In that specific instance I agree…but you’ve pouted MANY conspiracy theories here. Why you’re using what I said as an example is beyond me.
@shadowfax OK so now its national figures. I thought you were in Minnesota? At any rate I think with Minnesota at half of the national average, these other 49 states (or 48, I’ll exclude South Dakota) should come to Minnesota and see what we’re doing right. They might learn something.
Whatever your true beliefs or hopes, all I’ll ad is to be careful what you wish for. The road to H#&& is paved with good intentions.
I made another long bicycle trip yesterday to Chicago for a meeting from a Northwest Suburb using the Google Bike Map Beta Version. I then biked to Elmhurst for a visit using main thoroughfares then back home for a total of about 12 hours being out.
- I noticed all the cars lining the streets in the residential areas of the city and appreciated the dedicated bike paths (and got irritated with large vehicles off to the side doing deliveries.)
- The Google Bike map version is less stressful for dealing with traffic but seems longer and includes routes that you would not want to use after sunset since some of the paths close at sunset.
- Realized that ADA compliant sidewalk intersections are helpful for bike riding.
On the subject of bike paths I can state with a great deal of certainty that it is obvious that the $million+ dollars ostensibly spent for a bike trail
was for the most part a flim-flam to spend federal funds to revitalize a declining downtown where the major retailer on Main St was the mayor who proposed and pushed through the project.
I have never seen a bicycle on that bicycle trail.
The pandering to bicyclists these days borders on lunacy IMHO.
;-]
In the case of my city’s bike path city hall was pandering to the lunatics at some federal agency who want to appear be pandering to bicyclists. There are numerous pedestrian pathways that were blocked years ago to eliminate them being used as lover’s lanes which if opened would allow bicycles to travel from outlying neighborhoods into town on less traveled shady streets and actually result in bicycles being worthwhile to use when the weather permitted. But the result of the $11.5 project was the loss of 1 lane of Main St to traffic for bikes that never are present.
But this small town has developed a team of project planners whose primary goal is to get federal and state funding with little concern for need. We have a 6,500 foot runway at the airport that will support 747s thanks to multi $millions of federal aid and there were no commercial flights there until the federal government funded $3million annually to subsidize a 9 passenger plane to land here twice each day. Each passenger pays about $50 to fly 200 miles to Nashville and the federal subsidy averages out to over $300 per passenger. That airport even has an air traffic controller who is paid with some federal subsidy.
Good Ole Boy politics here in the south is an art form.40% of my state’s budget is paid by the federal government.
I have already commented several times concerning bicyclists totally ignoring state law and being completely ignored by “law enforcement”.
Both my vehicles drink “up to 10% alcohol”.
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Same here. Some bicyclists are very respectful of the law but others routinely blow through stop signs. For some reason Floridians, both pedestrians and bikers, do not like crosswalks. Just had a biker killed walking his bike across a four lane road in the middle of the block after dark. He could have ridden a 100 feet to a controlled intersection and crossed safely.
The bike vs car conflict has become deadly in my part of the country
several people killed and many injured on the Parkway where this incident happened. The Parkway may reduce the speed limit to 40 mph or lower to reduce such incidents. Bicycles have right of way to take the entire lane and are advised to force traffic to change lanes to pass them. It’s a shame that there has become an “us against them” conflict on the Natchez Trace and elsewhere in the region.
I’ve always found it fairly easy to dodge cars crossing the road. I suppose you can always be surprised but if there is a car coming I don’t go, or I run. What scares me though is people that cross streets without even looking thinking that we can see their black clothes at night in the dark.
You might want to check your state driver manual regarding cyclist’s having the right to use the entire traffic lane. One particular idiot and his idiot followers tried to convince our drivers that was true. It was not. Our laws had not changed.
What scares me though is people that cross streets without even looking thinking that we can see their black clothes at night in the dark. I call them Ninjas or Darwin award candidates.
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I bicycle a bit and drive a bit, and yes I have to keep my eyes open for stupid pedestrians, stupid bicyclists, stupid drivers, I cannot put into words how I feel like a dinosaur for looking out for people while people act like they do not have to worry about doing anything for anyone but themselves.
It’s our never ending job.
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I hope this link works
the sign says BIKES MAY USE FULL LANE.
Ohio just passed a law requiring a motorist to leave at least a 3 foot space when passing a bicyclist. Now, what will a self-driving car do if there’s a double yellow line that would have to be crossed to obey this law?
The self driving car would do the correct thing and wait patiently for a proper place to pass, don’t you think?
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Yep, thereby stacking up a line of cars going 10 mph behind a grinning bicyclist…
;-]
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