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I've lived in Cambridge or neighboring Somerville every year but one since 1989. The cycling infrastructure is much improved and still deadly. Just yesterday,

I've lived in Cambridge or neighboring Somerville every year but one since 1989. The cycling infrastructure is much improved and still deadly. Just yesterday, I approached an arterial Street from a side street at 6pm. Cars on the arterial were moving about 8 MPH. I dismounted my bike, and began walking across the arterial in the crosswalk. As I re-mounted on the other side and resumed riding, a white man in a mid-size SUV leaned out his window and said loudly to me, "I hope you get hit!" This morning on my way to work, a driver popped out of a side street from my left side directly in front of me. As I was along side of him, he swerved hard to the right and into a parking lot (no signal of course). I've been a daily bike commuter in Cambridge for 12 years. We desperately need infrastructure that forces drivers to respect cyclists as equal road users. There is hardly a day that I don't almost get hit by car while cycling.

tomcam 8y ago
What does the fact that he was white have to do with it?
- just_steve_h 8y ago
  What does the fact that he was white NOT have to do with it?
  - dkdjnkecmsl 8y ago
    As a fellow cyclist, I hope you get hit.
- skrebbel 8y ago
  To help visualize the anecdote.
bluejekyll 8y ago
I've experienced this same anecdote in similar situations for the past 20 years as well. There has been a long push by auto manufacturers to make anything other than cars that use the roads seen as both illegitimate and illegal. For example, see the history of Jaywalking laws: https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-26073797 https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-26073797. Starting around 1920's the auto-industry encouraged laws around the US to make crossing the street illegal. These laws have the downside of making car drivers feel entitled to the road. Cyclists and other non-car users of roads have a deep hole to climb out of to change these laws, and to change the perception that streets are only for cars. Infrastructure is probably the only real mechanism we have that can make tangible changes, that don't allow the personal feelings of car drivers to get angry at being inconvenienced by cyclists and other road users. We need to slow down auto-traffic and encourage more non-vehicular use of the roads, while making those roads safer for pedestrians, cyclists, scooter riders, skate boarders, etc.
- rayiner 8y ago
  > We need to slow down auto-traffic and encourage more non-vehicular use of the roads, while making those roads safer for pedestrians, cyclists, scooter riders, skate boarders, etc. Is that the most efficient use of the roads? Especially in a place like Boston, where most people in the metro area don’t live in (and can’t afford to live in) the city itself. At a certain point doesn’t creating a preference for pedestrians and cyclists actually end up being a preference for wealthier people who can afford to live downtown, versus those who need to access the city but can’t live within walking or biking distance? (Note that bicyclists and skateboarders also slow down busses, which are what lower income people use to get around.)
  - snazz 8y ago
    It might not be as efficient, but it sure is better for the environment, for traffic, and for health, among others. In most of the US, the wealthier people live in suburbs, though your point still stands. Many European cities are nicer places to live as a result of better cycling infrastructure and a culture of road-sharing.
  - stefan_ 8y ago
    You mean the roads downtown should be inaccessible to people living downtown so suburban people can commute in on 2 ton steel boxes that they then store for the day in downtown? No, that is indeed not the most efficient use of the roads. The most efficient use of the roads would be to rip them out and use the space for vastly more efficient public transport. (Bus transport is also not slowed down by cyclists, or of all things, skateboarders.)
    - rayiner 8y ago
      > The most efficient use of the roads would be to rip them out and use the space for vastly more efficient public transport. More efficient for who? The software developer who lives in a condo downtown, or the lady who cleans his office that drives in from the suburbs?
      - 8y ago
btrettel 8y ago
Examples like this are exactly why bike lanes are not the only change needed to make cycling more accessible. What stops drivers from doing any of these if there were protected bike lanes? Generally "protected" bike lines are not protected at intersections, which is where most problems occur. I live in Austin right now and I tend to avoid the protected bike lanes because drivers frequently turn across them without yielding to cyclists using them. The city put up signs saying to yield to oncoming cyclists, but in my experience those signs are followed less than 5% of the time. I'd rather ride in the normal traffic lane where I'm visible. Yes, I might be angering some drivers, but angering drivers is better than dying.
- gugagore 8y ago
  There's a certain burden to being vigilant and self-defensive on the road. Even if I'm not protected in intersections, a protected bike lane means that there's a lot less time I need to be worried that a car will hit me. However, you're bringing up the point that protected bike lanes may make intersections even more dangerous for cyclists. While your reasoning makes sense, do you know if there's anything to corroborate that claim?
  - CydeWeys 8y ago
    They're not. Protected bike lanes are for sure safer than unprotected bike lanes. If there are problems at intersections, that means that the bike lanes aren't protected enough. Amsterdam for example doesn't have these kinds of issues because their design (and especially light signaling) is better.
    - btrettel 8y ago
