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Maybe the problem is that more pedestrians are occupying space in roads intended for large, heavy, dangerous, automobiles than in previous years? I have hundred

by jtdev 6y ago

Maybe the problem is that more pedestrians are occupying space in roads intended for large, heavy, dangerous, automobiles than in previous years? I have hundreds of miles of bike trails within minutes of my residence (as do most Americans), yet people continue to ride bikes in the middle of major roads used for mass transit, freight, etc. I just don't understand why people think this is a good idea.

ohples 6y ago
Because people are riding their bikes and walking to get places, not just recreationally . Those bike trails are probably great for a nice weekend trip, but not getting groceries or going to work.
rob74 6y ago
Maybe the problem is not only the failure of planners to provide safe spaces for pedestrians and cyclists, but also the drivers of these "large heavy dangerous automobiles" who behave like the roads belong to them alone...
- ch4s3 6y ago
  Planners usually do add bike lanes when re-thinking streets. Politicians usually fail to implement these improvements. Sometimes NIMBY groups block them or have them removed after the fact.
- jtdev 6y ago
  I constantly see cyclists fail to stop at stop signs/signals, dart into oncoming traffic, ride multiple riders abreast across roads, etc. Cyclists need to take some responsibility here. Also, do cyclists register their bikes within the states that they ride them? Do they pay taxes on tires, fuel, etc.? Maybe cyclists should consider that roads were designed and intended for automobiles...
  - PeopleB4Cars 6y ago
    > Also, do cyclists register their bikes within the states that they ride them? Do they pay taxes on tires, fuel, etc.? Maybe cyclists should consider that roads were designed and intended for automobiles... Should pedestrians also have to do this? Also it really doesn't make much sense since drivers are typing charged by weight, because that's what matters when it comes to wear and tear on the roads. Bicycles weight nothing compared to cars. Having such a system and charging bicyclist by weight would be orders of magnitude more expensive then the money it brings in.
    - jtdev 6y ago
      Yes, if pedestrians want to slow the flow of traffic and create a hazard on the road then they should have a license plate attached to their backs and should be expected to register, take safety courses, maintain a license, and pay taxes for their obtuseness.
  - DerpyBaby123 6y ago
    Roads are millennia old - cars only were invented relatively very recently. They could not have been in the designs.
  - DerpyBaby123 6y ago
    >Do they pay taxes on tires, fuel, etc.? Yes, yes, and in many places they also have to register them and pay taxes at that point as well.
  - dghlsakjg 6y ago
    As a cyclist I did register my bicycle with the local police. I pay taxes on my tires. I pay tax on the food I eat. I pay tax on the gasoline I buy too. I also volunteer to help build new trails for bikes. I wasn’t aware that roads were ‘designed and intended for automobiles’ given that so many of them existed long before the automobile, and so many of them also include provisions for cyclists, pedestrians, buses, trucks, trams, motorcycles etc.
wlesieutre 6y ago
The article leaves it ambiguous over why Lucy Le was in the road. So to clarify for anyone thinking "that's not the car's fault, they would've been watching for pedestrians on the sidewalk," there were no sidewalks. Only road. Not uncommon for suburbs in the US, because why would anyone want to walk when you could drive a 4000 lb SUV everywhere?
nsajko 6y ago
Pedestrian ≠ cyclist. Regarding your actual point, obviously the roads meant for automobiles and similar are the only way to get from A to B for almost all A and B, leaving many cyclists no other choice than to ride among automobiles.
- jtdev 6y ago
  There’s another obvious choice here: stay out of the road, or accept that it’s a dangerous place to be.
  - DerpyBaby123 6y ago
    FTA: The roads are getting _more_ dangerous.
  - PeterisP 6y ago
    They have as much right to use that road as cars. If they can't share that space safely, saying that they should stay out of the road is exacly as reasonable or unreasonable as saying that cars should stay out of that rooad, what's sauce for goose is sauce for gander.

by jtdev 6y ago

ohples 6y ago

Because people are riding their bikes and walking to get places, not just recreationally . Those bike trails are probably great for a nice weekend trip, but not getting groceries or going to work.

rob74 6y ago

Maybe the problem is not only the failure of planners to provide safe spaces for pedestrians and cyclists, but also the drivers of these "large heavy dangerous automobiles" who behave like the roads belong to them alone...

ch4s3 6y ago
Planners usually do add bike lanes when re-thinking streets. Politicians usually fail to implement these improvements. Sometimes NIMBY groups block them or have them removed after the fact.
jtdev 6y ago
I constantly see cyclists fail to stop at stop signs/signals, dart into oncoming traffic, ride multiple riders abreast across roads, etc. Cyclists need to take some responsibility here. Also, do cyclists register their bikes within the states that they ride them? Do they pay taxes on tires, fuel, etc.? Maybe cyclists should consider that roads were designed and intended for automobiles...
- PeopleB4Cars 6y ago
  > Also, do cyclists register their bikes within the states that they ride them? Do they pay taxes on tires, fuel, etc.? Maybe cyclists should consider that roads were designed and intended for automobiles... Should pedestrians also have to do this? Also it really doesn't make much sense since drivers are typing charged by weight, because that's what matters when it comes to wear and tear on the roads. Bicycles weight nothing compared to cars. Having such a system and charging bicyclist by weight would be orders of magnitude more expensive then the money it brings in.
  - jtdev 6y ago
    Yes, if pedestrians want to slow the flow of traffic and create a hazard on the road then they should have a license plate attached to their backs and should be expected to register, take safety courses, maintain a license, and pay taxes for their obtuseness.
- DerpyBaby123 6y ago
  Roads are millennia old - cars only were invented relatively very recently. They could not have been in the designs.
- DerpyBaby123 6y ago
  >Do they pay taxes on tires, fuel, etc.? Yes, yes, and in many places they also have to register them and pay taxes at that point as well.
- dghlsakjg 6y ago
  As a cyclist I did register my bicycle with the local police. I pay taxes on my tires. I pay tax on the food I eat. I pay tax on the gasoline I buy too. I also volunteer to help build new trails for bikes. I wasn’t aware that roads were ‘designed and intended for automobiles’ given that so many of them existed long before the automobile, and so many of them also include provisions for cyclists, pedestrians, buses, trucks, trams, motorcycles etc.

wlesieutre 6y ago

The article leaves it ambiguous over why Lucy Le was in the road. So to clarify for anyone thinking "that's not the car's fault, they would've been watching for pedestrians on the sidewalk," there were no sidewalks. Only road. Not uncommon for suburbs in the US, because why would anyone want to walk when you could drive a 4000 lb SUV everywhere?

nsajko 6y ago

Pedestrian ≠ cyclist. Regarding your actual point, obviously the roads meant for automobiles and similar are the only way to get from A to B for almost all A and B, leaving many cyclists no other choice than to ride among automobiles.

jtdev 6y ago
There’s another obvious choice here: stay out of the road, or accept that it’s a dangerous place to be.
- DerpyBaby123 6y ago
  FTA: The roads are getting _more_ dangerous.
- PeterisP 6y ago
  They have as much right to use that road as cars. If they can't share that space safely, saying that they should stay out of the road is exacly as reasonable or unreasonable as saying that cars should stay out of that rooad, what's sauce for goose is sauce for gander.