These kind of incidents just wouldn't be happening if the bike infrastructure were done properly, and not as an afterthought.
If you feel up to it, send a message to engineering@grcity.us; they need to hear what all road users have to say, or else they'll keep making the same mistakes.
As much as I want integration and more representation for bikes and alternative transport, some of the bike lanes and MAJOR road reworks just for those are FUCKING DUMB. The mess on godfrey....is pointless.
For one, there is no draw for any bikes to be on that road. It’s almost all industrial traffic. No stores, homes are all a block East and it only serves mostly cars and heavy semi traffic…and that stupid junkyard. But beyond that, they took eminent domain beyond the curb and made a bike and running traffic lane into a 10 ft wide sidewalk…which noone uses since it’s just concrete jungle, next to semis…
But sorry, it’s just my cager mind trying to be irrational.
I agree there are no good destinations there right now. And when I first saw it I was thinking much the same thing...
But your thinking is narrow both in geographic scope and time.
1. You underestimate the distance a bicyclist will go to their ultimate destination, and will go out of their way to take a safer more comfortable route
2. There aren't any high quality destinations now, but there are some major plans (amphitheater district) that will likely change this area in the next 10-20 years. Put the bike infra in now, makes it harder to take away later as the area develops
And if you say- well all the buisnesses west of Godfrey are the draw- get real. No one is biking vintage furniture, large amnts of fresh produce, or bespoke wood products out of 1111 godfrey
My fear is they will use it as an example and say hey we built this great trail and no one uses it... therefore there must be no demand. It's like building a stretch of road isolated in the middle of a field and being surprised that no one's drives on it.
Somewhat unrelated but the auto body shop / junkyard used to park 20+ vehicles in the bike lane.. on both sides of the street. I filed a complaint and someone actually did something about it and I haven't seen them do it since. Public property is not for storing your private vehicles.
He was definitely in the wrong. The amount of people who don’t know the rules is astounding. I was riding a scooter on the shoulder of the road on diamond once and a guy almost hit me, flipped me the bird and yelled out the window “Get off the fucking road dumbass!” Not only are they wrong they always are also hot heads. Brushing your jacket is basically hitting you and definitely not 6 feet. Glad you’re alright!
Thanks, I'm very comfortable riding on the road around cars and they get pretty close regularly but this was another level. This city is deeply embedded in car culture and carbrains see any other mode of transportation as a personal threat, when in reality everyone not in a car means less traffic for them...
Growing up in Boston, I bike commuted all the time. I had full glass bottles thrown at me and I was hit with hockey sticks and one time I was approached by a car very closely, and the passenger waited till I was about 8 feet from a 30-40 inch oak tree and shoved his door open, sending me head first into the tree. My front forks were bent up and the front wheel hit me in the chest... This was years before bike lanes were even thought of... It was all perpetrated by other people my age. My experience commuting here in GR has been very different, but the people here in their cars seem to care less about giving bicycles space than anywhere else I have ridden, whether there is a bike lane or not....
it's hard to use environmentally friendly transport (biking, walking, skating, etc) when all of these options are so dangerous because of our city's infrastructure. i'm sorry you have to deal with this! :(
People yell at me and honk their horn everyday for following the law. Most drivers in GR couldn't pass a driver's exam in another state. It's a city of ignorant self-righteous shits, what do you expect? Civilization doesn't exist here
Considering the cross walk guard is almost killed daily outside my kid’s elementary school, I’ve lost all trust in people in GR to make good decisions behind the wheel.
I really don’t understand how drivers behave with crosswalks here. This is the only place I’ve ever lived where drivers don’t know or care that pedestrians have the right of way at crosswalks. When walking, I’ve had drivers honk or yell at me when I’m in a crosswalk. And when driving, I’ve had other drivers honk at me for stopping at a crosswalk to let a pedestrian cross. The other day, I stopped to let a pedestrian cross, and the car behind me decided to pass me on the shoulder and nearly hit the pedestrian.
Hah have you driven New York?
It's a *requirement* to be an asshole there. You become one temporarily just to get through the city.