      > If there are problems at intersections, that means that the bike lanes aren't protected enough. Amsterdam for example doesn't have these kinds of issues because their design (and especially light signaling) is better. I agree. The problem is that I have never seen those sorts of lanes in the US. The choice is between semi-protected lanes which may be worse or no lanes. I don't know precisely which is better, but I usually choose to not use the protected lanes due to issues at intersections.
justaguyhere 8y ago
I've experienced similar hostility, while just walking and minding my own business (and respecting traffic rules). For some reason, drivers get annoyed with anyone on the road that is not inside a car.
- gautamdivgi 8y ago
  I've written about this earlier. People get seriously nasty in their cars. I've seen them honk at my 8 yr old daughter crossing the street from her school to come home.
  - justaguyhere 8y ago
    Most people grew up with cars, in most places in the US (other than big cities like NY, where having a car is a hassle). It is not going to be easy changing their attitude towards pedestrians and cyclists. It is going to be a slow, gradual process. In a twisted way, many millennials not being able to afford cars (or not wanting to own) might help.
  - bzbarsky 8y ago
    This seems to vary greatly by location. In the Boston metro area, my anecdotal experience is that cars in Needham will stop to allow pedestrians/bikers to cross a 40mph main road at a non-crosswalk location (though to be fair there are no crosswalks). _Especially_ if there are any kids involved. If you move just slightly further in, to Brookline, good luck getting people to yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk, like the signage says they should. I don't know whether it's the slightly higher population density, some difference in the demographics of the drivers or what, but the difference is pretty stark.
viburnum 8y ago
The thing about cycling is that it’s basically fast walking. In places where cycling dominates people only ride as fast as a quick jogger (10 mph is a 6 minute mile). The correct model for cycling isn’t space on the road, it’s an extra sidewalk with an accommodating turning radius. This is what you actually see in The Netherlands. People think of public spaces as roads and as roads as places for cars to drive and park, so they get hung up on “sharing the road,” but really the thing to do is shrinking the road and enhancing places for people.
- linuxftw 8y ago
  Yes, this makes sense. Nobody is arguing to ride a bike 17 inches from a train (and the train can't swerve into you!), why would you want to do it with cars? Separate places for bikes and people make the most sense.
- CydeWeys 8y ago
  I was just in Amsterdam this past autumn. It was awesome how most streets have bike lanes that are at-grade with the sidewalk instead of at-grade with the street, and that everyone respects as being for cyclists and does not block. You're underestimating some of the speeds involved though. People will bike at speeds that feel safe to them. There's bike lanes there that are long, straight, and that have people going much faster on them than anyone can run. Amsterdam is full of life-long cyclists; some of them go pretty fast when it's safe to do so. It was quite impressive seeing some of the people on the city-style bikes hauling ass, especially when they didn't look like you'd expect them to. I do that here in NYC too; no sense in making my commute take any longer than necessary. Although I'm generally on a road bike when doing so, not a city bike!
  - radicalbyte 8y ago
    I cycle somewhere between 20 and 35 km/hour; that's faster than scooters and most electric bikes. It's way faster for me to cycle to the supermarket, the gym and the kids daycare compared to driving. It beats being lazy in a car and I'm very thankful that the infrastructure here in NL supports it.
abstractbarista 8y ago
Sounds good to me, as long as cyclists follow the same rules drivers do. Just yesterday I had a cyclist blatantly roll a stop sign on a side street, entering the main road I was on. If I was an inattentive driver I would have creamed him! He even looked to the left, saw me, and just kept rolling through!
- soperj 8y ago
  I see car drivers roll stop signs every day, multiple times a day. Sounds like the cyclists are doing just as good of a job at following the rules.
  - dsfyu404ed 8y ago
    Rolling a stop sign (regardless of how many wheels you have) can be perfectly safe or stupidly dangerous and requires discretion. I'm not going to fault anyone for doing it in the abstract.
  - abstractbarista 8y ago
    But do you roll a stop sign when a car is literally about to slam in to you if you continue into the intersection? No. Yet that's what the guy did.
- prolepunk 8y ago
  The difference is that in the car all you do is press brake & gas, cycling requires some physical work to start up again. I know it's breaking the law, and I don't usually do it, but when I cycle on a quiet residential street, I'm going to roll a stop sign. I know it's bad, but at that point I'm going home and I feel tired.
  - parthdesai 8y ago
    Yeah my rule of thumb while cycling is, if it's an empty street i'll slow down so i can scan the other 3 sides and if it's completely empty i'll roll the stop sign. If there is a car/pedestrian, i'll come to a complete stop.
linuxftw 8y ago
Cycling on the street is taking your life into your own hands. I avoid it whenever I can. Sidewalks are usually empty where I live. Some places have a great network of bike and walk trails. I think this is the only viable option: roads or other paved surfaces where automobiles are not allowed.
cabaalis 8y ago
What you did was perfectly legal, and I assume that your state, like mine, has a law about stopping for pedestrians in the crosswalk. I feel the need to ask though why the race of the man who yelled at you bears mentioning?
- just_steve_h 8y ago
  Why do you find it worth asking why I mentioned his race? There is certainly a strong relationship among perceived entitlement/privilege, apparent race and ethnicity, and apparent gender. I shouldn't need to explain this.
  - cabaalis 8y ago
