days when bikers had their own lanes.
Hint: If a biker wants to “share the roadway”, then how about observing ALL the traffic rules?
Hint: If a biker wants to “share the roadway”, then how about observing ALL the traffic rules?
Indeed. Most cyclists don’t appear to know hand signals, but, then again, many drivers in Edmonton don’t either.
I’ve often tangled with idiotic motorists. For example, I’ve been on streets which might have two lanes free. Often, drivers pass by me and barely leave me enough room rather than changing lanes and giving me more space. (Maybe they’re using me for target practice.) Also, a lot of them don’t seem to realize that bikes are treated by law as motor vehicles, though cyclists, like pedestrians, have priority.
Because of that, whenever I’m in my car and I come up behind a cyclist, I first honk my horn to let them know I’m there, something I wish more drivers would do for me when I’m on my bike. Then, I leave them as much room as possible, even changing lanes if I can. I’m sure that many of those cyclists appreciate that I do that.
It’s nice to talk about sharing the road. I do.
It is illegal to pass a vehicle on the right side unless it is a multi lane road and the vehicle being passed is in the left lane, or the vehicle being passed is turning left.
Bicycles used to have to obey this law too, sharing the roadway and all, including following all traffic laws.
Personally, I prefer taking my bike along back alleys or other such out of the way routes. I generally don’t have to tangle with traffic when I do that.
In Winnipeg, the squeaky wheels also got a lot of grease. This past summer the City installed permanent bike lanes on McDermott and Bannatyne (Made famous by the Guess Who) Avenues. Two parallel streets heading to Main Street, very busy during rush hours. As part of the plan, right turns on red lights were also banned, to prevent cars turning in front of bikes (running red lights probably.)
And now the problems come to light.
https://winnipegsun.com/news/news-news/clearing-sidewalks-should-be-priority-over-bike-lanes-says-browaty
It is apparent the bike lobby is progressives attempting to choke traffic, and choke businesses. As businesses in areas where the bike lanes were built complain of less parking spots in the area (lose one lane) and consequently less customers.
BTW, no Winnipeg politician has the guts to oppose “active transportation” aka bike lanes, as the waste of money and infrastructure, that they are.
At least Browaty has the balls to call out the nonsense of plowing the bike lanes over side walks.
For every cyclist in a bike lane there are probably 40,000 people on a sidewalk.
The money wasted on bike lanes is astonishing.
In Ottawa last winter I was heading north on Cyrville Rd, it was an awful day, blizzard–very low visibility and high winds. A guy on his bike was traversing the overpass when got hit with a gust of wind which bounced him off the guard rail and right into my path. He almost died that day. His only saving grace was that it was early in the morning (prior to 7AM) so the road traffic was non-existent…but his head was only a foot or so away from my bumper/grill. Had he fallen in the opposite direction he would’ve fallen to his death on Hwy 174–if the 30+ foot fall wouldn’t have killed him…the trucks and cars in the west bound lanes would’ve.
Judging from that snake track in the Saskatoon snow, Trudeau musta been there…