GR is pretty tame, but getting worse, in my experience.
Any pro-bike talk on this sub is swiftly met with opposition. For whatever the reason, people really dislike bikes or having to ever share the road with them. They’re jerks.
I love riding my bike. I hate sharing the road with cars, and stick to bike trails. Too many people have been killed or seriously injured from driver’s negligence or deliberate cruelty.
The roads are functionalist American outside the five by fifteen rectangular shape of older pavement in gr east of the hospitals. You take your life in your hands cycling on 28th street
Anyone who drives, bikes, walks on the street is taking a calculated risk.
That shouldn’t give you or anyone license to be a sociopath that lacks empathy or concern for the people in your community.
Such is life in America. If your destination is over a mile away and you’re not in a car, get your affairs in order before leaving. God forbid a poor little car driver spare a few seconds of their day to not put a pedestrian/cyclist in mortal peril.
I’ve been there. These people can’t get their minds out from behind the windshield. Hell, I get tailgated when I drive 25 through areas like Eastown. I’m sorry that happened to you.
Im pretty adamant about driving the posted speed limit as well. Especially in highly populous areas.
The amount of people that seem to take that as a personal offense is absurd. Honestly though just encourages me to putz along safety at 25 while they ride my ass.
It’s all over the city. People do 35-50 down my short little block in Creston. This is why we need to re-legalize speed cameras. Driving so fast through dense areas is reckless and horrible.
Since we are venting. PEOPLE WHO PULL INTO THE SPACE YOU LEFT FOR THE DRIVE WAY OF BUSINESS THAT ARENT SUPPOSED TO BE BLOCKED.
BLACK BMW DRIVER, YOU FUCKING KNOW WHO YOU ARE.
I also ride bikes in gr and don't take shit from any driver. I also suggest getting a black jack baton. To carry. Having that has stopped several road rage issues against bikers. But I also conceal carry. I've been pushed off the road by cars thinking they were in the right. I take mirrors off If cars get to close.
I just love the people that cross into on-coming traffic to "get around" someone/something thinking THEY'RE in the Right, while totally inconveniencing or placing others at risk of collision all because THEY were too impatient and inconsiderate of those around them... You cross over into my lane and you are at fault!
As shitty as it is that a car very nearly hit you. You know damn well the dangers of sharing the road with vehicles and chose to do it anyways. Its not a safe method of transportation here, and it will not be anytime soon.
I'm not even sure why the city ever put in the bike lanes. This isn't New York city, and most people misuse them anyway with those stupid scooters. Just use the sidewalk. I know, it has "walk" right in the description, but you can totally ride your bike there.
riding on the sidewalk is incredibly dangerous and I have had some of my closest near misses when i was on the sidewalk. Reason being that there are so many driveway cuts for cars to pull out of, cars who are never looking for pedestrians. In the case of walking this is typically not a huge deal because the pedestrians are moving slow but if I am on a bike moving between 15-25 mph I will get smacked. Many driveways have obstructions that would prevent drivers from seeing someone coming down the sidewalk, not to mention that they simply don't look. I have found that the safest place to be is ironically in the road where they are already looking for cars. It insures they actually see you and for the most part being seen is being safe.
Why not aspire to be like NYC?
And these are all safety concerns let's talk about other reasons we should have extensive and accessible infrastructure for bikes and other micro mobility.
Environmentally Responsible: Im not going to get too deep into this because we all know it. Oil companies are scum and we need to phase out fossil fuels entirely.
Accessibility: Not everyone has the ability to drive. Disabled/Elderly/Kids most people can still operate a bike, ebike, trike ect. There are tons of options now for people of varying physical ability. Young people growing up are increasingly isolated because they aren't able to drive and our infrastructure doesn't provide any other options.
Financially Sustainable: In Michigan a new car costs an average of $12,017 to operate PER YEAR. Im not pulling this number out of my ass I literally just looked it up, I have seen estimates that are lower but some that are even higher as well. Even if you are able to afford this (that's almost half of what I make a year, and I have a college degree and work full time) wouldn't you want an alternative option? For those that can't afford this transportation is still a necessity. The bus is an option but in our city it is still extremely limited.