    I asked because it changed the timbre of your anecdote from one of cars vs. bikes to one of race vs. race. Was this person yelling at you because you're on a bike, or because of your apparent race?
fukbezos 8y ago
The simple answer is bikes and cars should never share the same infrastructure. They'll never get along with each other and the bike loses every time. It also doesn't help that bikers don't follow the laws properly. Bikers have to pay attention more than drivers, they should act like it
- adrianN 8y ago
  I don't know the statistics for the US, but here in Germany 75% of the accidents between cyclists are cars are caused by the car.
  - eots 8y ago
    I drive a car now and then in Cambridge and Boston, and I have to be constantly on a lookout for misbehaving cyclists. It's like most of cyclists are not even familiar with basic traffic regulations. If I was not paying extra attention, and was simply following traffic regulations on my end, I would be involved in more that a few car/bicycle accident.
    - adrianN 8y ago
      I'm sure you'd say the same about cars if you were a cyclist. Both bicycles and cars are driven by humans and they generally don't give a damn about the rules unless they benefit personally. The difference is that cyclists usually endanger themselves, while motorists endanger others.
  - JohnFen 8y ago
    I know that an anecdote is not data, but the only time I've been in an accident with a car, it was because the car ran a stop sign, causing me to slam into the side of it. And yes, I was seriously hurt.
anonu 8y ago
> "I hope you get hit!" This is one thing I will never be able to wrap my head around - why would a human being say something like this to a fellow human? In my experience this comment brings together a few things: 1. Many drivers just have no respect for "Share the Road" and specifically no respect for cyclists 2. This type of "speak your mind" attitude is very New England and specifically Boston (and suburbs). 3. Just speaks to the need to accelerate bike access and harmonize/integrate more with infrastructure. This news is a good step forward...
- justinator 8y ago
  why would a human being say something like this to a fellow human? Cars seem to act as a stress multiplier.
- wool_gather 8y ago
  > > "I hope you get hit!" > This is one thing I will never be able to wrap my head around - why would a human being say something like this to a fellow human? Because he was frustrated and angry about something else that he has no power to affect (possibly the traffic that he was stuck in) and misdirected his energy at an accessible target to alleviate some psychic pressure.
- fooblitzky 8y ago
  Fun fact: 49% of non-cyclists think people who ride bikes are less than human: https://usa.streetsblog.org/2019/03/28/study-aggressive-driving-is-linked-to-seeing-cyclists-as-less-than-human/comment-page-2/ https://usa.streetsblog.org/2019/03/28/study-aggressive-driv...
- T-hawk 8y ago
  > why would a human being say something like this to a fellow human? Because what they see isn't a human, it's an obstacle.
philamonster 8y ago
I lived in Boston/Cambridge/Somerville/JP/Brighton etc etc for nearly a decade from mid 90's to early 2000's, half of it as a bike messenger and lived all you describe daily, 365. Hundreds of accounts in that time that do not paint a very warm picture of American "city" living during this era. For every stupid thing someone has done to or near me in a car I have seen an equally shocking occurrence on a bike. Maybe not daily but hooo boy, people are always stupid traveling in any mode of transportation. I don't think anything will change re: bike barriers unless the auto is completely removed from the picture like in various EU cities. EVEN THEN, people will still people on bikes. Count on it...
- emanuensis 8y ago
  >I have seen an equally shocking occurrence on a bike. Yes, as a pedestrian in C in the 60's i was hit by a Cliffe on a bike ... going the wrong way on a one-way street, mind you. We, as a species, need to integrate more with others: We are not our bodies etc, we are the world
  - philamonster 8y ago
    Just look at the image used in article; clowntown wearing flip-flops riding in the rain on the Esplanade but with a helmet on no less. Get that man to city streets, he's ready!
sevenf0ur 8y ago
Well at least you didn't get "coal rolled": https://www.reddit.com/r/bicycling/comments/9b16vl/a_truck_caught_on_camera_rolling_coal_on_a/ https://www.reddit.com/r/bicycling/comments/9b16vl/a_truck_c...
- chefandy 8y ago
  I don't think I've ever seen anyone 'rolling coal' in Cambridge. I can't imagine the cops around here would let anybody blow out that kind of smog under any circumstances without giving them a ticket.
  - ocschwar 8y ago
    Under the law, the cops have the authority to impound the truck. I would bet fair money that the first moron to try rolling coal in Boston or Cambridge will also be the last.
    - chefandy 8y ago
      And as I know from when the state stopped sending out registration expiration reminders to 'save money,' Cambridge Police do not hesitate to impound everybody they possibly can.
justinator 8y ago
a white man in a mid-size SUV leaned out his window and said loudly to me, "I hope you get hit!" My usual retort to this, as the cyclist: "I hope you find true Love!"
- justtopost 8y ago
  One only hurts for a while.
- btrettel 8y ago
  I cycle with a helmet cam, and I typically inform the driver that they are being recorded. While I haven't done a scientific study, I believe this causes some drivers to restrain themselves.
  - JohnFen 8y ago
    I've only recently installed cams (front and back) on my bike. I hadn't felt the need, but a couple of weeks ago a friend of mine was pelted with eggs while he was riding. I decided that being able to gather evidence and, if lucky, license plate numbers, is not the worst idea.
rayiner 8y ago
How many people commute by bike in Cambridge versus by car? And what’s the cost of inconveniencing all those drivers by having bikes buzzing around?
- icebraining 8y ago
