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As a blind pedastian, I disagree violently. I typically hurt myself once a week because a careless cyclist put their bicycle in an inappropriate place. In fro

As a blind pedastian, I disagree violently. I typically hurt myself once a week because a careless cyclist put their bicycle in an inappropriate place. In front of a shop, because they are just going in for a minute, for example. Cyclists do the most harm to blind individuals in a city. Cars cant even come close.

kuschku 4y ago
How many bike parking spaces does your city have? In cities with well-maintained bike infrastructure, I’ve never seen this become an issue.
- mlang79 4y ago
  - kuschku 4y ago
    As cyclist myself, of course I’m in danger of hurting myself. Two weeks ago I had a bike accident where I hurt my dominant hand, and I’ve been unable to even hold a glass of water since, because someone parked their bicycle in the middle of the cycle lane in a situation with bad visibility. I know the issue exists, and I can empathize with your situation. But I’ve also lived in cities with better bike infrastructure and more bike parking spaces, and in those places there were no issues with bikes parked in random places.
    - pessimizer 4y ago
      > But I’ve also lived in cities with better bike infrastructure and more bike parking spaces, and in those places there were no issues with bikes parked in random places. This may be true, but it can't be a case of letting shit roll downhill i.e. I'll think about the blind when I park my bike only after sufficient bicycle parking is designated in every part of every city in the world.
  - micromacrofoot 4y ago
    seems like a cheap shot at vegans for no reason though
    - snovv_crash 4y ago
      A lot of people are annoyed by the evangelical aspects of many peoples' veganism, as it comes across as virtue signalling.
      - micromacrofoot 4y ago
        Thanks for stating the obvious, but there's nothing here to indicate veganism has anything to do with poor bike placement.
    - mlang79 4y ago
      The irony is that vegans seem to care about the wellbeing of animals, but seem to forget to care about their fellow humans. Thats all. I can see how you feel this is a cheap shot. However, you are not the one who has been hurt by a fellow humans careless behaviour, so I feel like I have a little bit of an angle to this. People evangelizing run the risk of their other actions also being put on the scale...
yosamino 4y ago
That's an angle I hadn't considered, thank you for bringing it up. I bike around the city quite a lot, and usually I will have bike parking available, but when I don't, I find the nearest signpost or street lamp and lock it there. I try to be mindful of pedestrians by orienting the bike parallel to the walkway, but I have'nt probably given that enough thought. Would you mind explaining the physics of how you interact with these or my misparked bicycles, and how they are causing you to hurt yourself ? Is it just that they are parked in your way, or is there something that makes bikes different from other obstacles you have to navigate ?
- mlang79 4y ago
  The biggest difference from otther obstacles is that bikes can fall over, and typically do so while landing on your foot or Achilles Tendon. It can also hurt mightily if you happen to ramm a handlebar into your stomache.
alt227 4y ago
I once saw a blind man step out of a bus shelter onto a pavement. A cyclist who was riding on the pavement immediately hit them and knocked them to the floor. The cyclist did not stop, they just shouted 'Sorry' and carried on cycling up the pavement. If cyclists wish to have a good reputation amongst the general public then as a group they need to realise there are some really bad apples spoiling the bunch, and work with everyone else to call them out. I have never ever seen a cyclist call out another cyclist for poor etiquette, and I wish it happened more.
- scatters 4y ago
  When was the last time you saw a driver calling out another driver for poor etiquette?
- pastage 4y ago
  As a white guy I speak out against racism and misogyny, but doing that is not easy and I can not take responsibility for the actions of others. You have to choose your fights, I choose them selectively, and conflicts in traffic is one of the worst kinds. Take your example, often pedestrians miss that there is actually an bikepath on the pavement. If you have impaired vision it is even worse. There are many more mistakes that are perfectly valid excuses for just saying "Sorry". Even though only a few people in traffic are ass hats, one is often very sure that is what you are witnessing. Cyclists are like most people we make mistakes, but we are the sme as you statistically speaking.
- borvo 4y ago
  This happens so rarely it is quite memorable. However, we are all accustomed and innured to poor driving behavior.
alistairSH 4y ago
Largely because bikes and pedestrians are forced to mix in most areas in the US. Provide reasonable bicycle infrastructure and the problem starts to resolve itself. A few local examples... the main road outside my subdivision has a bike lane, but it ends a few blocks before the school, starts again, then stops a few blocks before the shopping center. So, bikes have to move to the sidewalk and interact with pedestrians, dog walkers, children (or enter a traffic lane). Terrible design. That shopping center has a single bike rack at one end. To get from that rack to the coffee shop on the other side requires a long walk through the shopping center OR walking across a large parking lot. So, people just leave their bikes leaning against the wall outside the coffee shop. Terrible design.