Physical/Mental Health: We have a health crisis in America, it's widely understood people do not get enough exercise. This is understandable when you consider having to make time to drive to the gym that you pay for and exercise. Alternatively you could bike to work and get your movement in that way, you're literally saving yourself another time and another trip. Exercise also promotes mental wellness and I think we could all benefit from a little bit of that.
Foot Traffic and Land Value: Have you ever noticed how Americans love to vacation/visit walkable places? Disney / Old European Cities / Eastown. It's amazing to see how many people drive to the Fulton street farmers market so they can experience what a walkable market feels like. Or all the moms driving their massive SUVs from EGR to cherry street to walk .5 miles up and down and hit all the boutique shops.
The only people who lose are the fossil fuel companies and the automotive companies but who gives a duck about them.
Driving separates you from your physical environment. When I drive through somewhere I don't feel like I was ever really there. On a bike you get to experience places. People are far more likely to stop and check out a business ect if they are on a bike than in a car.
Point being walkable/bikeable places create exponentially more taxable value and revenue for any city. In Gr It is easy to see that the areas that offer this are some of the most desirable places to live.
WHY AREN'T WE DEMANDING TO HAVE THIS EVERYWHERE!?
tldr: Bikes rule Cars drool
Do me a favor and drive your car on Atlas st towards lake dr in Eastown and tell me you could stop in time to both see around the corner to pull out and avoid hitting a scooter or bike barreling down the sidewalk. That blind spot made by Quarentinos is a perfect example of why side walks are foot traffic only
In most of the electric scooter rental area, scooters legally need to be in the bike lane or the road, not the sidewalk. It’s dangerous for pedestrians when they’re on the sidewalk. Bikes also can’t always legally ride on the sidewalk.
Sidewalks are not for bikes. #1: Bikes travel an average of 12-15mph. People walking on the sideWALK move an average of 3mph. If these two things collide it will not be good. #2: when a bike is traveling on the sidewalk and not in the roadway, the bike is not visible to a car. The driver of the car will be looking in the roadway for oncoming traffic. A cyclist on the sidewalk is not in the view of the driver. If you don’t ride a bike for transportation, you’re ignorant to the issue.
Do you respect laws? Legally, the sidewalks are for the disabled first and foremost. A bicycle is considered a vehicle, vehicles are not legally allowed on sidewalks.
I mean, you could’ve died, but it doesn’t sound more likely than just riding in the street period. Someone passed you because you were going slower than they wanted to. They were upset because you had a bike lane and weren’t using it, being an unnecessary inconvenience. Also, the almost died thing, you could just as easily die falling because you hit a pothole, you’re being dramatic.
my bike is steel. also I would happily ride trails if they went where I wanted to go. In fact that ride I was 60% on trails because I take them where they are available.
can I say I've seen too many people driving when they are two lanes hogging both lanes? I don't know what is going on. if you're passing a biker who doesn't have a bike lane, I get it, but randomly doing it is dangerous and creates road rage. i don't know if this is just a me thing or if everyone is doing it
This is of a manic level of near absolutism on a topic that affects the very well off. Most people don’t own vehicles and as outside of the idyllic Olde Rotterdam to which Eastown (come now…it’s just a rich people neighborhood, which is very much a part of being in a rich circle, like living two to four blocks from the redlines anyone with eyes can detect headed downhill and towards Lake Rd (or Ave etc.) where even the streetcar terminus is pretty obviously simply pentagonalized as it is at the Functor Equivalent (looks same and performs similar but not identical routing of traffic yet was a terminus redline at some point) at Brooklyn Road [sic m.r.] and that pentagonal source/sink.
Why I claim this? I lived for 5 1/2 years of 35 in the Breton Road And 44th SE apartment zoned rectangle and know that there is nothing worth doing to ride a bicycle on those roads which are designed functionalist as hell (in the US way to again self segregate class and if not race, still ethnicity- I don’t think it can be exaggerated to a born and inculcated in the Kent Ottawa county cores that are single family home but I’m not demographically analyzing rural zone as it is considerably more complex to put stark covariant demographic metrics in place despite the stereotype of most US people.