  If almost all commuters are car drivers, then there won't be many bikes buzzing around inconveniencing them. And if there are enough bikes to inconvenience the drivers, then there are enough to justify investing in their own infrastructure.
- just_steve_h 8y ago
  Actually the City of Cambridge installed a bike counter on one of the main thoroughfares toward one of the bridges over the Charles River into Boston. There are more than 1000 trips in each direction on a weekday.
  - z2 8y ago
    https://pb.cambridgema.gov/pb4bikecounter https://pb.cambridgema.gov/pb4bikecounter That's kind of cool! At a glance, also kind of expensive at $90,000 for 3! A quick search shows the hardware costing around $5,000 each.
- analog31 8y ago
  Traffic congestion and inconvenience are caused by cars in vast disproportion to bikes. The sheer volume of car traffic is the primary predictor of congestion.
callinyouin 8y ago
> "I hope you get hit!" This, to me, signals the general attitude people have towards bicyclists in the US. The average person either doesn't care or, for some misguided reason or another, actively hates bicyclists. I've been yelled at by drivers for no apparent reason so many times I've lost count. I've had so many friends hit by cars. My partner was struck by a car last fall and broke her leg in two places. She's still recovering and frequently has to lie down for hours because her leg is so sore. Just the other day a friend of mine was struck and had to get stitches in her face. I think the problem here is a mixture of infrastructure and attitude. The infrastructure side of things is usually what we talk about, which is obviously an important part of the discussion, but I don't think the problem with peoples' overall attitude towards bicycling gets enough attention. There are so many people out there who legitimately wish to harm bicyclists. Don't take my word for it, in 2016 a driver purposely murdered 5 bicyclists (in an area close to where I live, no less) with his vehicle and was sentenced in 2018[1]. Although most are likely accidents, there are other examples of drivers purposefully striking bicyclists with their vehicles if you look. It's really sad, I think it's a symptom of something a lot more sinister happening to the hearts and minds of people in this country, and it's why I no longer ride my bike in the city anymore. [1] https://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/2018/05/charles_pickett_jr_murder_tria.html https://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/2018/05/charles_pickett...
- techsupporter 8y ago
  > This, to me, signals the general attitude people have towards bicyclists in the US. The average person either doesn't care or, for some misguided reason or another, actively hates bicyclists. I've been yelled at by drivers for no apparent reason so many times I've lost count. My experience as a pedestrian (I don't ride a bike on the street so I can't speak to that experience) mirrors this. More than once, I've been honked or yelled at for being in an actual, marked crosswalk, crossing the street. (Never mind all of the driver complaints about my use of legal, unmarked crosswalks.) On a former commute, I regularly got off the bus at a bus stop immediately adjacent to a signaled crosswalk that several of us used. We regularly got honked at by drivers bringing their cars to a screeching halt as the light changed and, once on a holiday, when it was just me and my kid, a driver yelled "if you weren't so fucking poor you wouldn't have to ride the bus!" > It's really sad, I think it's a symptom of something a lot more sinister happening to the hearts and minds of people in this country Agreed, and I live in a city where ways of getting to work and around town that aren't a single-occupant vehicle are now in the cumulative majority yet the pushback has increased even more. People regularly write letters to the local paper about how they "openly" use the bus and bike lanes for their cars because "[screw] those entitled people." I hold a driving license and, until recently, owned a car that I regularly used. This behavior ought to be unacceptable and more actively enforced against but I can only imagine the uproar if an even light "crackdown" happened.
mruts 8y ago
Is being white a relavent factor here? What if you had said black instead?
- sarajenooka 8y ago
  Question one: No, Massachusetts is very white. I can’t imagine any reason this information would be relevant or adds to the story in anyway. Someone please advise me how I may be wrong. Question two: That would anger many people and cause much defensiveness. It blows my mind that this is the reality I live in and that you are the only person to bring this up in this heavily commented thread. As someone who grew up in left wing (espoused more than practiced) Boston but chose the search for truth over this hateful leftist religion I’ve spent my whole life trying to understand political and religious motives (really one and the same). One of the things I’ve come to understand is that it is human nature to find an easy enemy to fight even if there is none or you are too cowardly to fight a real enemy. White men have become this easy and compliant enemy for the left. Nevermind reality it’s too uncomfortable.
matthewaveryusa 8y ago
Anecdotally I cycle into Cambridge almost every day. I cross three cities: Medford, Somerville and Cambridge for an approximate 20 minute commute (vs 40 by car.) I have never had issue with cars, granted I've only been doing this for the two years (and in college I used to commute from Roxbury to Cambridge for 2 years and only had 1 freak-out with a drunk-driver, but that's another story.) On the other hand I've seen entitled cyclists lose their shit for no reason at cars. I feel like there's a subset of cyclists that don't understand that cars may have blind spots and freak out at drivers when there's literally nothing the driver can do about it.
why-el 8y ago
Biking is a very contentious issue in Cambridge. It was one of the most discussed topics during the last council elections and the split, at least how I saw it, was quite generational. There have been a few deadly incidents as well, adding fuel to the mix.

