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Cyclist says his pool noodle makes Toronto streets safer for him

22 points by ashitlerferad 10y ago

deleted 10y ago
[deleted]
jandrese 10y ago
As a cyclist I hate sharing the road with cars. I'll go out of my way to avoid traffic. It's hard not to feel like a hazard when every car has to pass you to even maintain the speed limit.
- mjevans 10y ago
  As a driver, I'd also really rather that Cyclists had /dedicated/ lanes of travel, isolated from the roadway. If they must be along the same pathway as motor vehicle streets a better design would be to have a physical barrier, like a shrubbery divider, between the traffic and the bike lane, and then a sidewalk. However I'd actually much rather build mega-parking structures at the edges of the actual city, and add ceilings over the roadway (since the NorthWest US does get lots of rainy days); 'caves of steel' (with built in parks) should be the goal.
  - ende 10y ago
    That's how the Netherlands does it and it works great. Bikes, peds and cars all have their own lanes, and with their own intersection rules.
abandonliberty 10y ago
I'm confused why this is here. Options to control horizontal space are far from new and have demonstrated effectiveness. Is the pool noodle a hack? "Single dad discovers ONE amazing trick to make cycling safer"? http://www.bikecommuters.com/2007/10/05/alternatives-to-the-safety-flag/ http://www.bikecommuters.com/2007/10/05/alternatives-to-the-...
- pmoriarty 10y ago
  It might not be new for you, but it's new for me. So I'm interested in it and upvoting it.
  - abandonliberty 10y ago
    In that case I would recommend some research into cycling safety, or perhaps a local course if one is offered. There are many ways to improve your safety on a bicycle and I would strongly encourage you to do everything you can to protect your health and life.
- mjevans 10y ago
  It's sort of a 'hack' in that it helps make it more obvious to drivers what the actual frame of the other type of vehicle is. What's it's really fixing though is an anti-collision planning issue related to packing mixed types of vehicles on the same path of travel. Though there is still the issue of differential speed between the human powered and mechanically powered devices.
  - abandonliberty 10y ago
    I wonder what the comparative risk is between getting side-swiped vs. doored or cut off. In my anectodal experience this seems like more of a comfort issue, while doors and cars who don't see you at all or cut you off are far more dangerous.
Overtonwindow 10y ago
Sometimes the simplest solutions can fix huge problems. Brilliant!
aries1980 10y ago
This can work at places where the roads are wide enough. Unfortunately, this wouldn't work in London.

22 points by ashitlerferad 10y ago

deleted 10y ago

[deleted]

As a cyclist I hate sharing the road with cars. I'll go out of my way to avoid traffic. It's hard not to feel like a hazard when every car has to pass you to even maintain the speed limit.

mjevans 10y ago
As a driver, I'd also really rather that Cyclists had /dedicated/ lanes of travel, isolated from the roadway. If they must be along the same pathway as motor vehicle streets a better design would be to have a physical barrier, like a shrubbery divider, between the traffic and the bike lane, and then a sidewalk. However I'd actually much rather build mega-parking structures at the edges of the actual city, and add ceilings over the roadway (since the NorthWest US does get lots of rainy days); 'caves of steel' (with built in parks) should be the goal.
- ende 10y ago
  That's how the Netherlands does it and it works great. Bikes, peds and cars all have their own lanes, and with their own intersection rules.

abandonliberty 10y ago

I'm confused why this is here. Options to control horizontal space are far from new and have demonstrated effectiveness. Is the pool noodle a hack? "Single dad discovers ONE amazing trick to make cycling safer"? http://www.bikecommuters.com/2007/10/05/alternatives-to-the-safety-flag/ http://www.bikecommuters.com/2007/10/05/alternatives-to-the-...

pmoriarty 10y ago
It might not be new for you, but it's new for me. So I'm interested in it and upvoting it.
- abandonliberty 10y ago
  In that case I would recommend some research into cycling safety, or perhaps a local course if one is offered. There are many ways to improve your safety on a bicycle and I would strongly encourage you to do everything you can to protect your health and life.
mjevans 10y ago
It's sort of a 'hack' in that it helps make it more obvious to drivers what the actual frame of the other type of vehicle is. What's it's really fixing though is an anti-collision planning issue related to packing mixed types of vehicles on the same path of travel. Though there is still the issue of differential speed between the human powered and mechanically powered devices.
- abandonliberty 10y ago
  I wonder what the comparative risk is between getting side-swiped vs. doored or cut off. In my anectodal experience this seems like more of a comfort issue, while doors and cars who don't see you at all or cut you off are far more dangerous.

Overtonwindow 10y ago

Sometimes the simplest solutions can fix huge problems. Brilliant!

aries1980 10y ago

This can work at places where the roads are wide enough. Unfortunately, this wouldn't work in London.