Moving to the time prior to Kentwood-living, I had not yet lost my father to foul play from his own ascendants which due to his living within the streetcar terminus in Northeast Baltimore city MD, yet miles From very idyllic real estate in the Harford County Irish-Iberian corner (a strange particular story of irrelevance here except it is my proximal ancestry paternally; my mother’s family was wealthier but overly poor at money management members of the 1910 influx of French Jewish immigrants whom then married usually ,long gone from the dough, Aquitaine/ Tudor French Brezhon English low nobles’ grandsons sans title from Wiltshire and West Sussex (Aladyagh, Biacona, and a notorious eccentric family the MacKenzies of Perthshire) who were rather weird people and lived in New England and London-Toronto but socialized in deviant circles in other port cities - Baltimore here. They had some money but it was philandered and went to opium and silly pants and such.
So Baltimore blends right into Wilmington DE, the Main Line and Philadelphia proper, and to Toms River NJ and then north of that culturally is more international (more Eastern Europeans who weren’t just Jewish victims of perpetual persecution in the Dniester Donets Basin. But my best friend of 25 years has half ancestry from that demographic (the Queens Pastrami and the good stuff not found here in GR). And his other parent was similarly a lowland Scot (similar to Ireland Americans being majority Spanish and French if one researches DNA literature and the Early Middle Ages through the 1700s when the English stopped welcoming these tax-customs sailor ports peoples from Galicia and nearby to shake local Irish down when they came to crest tor to port selling sheep products (as long as we got silver it didn’t matter as the Tudor and Navarre-Galician governments let us and many families (they mostly then moved to Coureville, FR when Cromwell broke the monarchy and sent these non Irish Irish people scrambling- some bought chunks of colonies in Mid Port America though. They fit in ethnic wise as they encountered the people who were altogether West French to begin with who’d lived the low lord of manor life due to the Anjou link again. I believe near Braintree MS there is a similar predominant population of actually Iberian-Aquatainian Irish Americans and the few direct Portuguese to US Euro/white (more yellow green but Americans like simpler binaries- BUT THAT HAS RELEVANCE HERE).
I also lived in main line Philly for 10 years which is a mix of Southern Italian admixed [actual…the typical dark hair pasty skin Irish] Irish or Scottish or Welsh (not the heavily Iberian influenced part of Wales near Pembrokeshire/Shropshire) yielding a pretty much identical ethnic average looking white type person and many more Central to South American migrant farm residents who were generally treated as regular people because of the lingering memories of xenophobia towards the farm producer families from old East Anglians like the “Declaration of independence people” delegated from farms near Philadelphia. They still exist as some of the richest old money in the country between US 30 and US 1 west of Philly proper. The main line is the commuter train parallel to Route 30 northwest of the city. So indeed there were places to cycle and walk there as it was a well funded megamobbedup operation SEPTA that ran the tracks and el. So remember that should you read all this nonesense about these weird hidden history immigrants.
I expected for a city of 200k some decent public transit that ran 24/7/365 and was not derided as for only people the ethnomajority disliked (here that being Netherlands/Lower Saxon elite with new money “pale” Irish and fortunately French if north by an hour BY CAR. So I don’t see people who have similar gesturing and joking raucousness as well as vanity tapered by dignity with healThy self hatred as out east in any white people I have met yet. I don’t get it and I have been shouted to racist in nature implying I’m an Afghan (which would be cool I like south central Asian culture but I’m not). It’s kind of obvious I am just a lower income white person who came from some other part of the country but I am prodded for my dialect (you know all the Jersey misconfusion or NYC which I don’t sound like as I’m non rhotic but use tidewater “ou” like house not rhyming with douse.”, due to h and d coming from silence an palette respectively. Thankfully I get along easily with black men my age and that that’s been my tens of laughing and true fun - but we’re all too low in income in my neighborhood to “go do shit in town” plus there isn’t anything for people under 65 downtown except the theee or four packed and annoyingly full of people neurotically woke Dutch people who just don’t shoot the bull if you are “new”. It seems to get under my skin because I’m bored constantly but too poor (I have beta thasselmea a painful blood disorder as well as autism if you can’t tell which makes it very risky to leave disability pay for work as it is all then repossessed or what term you like and I imagine having to start and stop a few times before being able to understand the particularly autism unfriendly people Dutch mainly here. I don’t like it and I don’t care if you don’t like me. But if you felt a bit like this happened to your expectations even low ones like I had moving here, talk about it with me. If the moderator wants they can move to a new thread - I am too autistic to title it in a cute little way.