tomcam 8y ago

What does the fact that he was white have to do with it?

just_steve_h 8y ago
What does the fact that he was white NOT have to do with it?
- dkdjnkecmsl 8y ago
  As a fellow cyclist, I hope you get hit.
skrebbel 8y ago
To help visualize the anecdote.

bluejekyll 8y ago

I've experienced this same anecdote in similar situations for the past 20 years as well. There has been a long push by auto manufacturers to make anything other than cars that use the roads seen as both illegitimate and illegal. For example, see the history of Jaywalking laws: https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-26073797 https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-26073797. Starting around 1920's the auto-industry encouraged laws around the US to make crossing the street illegal. These laws have the downside of making car drivers feel entitled to the road. Cyclists and other non-car users of roads have a deep hole to climb out of to change these laws, and to change the perception that streets are only for cars. Infrastructure is probably the only real mechanism we have that can make tangible changes, that don't allow the personal feelings of car drivers to get angry at being inconvenienced by cyclists and other road users. We need to slow down auto-traffic and encourage more non-vehicular use of the roads, while making those roads safer for pedestrians, cyclists, scooter riders, skate boarders, etc.

rayiner 8y ago
> We need to slow down auto-traffic and encourage more non-vehicular use of the roads, while making those roads safer for pedestrians, cyclists, scooter riders, skate boarders, etc. Is that the most efficient use of the roads? Especially in a place like Boston, where most people in the metro area don’t live in (and can’t afford to live in) the city itself. At a certain point doesn’t creating a preference for pedestrians and cyclists actually end up being a preference for wealthier people who can afford to live downtown, versus those who need to access the city but can’t live within walking or biking distance? (Note that bicyclists and skateboarders also slow down busses, which are what lower income people use to get around.)
- snazz 8y ago
  It might not be as efficient, but it sure is better for the environment, for traffic, and for health, among others. In most of the US, the wealthier people live in suburbs, though your point still stands. Many European cities are nicer places to live as a result of better cycling infrastructure and a culture of road-sharing.
- stefan_ 8y ago
  You mean the roads downtown should be inaccessible to people living downtown so suburban people can commute in on 2 ton steel boxes that they then store for the day in downtown? No, that is indeed not the most efficient use of the roads. The most efficient use of the roads would be to rip them out and use the space for vastly more efficient public transport. (Bus transport is also not slowed down by cyclists, or of all things, skateboarders.)
  - rayiner 8y ago
    > The most efficient use of the roads would be to rip them out and use the space for vastly more efficient public transport. More efficient for who? The software developer who lives in a condo downtown, or the lady who cleans his office that drives in from the suburbs?
    - 8y ago

btrettel 8y ago

Examples like this are exactly why bike lanes are not the only change needed to make cycling more accessible. What stops drivers from doing any of these if there were protected bike lanes? Generally "protected" bike lines are not protected at intersections, which is where most problems occur. I live in Austin right now and I tend to avoid the protected bike lanes because drivers frequently turn across them without yielding to cyclists using them. The city put up signs saying to yield to oncoming cyclists, but in my experience those signs are followed less than 5% of the time. I'd rather ride in the normal traffic lane where I'm visible. Yes, I might be angering some drivers, but angering drivers is better than dying.

gugagore 8y ago
There's a certain burden to being vigilant and self-defensive on the road. Even if I'm not protected in intersections, a protected bike lane means that there's a lot less time I need to be worried that a car will hit me. However, you're bringing up the point that protected bike lanes may make intersections even more dangerous for cyclists. While your reasoning makes sense, do you know if there's anything to corroborate that claim?
- CydeWeys 8y ago
  They're not. Protected bike lanes are for sure safer than unprotected bike lanes. If there are problems at intersections, that means that the bike lanes aren't protected enough. Amsterdam for example doesn't have these kinds of issues because their design (and especially light signaling) is better.
  - btrettel 8y ago
    > If there are problems at intersections, that means that the bike lanes aren't protected enough. Amsterdam for example doesn't have these kinds of issues because their design (and especially light signaling) is better. I agree. The problem is that I have never seen those sorts of lanes in the US. The choice is between semi-protected lanes which may be worse or no lanes. I don't know precisely which is better, but I usually choose to not use the protected lanes due to issues at intersections.

justaguyhere 8y ago

I've experienced similar hostility, while just walking and minding my own business (and respecting traffic rules). For some reason, drivers get annoyed with anyone on the road that is not inside a car.

