5 ms·

Every person I know that bikes in Chicago has been hit at least once. Fortunately none of them have been seriously injured, but it is a constant danger. There

Every person I know that bikes in Chicago has been hit at least once. Fortunately none of them have been seriously injured, but it is a constant danger. There are lots of bike lanes downtown but they aren’t protected or respected. We have a long way to go to make biking a safe form of transport like it is in the Netherlands.

dominotw 7y ago
I personally know 3 ppl that died in chicago. Two of them were my coworkers, died in the same year. :/ Sorry but if you have kids and family you are fucking stupid to ride bikes on the street in chicago. White bikes on sidewalks are not street art. Go to lakeshore path/606 if you are dying to ride bikes. I got doored 2 yrs ago escaped only with broken wrist.
- crushcrashcrush 7y ago
  Replace Chicago with nearly every city. It’s a death wish.
  - theseadroid 7y ago
    Have you been to cities in Netherlands or Danmark?
    - thealfreds 7y ago
      They were meaning US cities, we can certainly be very US centric in our thinking. And to keep on that theme let me talk about my city. If you don't actually need to get anywhere and want to ride for leisure Denver has some nice built up trails that sort of meander through neighborhoods that are completely separated from roads. Very safe and usually very pretty to ride on. Downtown looks pretty dangerous though.
      - JohnFen 7y ago
        > They were meaning US cities Even just considering US cities, that statement is not true. Some cities are very dangerous for bikes, but many are not.
- bluejekyll 7y ago
  Then I assume you would support a similar law in Chicago as Cambridge passed?
  - dominotw 7y ago
    Yes but aren't you back on the street with no protection where there are no bike lanes( most of chicago)?
    - bluejekyll 7y ago
      I don't know Chicago, but I do know what's happened in San Francisco over the last 20 years. It's taken a long time, but the city is finally starting to take protected bike lanes seriously, sadly much of that is in response to lives lost. When I first got here, it was just a fight for standard bike lanes. For either to happen, more people need to get on their bikes and ride. Contributing to your local bike coalition is also great way to help push these issues forward. If everyone follows your advice and chooses to not ride because of the danger, then nothing will change, and the lives lost to poor road infrastructure and poor driver education will have been for nothing.
      - dominotw 7y ago
        > If everyone follows your advice and chooses to not ride because of the danger, then nothing will change Are you seriously suggesting some ppl risk their lives for 'change'? Sorry I really don't want to trade my life for bike lanes, there are ppl counting on me to stay alive.
        bluejekyll 7y ago
        No, I don't want people to risk their lives for anything. I want things to change. 40,000 people die a year in the US while driving or riding in cars, following your logic, that is also extremely risky, and so we shouldn't do it.
        7y ago
- u801e 7y ago
  > I got doored 2 yrs ago escaped only with broken wrist. The best way to avoid getting doored is to not ride so close to parked cars. You should maintain a distance of at least 6 feet from parked cars while riding.
  - rmcpherson 7y ago
    This is often impossible when bike lanes are adjacent to parked cars.
    - u801e 7y ago
      Those are badly placed bike lanes (and honestly those who make the decision to place door zone bike lanes should be fired and lose their professional engineering license). It's better to not use them at all and just ride in the general traffic lane instead.
- megaremote 7y ago
  Yes, you are stupid and should become part of the problem. Be part of the industry of drivers, that are responsible for 40,000 deaths every year in the US.
danielecook 7y ago
I used the lakefront path for years and fortunately never had any serious incidents. Beyond roadways, cities should be thinking more about paths that are not associated with the road network. For example, the 606 in Chicago is an elevated bike path built on an old train line. The riverfront would also serve as an opportunity for good bike infrastructure.
Declanomous 7y ago
I've never been hit, but I also always have lights on my bike, I've completely covered my bike with retroreflective tape, and I live on the West Side. I used to ride my bike to my job in East Lakeview every day, which was about about 9 miles each way, and the last mile of my commute was always the worst. Lincoln Park and Lakeview are full of the most entitled drivers on the planet. I once saved a kid from getting hit by a left turning driver by picking him up just before a driver hit him. The guy was taking a left hand turn while looking at his cell phone. The mom had bent down for half a second to pick up a bottle that her kid in a stroller had dropped. On another note, rideshare drivers are the worst drivers in the city. They are unpredictable, they have no idea where they are going, they don't have experience driving in the city, and they are always looking at their cell phones. Chicago needs to crack down on ridesharing. I've almost been hit by rideshare drivers who aren't looking where they are going 3 times in the past month. Each time they were driving in the bike lane looking to drop someone off or pick someone up. Plus, ride shares absolutely murder traffic. I initially started riding my bike because all the ride shares pulling over made my commute go from 20 minutes each way to 30 minutes in the mornings and 40 in the evening. Any arguments that ride shares somehow are more efficient than actual driving ignore the fact that most drivers don't pull over in the middle of a busy street for 30 seconds to 2 minutes at the beginning and end of their trip. Edit: I should also mention that I credit disc brakes for part of the reason I've never been hit. I can stop so much faster with then than with rim brakes, partly because I can modulate braking force better, and partly because it always bites right away, rather than needing a revolution to clean road grime or water off that rim brakes sometimes need. I swapped after I almost got right hooked going under the Cortland bridge. There's always water pooled there, and I honestly thought I was going to slide under a car for a few seconds.