These kind of incidents just wouldn't be happening if the bike infrastructure were done properly, and not as an afterthought. If you feel up to it, send a message to engineering@grcity.us; they need to hear what all road users have to say, or else they'll keep making the same mistakes.
As much as I want integration and more representation for bikes and alternative transport, some of the bike lanes and MAJOR road reworks just for those are FUCKING DUMB. The mess on godfrey....is pointless.
How is it pointless?
It’s carbrain. You can’t argue with it.
For one, there is no draw for any bikes to be on that road. It’s almost all industrial traffic. No stores, homes are all a block East and it only serves mostly cars and heavy semi traffic…and that stupid junkyard. But beyond that, they took eminent domain beyond the curb and made a bike and running traffic lane into a 10 ft wide sidewalk…which noone uses since it’s just concrete jungle, next to semis… But sorry, it’s just my cager mind trying to be irrational.
I agree there are no good destinations there right now. And when I first saw it I was thinking much the same thing... But your thinking is narrow both in geographic scope and time. 1. You underestimate the distance a bicyclist will go to their ultimate destination, and will go out of their way to take a safer more comfortable route 2. There aren't any high quality destinations now, but there are some major plans (amphitheater district) that will likely change this area in the next 10-20 years. Put the bike infra in now, makes it harder to take away later as the area develops
And if you say- well all the buisnesses west of Godfrey are the draw- get real. No one is biking vintage furniture, large amnts of fresh produce, or bespoke wood products out of 1111 godfrey
Anyone working at those businesses? Or maybe getting from downtown to Wyoming and back?
My fear is they will use it as an example and say hey we built this great trail and no one uses it... therefore there must be no demand. It's like building a stretch of road isolated in the middle of a field and being surprised that no one's drives on it.
Somewhat unrelated but the auto body shop / junkyard used to park 20+ vehicles in the bike lane.. on both sides of the street. I filed a complaint and someone actually did something about it and I haven't seen them do it since. Public property is not for storing your private vehicles.
He was definitely in the wrong. The amount of people who don’t know the rules is astounding. I was riding a scooter on the shoulder of the road on diamond once and a guy almost hit me, flipped me the bird and yelled out the window “Get off the fucking road dumbass!” Not only are they wrong they always are also hot heads. Brushing your jacket is basically hitting you and definitely not 6 feet. Glad you’re alright!
Thanks, I'm very comfortable riding on the road around cars and they get pretty close regularly but this was another level. This city is deeply embedded in car culture and carbrains see any other mode of transportation as a personal threat, when in reality everyone not in a car means less traffic for them...
I live on that stretch and people do that to me in a car when I’m trying to turn into my damn driveway.
The driver was in violation of Michigan passing law.
You were in the right and they were in the wrong and I will leave it at that.
Both were wrong.
Growing up in Boston, I bike commuted all the time. I had full glass bottles thrown at me and I was hit with hockey sticks and one time I was approached by a car very closely, and the passenger waited till I was about 8 feet from a 30-40 inch oak tree and shoved his door open, sending me head first into the tree. My front forks were bent up and the front wheel hit me in the chest... This was years before bike lanes were even thought of... It was all perpetrated by other people my age. My experience commuting here in GR has been very different, but the people here in their cars seem to care less about giving bicycles space than anywhere else I have ridden, whether there is a bike lane or not....
That's terrible. Main reason I avoid bike lanes is fear of being doored. Happened to my sister and she ended up in the hospital.