gautamdivgi 8y ago
I've written about this earlier. People get seriously nasty in their cars. I've seen them honk at my 8 yr old daughter crossing the street from her school to come home.
- justaguyhere 8y ago
  Most people grew up with cars, in most places in the US (other than big cities like NY, where having a car is a hassle). It is not going to be easy changing their attitude towards pedestrians and cyclists. It is going to be a slow, gradual process. In a twisted way, many millennials not being able to afford cars (or not wanting to own) might help.
- bzbarsky 8y ago
  This seems to vary greatly by location. In the Boston metro area, my anecdotal experience is that cars in Needham will stop to allow pedestrians/bikers to cross a 40mph main road at a non-crosswalk location (though to be fair there are no crosswalks). _Especially_ if there are any kids involved. If you move just slightly further in, to Brookline, good luck getting people to yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk, like the signage says they should. I don't know whether it's the slightly higher population density, some difference in the demographics of the drivers or what, but the difference is pretty stark.

viburnum 8y ago

The thing about cycling is that it’s basically fast walking. In places where cycling dominates people only ride as fast as a quick jogger (10 mph is a 6 minute mile). The correct model for cycling isn’t space on the road, it’s an extra sidewalk with an accommodating turning radius. This is what you actually see in The Netherlands. People think of public spaces as roads and as roads as places for cars to drive and park, so they get hung up on “sharing the road,” but really the thing to do is shrinking the road and enhancing places for people.

linuxftw 8y ago
Yes, this makes sense. Nobody is arguing to ride a bike 17 inches from a train (and the train can't swerve into you!), why would you want to do it with cars? Separate places for bikes and people make the most sense.
CydeWeys 8y ago
I was just in Amsterdam this past autumn. It was awesome how most streets have bike lanes that are at-grade with the sidewalk instead of at-grade with the street, and that everyone respects as being for cyclists and does not block. You're underestimating some of the speeds involved though. People will bike at speeds that feel safe to them. There's bike lanes there that are long, straight, and that have people going much faster on them than anyone can run. Amsterdam is full of life-long cyclists; some of them go pretty fast when it's safe to do so. It was quite impressive seeing some of the people on the city-style bikes hauling ass, especially when they didn't look like you'd expect them to. I do that here in NYC too; no sense in making my commute take any longer than necessary. Although I'm generally on a road bike when doing so, not a city bike!
- radicalbyte 8y ago
  I cycle somewhere between 20 and 35 km/hour; that's faster than scooters and most electric bikes. It's way faster for me to cycle to the supermarket, the gym and the kids daycare compared to driving. It beats being lazy in a car and I'm very thankful that the infrastructure here in NL supports it.

abstractbarista 8y ago

Sounds good to me, as long as cyclists follow the same rules drivers do. Just yesterday I had a cyclist blatantly roll a stop sign on a side street, entering the main road I was on. If I was an inattentive driver I would have creamed him! He even looked to the left, saw me, and just kept rolling through!

soperj 8y ago
I see car drivers roll stop signs every day, multiple times a day. Sounds like the cyclists are doing just as good of a job at following the rules.
- dsfyu404ed 8y ago
  Rolling a stop sign (regardless of how many wheels you have) can be perfectly safe or stupidly dangerous and requires discretion. I'm not going to fault anyone for doing it in the abstract.
- abstractbarista 8y ago
  But do you roll a stop sign when a car is literally about to slam in to you if you continue into the intersection? No. Yet that's what the guy did.
prolepunk 8y ago
The difference is that in the car all you do is press brake & gas, cycling requires some physical work to start up again. I know it's breaking the law, and I don't usually do it, but when I cycle on a quiet residential street, I'm going to roll a stop sign. I know it's bad, but at that point I'm going home and I feel tired.
- parthdesai 8y ago
  Yeah my rule of thumb while cycling is, if it's an empty street i'll slow down so i can scan the other 3 sides and if it's completely empty i'll roll the stop sign. If there is a car/pedestrian, i'll come to a complete stop.

linuxftw 8y ago

Cycling on the street is taking your life into your own hands. I avoid it whenever I can. Sidewalks are usually empty where I live. Some places have a great network of bike and walk trails. I think this is the only viable option: roads or other paved surfaces where automobiles are not allowed.

cabaalis 8y ago

What you did was perfectly legal, and I assume that your state, like mine, has a law about stopping for pedestrians in the crosswalk. I feel the need to ask though why the race of the man who yelled at you bears mentioning?

just_steve_h 8y ago
Why do you find it worth asking why I mentioned his race? There is certainly a strong relationship among perceived entitlement/privilege, apparent race and ethnicity, and apparent gender. I shouldn't need to explain this.
- cabaalis 8y ago
  I asked because it changed the timbre of your anecdote from one of cars vs. bikes to one of race vs. race. Was this person yelling at you because you're on a bike, or because of your apparent race?

