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So more signage and education is needed?

javagram 7y ago
Education probably doesn’t matter. Convenience will always trump education. What would work would be enforcement, if you’re fairly likely to get slammed with a $500 ticket for blocking the lane that will actually stop the behavior.
- lonelappde 7y ago
  Why do you think someone put so much effort into parking "conveniently" instead of misunderstanding what the post is for?
  - javagram 7y ago
    Driving in between two posts doesn’t seem that much effort to me (doesn’t seem harder than parallel parking for example). And I suspect many of them do understand what the flexposts are for, and just don’t care. Drivers park in clearly signed bike lanes all the time, and when cyclists alert them to this fact they often respond with anger, not understanding or contrition. Common excuses are “I’ll just be a minute” or so on. It’s just part of how driving causes people to behave - I see the same thing with my apartment driveway which is regularly blocked by people parking illegally to go to the bank, rather than drive a few hundred feet and legally park in a garage. Now, I’m sure there are some ignorant people out there, but the majority of people will just do what they can get away with regardless of what the law or the rule is. It’s like educating people to not text and drive. Just doesn’t work.
    - mumblemumble 7y ago
      I don't know that driving brings out terribly different behavior on that front, it's more that cars are so big that they act as this inconvenience multiplier that allows one person to easily create a much bigger hassle or hazard for others than they could with their bare hands. For example, I have plenty of run-ins with stepping out of a storefront and nearly getting creamed by a cyclist who's zooming down the sidewalk at 10mph, too. And it's frequently the cyclist who yells at me for failing to anticipate them barreling down the sidewalk illegally.
      - javagram 7y ago
        Yeah, that’s fair. I think the other thing is with cars, parking is an issue in a way that it isn’t with a bike, so you end up having people park in the bike lane or on a sidewalk or in a driveway. If those spots aren’t available, they’d probably double park in the road too. With a bike people wouldn’t just dump it on the sidewalk typically because they’d be worried about it being stolen (of course with the rentable scooters and dockless cycles, people do exactly that since they don’t have to worry about theft).
bobthepanda 7y ago
Probably an actual curb would be best, since hitting a curb can damage your car. Or more closely spaced posts that you can‘t squeeze a car between.

Education probably doesn’t matter. Convenience will always trump education. What would work would be enforcement, if you’re fairly likely to get slammed with a $500 ticket for blocking the lane that will actually stop the behavior.

lonelappde 7y ago
Why do you think someone put so much effort into parking "conveniently" instead of misunderstanding what the post is for?
- javagram 7y ago
  Driving in between two posts doesn’t seem that much effort to me (doesn’t seem harder than parallel parking for example). And I suspect many of them do understand what the flexposts are for, and just don’t care. Drivers park in clearly signed bike lanes all the time, and when cyclists alert them to this fact they often respond with anger, not understanding or contrition. Common excuses are “I’ll just be a minute” or so on. It’s just part of how driving causes people to behave - I see the same thing with my apartment driveway which is regularly blocked by people parking illegally to go to the bank, rather than drive a few hundred feet and legally park in a garage. Now, I’m sure there are some ignorant people out there, but the majority of people will just do what they can get away with regardless of what the law or the rule is. It’s like educating people to not text and drive. Just doesn’t work.
  - mumblemumble 7y ago
    I don't know that driving brings out terribly different behavior on that front, it's more that cars are so big that they act as this inconvenience multiplier that allows one person to easily create a much bigger hassle or hazard for others than they could with their bare hands. For example, I have plenty of run-ins with stepping out of a storefront and nearly getting creamed by a cyclist who's zooming down the sidewalk at 10mph, too. And it's frequently the cyclist who yells at me for failing to anticipate them barreling down the sidewalk illegally.
    - javagram 7y ago
      Yeah, that’s fair. I think the other thing is with cars, parking is an issue in a way that it isn’t with a bike, so you end up having people park in the bike lane or on a sidewalk or in a driveway. If those spots aren’t available, they’d probably double park in the road too. With a bike people wouldn’t just dump it on the sidewalk typically because they’d be worried about it being stolen (of course with the rentable scooters and dockless cycles, people do exactly that since they don’t have to worry about theft).

bobthepanda 7y ago

Probably an actual curb would be best, since hitting a curb can damage your car. Or more closely spaced posts that you can‘t squeeze a car between.