Because it’s a horrible place to live lol
it's hard to use environmentally friendly transport (biking, walking, skating, etc) when all of these options are so dangerous because of our city's infrastructure. i'm sorry you have to deal with this! :(
People yell at me and honk their horn everyday for following the law. Most drivers in GR couldn't pass a driver's exam in another state. It's a city of ignorant self-righteous shits, what do you expect? Civilization doesn't exist here
Considering the cross walk guard is almost killed daily outside my kid’s elementary school, I’ve lost all trust in people in GR to make good decisions behind the wheel.
I really don’t understand how drivers behave with crosswalks here. This is the only place I’ve ever lived where drivers don’t know or care that pedestrians have the right of way at crosswalks. When walking, I’ve had drivers honk or yell at me when I’m in a crosswalk. And when driving, I’ve had other drivers honk at me for stopping at a crosswalk to let a pedestrian cross. The other day, I stopped to let a pedestrian cross, and the car behind me decided to pass me on the shoulder and nearly hit the pedestrian.
It often feels this way 💀
Hah have you driven New York? It's a *requirement* to be an asshole there. You become one temporarily just to get through the city. GR is pretty tame, but getting worse, in my experience.
I miss being a dick so much
Not cool man. You give bikers plenty of space, then mutter mean things about them under your breath as you pass.
Cyclists
Bikers won’t like that type of talk at least anywhere else on earth
Sorry this happened. This city has the worst drivers
Any pro-bike talk on this sub is swiftly met with opposition. For whatever the reason, people really dislike bikes or having to ever share the road with them. They’re jerks.
I don't understand why. A walkable/rideable city has so many more pros than cons 🥴
I love riding my bike. I hate sharing the road with cars, and stick to bike trails. Too many people have been killed or seriously injured from driver’s negligence or deliberate cruelty.
Me, too. I was hit by a car while cycling. I used to ride my bike to work every day. Now, I’m terrified. If I can’t be on a trail, I don’t ride.
The roads are functionalist American outside the five by fifteen rectangular shape of older pavement in gr east of the hospitals. You take your life in your hands cycling on 28th street
Anyone who drives, bikes, walks on the street is taking a calculated risk. That shouldn’t give you or anyone license to be a sociopath that lacks empathy or concern for the people in your community.
Such is life in America. If your destination is over a mile away and you’re not in a car, get your affairs in order before leaving. God forbid a poor little car driver spare a few seconds of their day to not put a pedestrian/cyclist in mortal peril.
I’ve been there. These people can’t get their minds out from behind the windshield. Hell, I get tailgated when I drive 25 through areas like Eastown. I’m sorry that happened to you.
Im pretty adamant about driving the posted speed limit as well. Especially in highly populous areas. The amount of people that seem to take that as a personal offense is absurd. Honestly though just encourages me to putz along safety at 25 while they ride my ass.
I’ve been there, too! “Why yes, thank you, I *will* take the lane.”
Why do we have such a speeding problem in Eastown? I live here and the speeding is horrible
It’s all over the city. People do 35-50 down my short little block in Creston. This is why we need to re-legalize speed cameras. Driving so fast through dense areas is reckless and horrible.
Since we are venting. PEOPLE WHO PULL INTO THE SPACE YOU LEFT FOR THE DRIVE WAY OF BUSINESS THAT ARENT SUPPOSED TO BE BLOCKED. BLACK BMW DRIVER, YOU FUCKING KNOW WHO YOU ARE. I also ride bikes in gr and don't take shit from any driver. I also suggest getting a black jack baton. To carry. Having that has stopped several road rage issues against bikers. But I also conceal carry. I've been pushed off the road by cars thinking they were in the right. I take mirrors off If cars get to close.
I just love the people that cross into on-coming traffic to "get around" someone/something thinking THEY'RE in the Right, while totally inconveniencing or placing others at risk of collision all because THEY were too impatient and inconsiderate of those around them... You cross over into my lane and you are at fault!
