Message from cycling heaven: it’s not that fantastic here

Re:Message from cycling heaven: it’s not that fantastic here by locallost on Sunday October 24, 2021 @09:29AM (#28977701)

I've been there and don't remember that. But I did hear this complaint about other cities and it always struck me as odd. People have no issues standing on the sidewalk as cars whiz around them and they feel safe. A bike going very fast in its own lane next to you is most of the time slower than a car and about 100 times lighter. And thus at least so much less dangerous. People have a right to feel whatever they want, but the numbers show it's a lot safer to be a pedestrian in a bike friendly city than a car friendly city.

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Re:Message from cycling heaven: it’s not that fantastic here by bane on Sunday October 24, 2021 @11:37AM (#28978897)

For me it's having been hit several times by cyclists on shared paths, and never having been hit by a car.

(well, I was once hit by a car, but I was on a bike so....)

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Re:Message from cycling heaven: it’s not that fantastic here by ramraj07 on Sunday October 24, 2021 @11:46AM (#28979002)

Unless you're doing road work without signs that sounds like too many times to be hit by moving things for a lifetime.

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Re:Message from cycling heaven: it’s not that fantastic here by civilized on Sunday October 24, 2021 @09:42AM (#28977807)

I think the curb makes a big difference.

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Re:Message from cycling heaven: it’s not that fantastic here by locallost on Sunday October 24, 2021 @09:57AM (#28977929)

I think it's more that we grew up with cars and accepted the danger. The same way we are no longer scrubbing our hands as we did early in the pandemic.

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Re:Message from cycling heaven: it’s not that fantastic here by jimmaswell on Sunday October 24, 2021 @11:19AM (#28978701)

Sadly it seems like a sizable amount of the population plans to keep up the "temporary" measures forever. I can only assume it's tribally motivated at this point where it's simply not rational anymore for vaccinated people who account for <1% of deaths to go around in space suits staying six feet away from everyone and continuing to go overboard with sanitization. I predict they'll still be doing this in five years and still try to shame the rest of us who moved on.

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Re:Message from cycling heaven: it’s not that fantastic here by Kye on Sunday October 24, 2021 @09:50AM (#28977874)

In perception, maybe. A curb doesn't slow a car down enough to not end your life, and it's much easier to do even for a driver trying to stay in their lane.

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Re:Message from cycling heaven: it’s not that fantastic here by civilized on Sunday October 24, 2021 @09:55AM (#28977908)

I disagree. Tactile barriers like curbs and even rumble strips provide real security because they are such effective signals to both sides. Pedestrians would be much more afraid if cars only had to stay in painted lines and people had to walk right beside them.

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Re:Message from cycling heaven: it’s not that fantastic here by locallost on Sunday October 24, 2021 @10:16AM (#28978118)

At this point it's no longer particularly newsworthy to write a car lost control and leveled three people on a bus stop. It happens all the time, it even happened on the bus stop I frequently used 20 years ago.

And bike lanes are already segregated with at least paint so that's already a signal. People just need to get used to it, which is hard initially when all you know is cars and walking.

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Re:Message from cycling heaven: it’s not that fantastic here by greggman3 on Sunday October 24, 2021 @01:15PM (#28979917)

Drivers intentionally cross plainted lines they are not supposed to cross all the time. Drivers rarely cross curbs intensionally.

SF for example is full of solid white lines. The law says solid white lines are supposed to be treated the same as concrete barriers. No crossing period. Yet people cross them all the time with impunity. If they were actually curbs people would only rarely cross them accidentally

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Re:Message from cycling heaven: it’s not that fantastic here by lozenge on Sunday October 24, 2021 @10:23AM (#28978178)

It's easy to stay on the right side of a curb as a pedestrian, compared to looking for floor markings, traffic signs etc.

As a cyclist, it's easy and essential to stay on the right side. Accidentally not noticing the curb will result in a crash or near one.

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Re:Message from cycling heaven: it’s not that fantastic here by Someone on Sunday October 24, 2021 @01:08PM (#28979829)

Modern kerbs are sloped. Accidentally not noticing the kerb will not make you crash. (See the picture about ⅓ down on https://bicycledutch.wordpress.com/2016/02/23/goes-cycling-c...)

Research shows sloped or even leveled kerbs don’t seem to lead to problems (https://journals.open.tudelft.nl/ejtir/article/view/3254)

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