kuschku 4y ago

How many bike parking spaces does your city have? In cities with well-maintained bike infrastructure, I’ve never seen this become an issue.

mlang79 4y ago
- kuschku 4y ago
  As cyclist myself, of course I’m in danger of hurting myself. Two weeks ago I had a bike accident where I hurt my dominant hand, and I’ve been unable to even hold a glass of water since, because someone parked their bicycle in the middle of the cycle lane in a situation with bad visibility. I know the issue exists, and I can empathize with your situation. But I’ve also lived in cities with better bike infrastructure and more bike parking spaces, and in those places there were no issues with bikes parked in random places.
  - pessimizer 4y ago
    > But I’ve also lived in cities with better bike infrastructure and more bike parking spaces, and in those places there were no issues with bikes parked in random places. This may be true, but it can't be a case of letting shit roll downhill i.e. I'll think about the blind when I park my bike only after sufficient bicycle parking is designated in every part of every city in the world.
- micromacrofoot 4y ago
  seems like a cheap shot at vegans for no reason though
  - snovv_crash 4y ago
    A lot of people are annoyed by the evangelical aspects of many peoples' veganism, as it comes across as virtue signalling.
    - micromacrofoot 4y ago
      Thanks for stating the obvious, but there's nothing here to indicate veganism has anything to do with poor bike placement.
  - mlang79 4y ago
    The irony is that vegans seem to care about the wellbeing of animals, but seem to forget to care about their fellow humans. Thats all. I can see how you feel this is a cheap shot. However, you are not the one who has been hurt by a fellow humans careless behaviour, so I feel like I have a little bit of an angle to this. People evangelizing run the risk of their other actions also being put on the scale...

yosamino 4y ago

That's an angle I hadn't considered, thank you for bringing it up. I bike around the city quite a lot, and usually I will have bike parking available, but when I don't, I find the nearest signpost or street lamp and lock it there. I try to be mindful of pedestrians by orienting the bike parallel to the walkway, but I have'nt probably given that enough thought. Would you mind explaining the physics of how you interact with these or my misparked bicycles, and how they are causing you to hurt yourself ? Is it just that they are parked in your way, or is there something that makes bikes different from other obstacles you have to navigate ?

mlang79 4y ago
The biggest difference from otther obstacles is that bikes can fall over, and typically do so while landing on your foot or Achilles Tendon. It can also hurt mightily if you happen to ramm a handlebar into your stomache.

alt227 4y ago

I once saw a blind man step out of a bus shelter onto a pavement. A cyclist who was riding on the pavement immediately hit them and knocked them to the floor. The cyclist did not stop, they just shouted 'Sorry' and carried on cycling up the pavement. If cyclists wish to have a good reputation amongst the general public then as a group they need to realise there are some really bad apples spoiling the bunch, and work with everyone else to call them out. I have never ever seen a cyclist call out another cyclist for poor etiquette, and I wish it happened more.

scatters 4y ago
When was the last time you saw a driver calling out another driver for poor etiquette?
pastage 4y ago
As a white guy I speak out against racism and misogyny, but doing that is not easy and I can not take responsibility for the actions of others. You have to choose your fights, I choose them selectively, and conflicts in traffic is one of the worst kinds. Take your example, often pedestrians miss that there is actually an bikepath on the pavement. If you have impaired vision it is even worse. There are many more mistakes that are perfectly valid excuses for just saying "Sorry". Even though only a few people in traffic are ass hats, one is often very sure that is what you are witnessing. Cyclists are like most people we make mistakes, but we are the sme as you statistically speaking.
borvo 4y ago
This happens so rarely it is quite memorable. However, we are all accustomed and innured to poor driving behavior.

alistairSH 4y ago

Largely because bikes and pedestrians are forced to mix in most areas in the US. Provide reasonable bicycle infrastructure and the problem starts to resolve itself. A few local examples... the main road outside my subdivision has a bike lane, but it ends a few blocks before the school, starts again, then stops a few blocks before the shopping center. So, bikes have to move to the sidewalk and interact with pedestrians, dog walkers, children (or enter a traffic lane). Terrible design. That shopping center has a single bike rack at one end. To get from that rack to the coffee shop on the other side requires a long walk through the shopping center OR walking across a large parking lot. So, people just leave their bikes leaning against the wall outside the coffee shop. Terrible design.