dominotw 7y ago

I personally know 3 ppl that died in chicago. Two of them were my coworkers, died in the same year. :/ Sorry but if you have kids and family you are fucking stupid to ride bikes on the street in chicago. White bikes on sidewalks are not street art. Go to lakeshore path/606 if you are dying to ride bikes. I got doored 2 yrs ago escaped only with broken wrist.

crushcrashcrush 7y ago
Replace Chicago with nearly every city. It’s a death wish.
- theseadroid 7y ago
  Have you been to cities in Netherlands or Danmark?
  - thealfreds 7y ago
    They were meaning US cities, we can certainly be very US centric in our thinking. And to keep on that theme let me talk about my city. If you don't actually need to get anywhere and want to ride for leisure Denver has some nice built up trails that sort of meander through neighborhoods that are completely separated from roads. Very safe and usually very pretty to ride on. Downtown looks pretty dangerous though.
    - JohnFen 7y ago
      > They were meaning US cities Even just considering US cities, that statement is not true. Some cities are very dangerous for bikes, but many are not.
bluejekyll 7y ago
Then I assume you would support a similar law in Chicago as Cambridge passed?
- dominotw 7y ago
  Yes but aren't you back on the street with no protection where there are no bike lanes( most of chicago)?
  - bluejekyll 7y ago
    I don't know Chicago, but I do know what's happened in San Francisco over the last 20 years. It's taken a long time, but the city is finally starting to take protected bike lanes seriously, sadly much of that is in response to lives lost. When I first got here, it was just a fight for standard bike lanes. For either to happen, more people need to get on their bikes and ride. Contributing to your local bike coalition is also great way to help push these issues forward. If everyone follows your advice and chooses to not ride because of the danger, then nothing will change, and the lives lost to poor road infrastructure and poor driver education will have been for nothing.
    - dominotw 7y ago
      > If everyone follows your advice and chooses to not ride because of the danger, then nothing will change Are you seriously suggesting some ppl risk their lives for 'change'? Sorry I really don't want to trade my life for bike lanes, there are ppl counting on me to stay alive.
      - bluejekyll 7y ago
        No, I don't want people to risk their lives for anything. I want things to change. 40,000 people die a year in the US while driving or riding in cars, following your logic, that is also extremely risky, and so we shouldn't do it.
        7y ago
u801e 7y ago
> I got doored 2 yrs ago escaped only with broken wrist. The best way to avoid getting doored is to not ride so close to parked cars. You should maintain a distance of at least 6 feet from parked cars while riding.
- rmcpherson 7y ago
  This is often impossible when bike lanes are adjacent to parked cars.
  - u801e 7y ago
    Those are badly placed bike lanes (and honestly those who make the decision to place door zone bike lanes should be fired and lose their professional engineering license). It's better to not use them at all and just ride in the general traffic lane instead.
megaremote 7y ago
Yes, you are stupid and should become part of the problem. Be part of the industry of drivers, that are responsible for 40,000 deaths every year in the US.

danielecook 7y ago

I used the lakefront path for years and fortunately never had any serious incidents. Beyond roadways, cities should be thinking more about paths that are not associated with the road network. For example, the 606 in Chicago is an elevated bike path built on an old train line. The riverfront would also serve as an opportunity for good bike infrastructure.

Declanomous 7y ago

I've never been hit, but I also always have lights on my bike, I've completely covered my bike with retroreflective tape, and I live on the West Side. I used to ride my bike to my job in East Lakeview every day, which was about about 9 miles each way, and the last mile of my commute was always the worst. Lincoln Park and Lakeview are full of the most entitled drivers on the planet. I once saved a kid from getting hit by a left turning driver by picking him up just before a driver hit him. The guy was taking a left hand turn while looking at his cell phone. The mom had bent down for half a second to pick up a bottle that her kid in a stroller had dropped. On another note, rideshare drivers are the worst drivers in the city. They are unpredictable, they have no idea where they are going, they don't have experience driving in the city, and they are always looking at their cell phones. Chicago needs to crack down on ridesharing. I've almost been hit by rideshare drivers who aren't looking where they are going 3 times in the past month. Each time they were driving in the bike lane looking to drop someone off or pick someone up. Plus, ride shares absolutely murder traffic. I initially started riding my bike because all the ride shares pulling over made my commute go from 20 minutes each way to 30 minutes in the mornings and 40 in the evening. Any arguments that ride shares somehow are more efficient than actual driving ignore the fact that most drivers don't pull over in the middle of a busy street for 30 seconds to 2 minutes at the beginning and end of their trip. Edit: I should also mention that I credit disc brakes for part of the reason I've never been hit. I can stop so much faster with then than with rim brakes, partly because I can modulate braking force better, and partly because it always bites right away, rather than needing a revolution to clean road grime or water off that rim brakes sometimes need. I swapped after I almost got right hooked going under the Cortland bridge. There's always water pooled there, and I honestly thought I was going to slide under a car for a few seconds.