fukbezos 8y ago

The simple answer is bikes and cars should never share the same infrastructure. They'll never get along with each other and the bike loses every time. It also doesn't help that bikers don't follow the laws properly. Bikers have to pay attention more than drivers, they should act like it

adrianN 8y ago
I don't know the statistics for the US, but here in Germany 75% of the accidents between cyclists are cars are caused by the car.
- eots 8y ago
  I drive a car now and then in Cambridge and Boston, and I have to be constantly on a lookout for misbehaving cyclists. It's like most of cyclists are not even familiar with basic traffic regulations. If I was not paying extra attention, and was simply following traffic regulations on my end, I would be involved in more that a few car/bicycle accident.
  - adrianN 8y ago
    I'm sure you'd say the same about cars if you were a cyclist. Both bicycles and cars are driven by humans and they generally don't give a damn about the rules unless they benefit personally. The difference is that cyclists usually endanger themselves, while motorists endanger others.
- JohnFen 8y ago
  I know that an anecdote is not data, but the only time I've been in an accident with a car, it was because the car ran a stop sign, causing me to slam into the side of it. And yes, I was seriously hurt.

anonu 8y ago

> "I hope you get hit!" This is one thing I will never be able to wrap my head around - why would a human being say something like this to a fellow human? In my experience this comment brings together a few things: 1. Many drivers just have no respect for "Share the Road" and specifically no respect for cyclists 2. This type of "speak your mind" attitude is very New England and specifically Boston (and suburbs). 3. Just speaks to the need to accelerate bike access and harmonize/integrate more with infrastructure. This news is a good step forward...

justinator 8y ago
why would a human being say something like this to a fellow human? Cars seem to act as a stress multiplier.
wool_gather 8y ago
> > "I hope you get hit!" > This is one thing I will never be able to wrap my head around - why would a human being say something like this to a fellow human? Because he was frustrated and angry about something else that he has no power to affect (possibly the traffic that he was stuck in) and misdirected his energy at an accessible target to alleviate some psychic pressure.
fooblitzky 8y ago
Fun fact: 49% of non-cyclists think people who ride bikes are less than human: https://usa.streetsblog.org/2019/03/28/study-aggressive-driving-is-linked-to-seeing-cyclists-as-less-than-human/comment-page-2/ https://usa.streetsblog.org/2019/03/28/study-aggressive-driv...
T-hawk 8y ago
> why would a human being say something like this to a fellow human? Because what they see isn't a human, it's an obstacle.

philamonster 8y ago

I lived in Boston/Cambridge/Somerville/JP/Brighton etc etc for nearly a decade from mid 90's to early 2000's, half of it as a bike messenger and lived all you describe daily, 365. Hundreds of accounts in that time that do not paint a very warm picture of American "city" living during this era. For every stupid thing someone has done to or near me in a car I have seen an equally shocking occurrence on a bike. Maybe not daily but hooo boy, people are always stupid traveling in any mode of transportation. I don't think anything will change re: bike barriers unless the auto is completely removed from the picture like in various EU cities. EVEN THEN, people will still people on bikes. Count on it...

emanuensis 8y ago
>I have seen an equally shocking occurrence on a bike. Yes, as a pedestrian in C in the 60's i was hit by a Cliffe on a bike ... going the wrong way on a one-way street, mind you. We, as a species, need to integrate more with others: We are not our bodies etc, we are the world
- philamonster 8y ago
  Just look at the image used in article; clowntown wearing flip-flops riding in the rain on the Esplanade but with a helmet on no less. Get that man to city streets, he's ready!

sevenf0ur 8y ago

Well at least you didn't get "coal rolled": https://www.reddit.com/r/bicycling/comments/9b16vl/a_truck_caught_on_camera_rolling_coal_on_a/ https://www.reddit.com/r/bicycling/comments/9b16vl/a_truck_c...

chefandy 8y ago
I don't think I've ever seen anyone 'rolling coal' in Cambridge. I can't imagine the cops around here would let anybody blow out that kind of smog under any circumstances without giving them a ticket.
- ocschwar 8y ago
  Under the law, the cops have the authority to impound the truck. I would bet fair money that the first moron to try rolling coal in Boston or Cambridge will also be the last.
  - chefandy 8y ago
    And as I know from when the state stopped sending out registration expiration reminders to 'save money,' Cambridge Police do not hesitate to impound everybody they possibly can.

justinator 8y ago

a white man in a mid-size SUV leaned out his window and said loudly to me, "I hope you get hit!" My usual retort to this, as the cyclist: "I hope you find true Love!"

justtopost 8y ago
One only hurts for a while.
btrettel 8y ago
I cycle with a helmet cam, and I typically inform the driver that they are being recorded. While I haven't done a scientific study, I believe this causes some drivers to restrain themselves.
- JohnFen 8y ago
  I've only recently installed cams (front and back) on my bike. I hadn't felt the need, but a couple of weeks ago a friend of mine was pelted with eggs while he was riding. I decided that being able to gather evidence and, if lucky, license plate numbers, is not the worst idea.

rayiner 8y ago

How many people commute by bike in Cambridge versus by car? And what’s the cost of inconveniencing all those drivers by having bikes buzzing around?

icebraining 8y ago
If almost all commuters are car drivers, then there won't be many bikes buzzing around inconveniencing them. And if there are enough bikes to inconvenience the drivers, then there are enough to justify investing in their own infrastructure.
just_steve_h 8y ago
Actually the City of Cambridge installed a bike counter on one of the main thoroughfares toward one of the bridges over the Charles River into Boston. There are more than 1000 trips in each direction on a weekday.
- z2 8y ago
  https://pb.cambridgema.gov/pb4bikecounter https://pb.cambridgema.gov/pb4bikecounter That's kind of cool! At a glance, also kind of expensive at $90,000 for 3! A quick search shows the hardware costing around $5,000 each.
analog31 8y ago
Traffic congestion and inconvenience are caused by cars in vast disproportion to bikes. The sheer volume of car traffic is the primary predictor of congestion.

callinyouin 8y ago

> "I hope you get hit!" This, to me, signals the general attitude people have towards bicyclists in the US. The average person either doesn't care or, for some misguided reason or another, actively hates bicyclists. I've been yelled at by drivers for no apparent reason so many times I've lost count. I've had so many friends hit by cars. My partner was struck by a car last fall and broke her leg in two places. She's still recovering and frequently has to lie down for hours because her leg is so sore. Just the other day a friend of mine was struck and had to get stitches in her face. I think the problem here is a mixture of infrastructure and attitude. The infrastructure side of things is usually what we talk about, which is obviously an important part of the discussion, but I don't think the problem with peoples' overall attitude towards bicycling gets enough attention. There are so many people out there who legitimately wish to harm bicyclists. Don't take my word for it, in 2016 a driver purposely murdered 5 bicyclists (in an area close to where I live, no less) with his vehicle and was sentenced in 2018[1]. Although most are likely accidents, there are other examples of drivers purposefully striking bicyclists with their vehicles if you look. It's really sad, I think it's a symptom of something a lot more sinister happening to the hearts and minds of people in this country, and it's why I no longer ride my bike in the city anymore. [1] https://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/2018/05/charles_pickett_jr_murder_tria.html https://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/2018/05/charles_pickett...

techsupporter 8y ago
> This, to me, signals the general attitude people have towards bicyclists in the US. The average person either doesn't care or, for some misguided reason or another, actively hates bicyclists. I've been yelled at by drivers for no apparent reason so many times I've lost count. My experience as a pedestrian (I don't ride a bike on the street so I can't speak to that experience) mirrors this. More than once, I've been honked or yelled at for being in an actual, marked crosswalk, crossing the street. (Never mind all of the driver complaints about my use of legal, unmarked crosswalks.) On a former commute, I regularly got off the bus at a bus stop immediately adjacent to a signaled crosswalk that several of us used. We regularly got honked at by drivers bringing their cars to a screeching halt as the light changed and, once on a holiday, when it was just me and my kid, a driver yelled "if you weren't so fucking poor you wouldn't have to ride the bus!" > It's really sad, I think it's a symptom of something a lot more sinister happening to the hearts and minds of people in this country Agreed, and I live in a city where ways of getting to work and around town that aren't a single-occupant vehicle are now in the cumulative majority yet the pushback has increased even more. People regularly write letters to the local paper about how they "openly" use the bus and bike lanes for their cars because "[screw] those entitled people." I hold a driving license and, until recently, owned a car that I regularly used. This behavior ought to be unacceptable and more actively enforced against but I can only imagine the uproar if an even light "crackdown" happened.

mruts 8y ago

Is being white a relavent factor here? What if you had said black instead?

sarajenooka 8y ago
Question one: No, Massachusetts is very white. I can’t imagine any reason this information would be relevant or adds to the story in anyway. Someone please advise me how I may be wrong. Question two: That would anger many people and cause much defensiveness. It blows my mind that this is the reality I live in and that you are the only person to bring this up in this heavily commented thread. As someone who grew up in left wing (espoused more than practiced) Boston but chose the search for truth over this hateful leftist religion I’ve spent my whole life trying to understand political and religious motives (really one and the same). One of the things I’ve come to understand is that it is human nature to find an easy enemy to fight even if there is none or you are too cowardly to fight a real enemy. White men have become this easy and compliant enemy for the left. Nevermind reality it’s too uncomfortable.

matthewaveryusa 8y ago

Anecdotally I cycle into Cambridge almost every day. I cross three cities: Medford, Somerville and Cambridge for an approximate 20 minute commute (vs 40 by car.) I have never had issue with cars, granted I've only been doing this for the two years (and in college I used to commute from Roxbury to Cambridge for 2 years and only had 1 freak-out with a drunk-driver, but that's another story.) On the other hand I've seen entitled cyclists lose their shit for no reason at cars. I feel like there's a subset of cyclists that don't understand that cars may have blind spots and freak out at drivers when there's literally nothing the driver can do about it.

why-el 8y ago

Biking is a very contentious issue in Cambridge. It was one of the most discussed topics during the last council elections and the split, at least how I saw it, was quite generational. There have been a few deadly incidents as well, adding fuel to the mix.