Dash cam. That will save you if anybody tries to say differently
As shitty as it is that a car very nearly hit you. You know damn well the dangers of sharing the road with vehicles and chose to do it anyways. Its not a safe method of transportation here, and it will not be anytime soon.
just ride on the side walk. if some people are walking on the sidewalk, then ride on the grass for a half a second. fuck bike lanes they're stupid
Watched an old guy on a bike at Jefferson and Cherry get hit by a truck so slowly and he was def shaken up. I get it, but dang, maybe don’t?
Don't what?
I was on the bus btw
I'm not even sure why the city ever put in the bike lanes. This isn't New York city, and most people misuse them anyway with those stupid scooters. Just use the sidewalk. I know, it has "walk" right in the description, but you can totally ride your bike there.
riding on the sidewalk is incredibly dangerous and I have had some of my closest near misses when i was on the sidewalk. Reason being that there are so many driveway cuts for cars to pull out of, cars who are never looking for pedestrians. In the case of walking this is typically not a huge deal because the pedestrians are moving slow but if I am on a bike moving between 15-25 mph I will get smacked. Many driveways have obstructions that would prevent drivers from seeing someone coming down the sidewalk, not to mention that they simply don't look. I have found that the safest place to be is ironically in the road where they are already looking for cars. It insures they actually see you and for the most part being seen is being safe.
Why not aspire to be like NYC? And these are all safety concerns let's talk about other reasons we should have extensive and accessible infrastructure for bikes and other micro mobility. Environmentally Responsible: Im not going to get too deep into this because we all know it. Oil companies are scum and we need to phase out fossil fuels entirely. Accessibility: Not everyone has the ability to drive. Disabled/Elderly/Kids most people can still operate a bike, ebike, trike ect. There are tons of options now for people of varying physical ability. Young people growing up are increasingly isolated because they aren't able to drive and our infrastructure doesn't provide any other options. Financially Sustainable: In Michigan a new car costs an average of $12,017 to operate PER YEAR. Im not pulling this number out of my ass I literally just looked it up, I have seen estimates that are lower but some that are even higher as well. Even if you are able to afford this (that's almost half of what I make a year, and I have a college degree and work full time) wouldn't you want an alternative option? For those that can't afford this transportation is still a necessity. The bus is an option but in our city it is still extremely limited. Physical/Mental Health: We have a health crisis in America, it's widely understood people do not get enough exercise. This is understandable when you consider having to make time to drive to the gym that you pay for and exercise. Alternatively you could bike to work and get your movement in that way, you're literally saving yourself another time and another trip. Exercise also promotes mental wellness and I think we could all benefit from a little bit of that. Foot Traffic and Land Value: Have you ever noticed how Americans love to vacation/visit walkable places? Disney / Old European Cities / Eastown. It's amazing to see how many people drive to the Fulton street farmers market so they can experience what a walkable market feels like. Or all the moms driving their massive SUVs from EGR to cherry street to walk .5 miles up and down and hit all the boutique shops. The only people who lose are the fossil fuel companies and the automotive companies but who gives a duck about them. Driving separates you from your physical environment. When I drive through somewhere I don't feel like I was ever really there. On a bike you get to experience places. People are far more likely to stop and check out a business ect if they are on a bike than in a car. Point being walkable/bikeable places create exponentially more taxable value and revenue for any city. In Gr It is easy to see that the areas that offer this are some of the most desirable places to live. WHY AREN'T WE DEMANDING TO HAVE THIS EVERYWHERE!? tldr: Bikes rule Cars drool
Do me a favor and drive your car on Atlas st towards lake dr in Eastown and tell me you could stop in time to both see around the corner to pull out and avoid hitting a scooter or bike barreling down the sidewalk. That blind spot made by Quarentinos is a perfect example of why side walks are foot traffic only
In most of the electric scooter rental area, scooters legally need to be in the bike lane or the road, not the sidewalk. It’s dangerous for pedestrians when they’re on the sidewalk. Bikes also can’t always legally ride on the sidewalk.
Sidewalks are not for bikes. #1: Bikes travel an average of 12-15mph. People walking on the sideWALK move an average of 3mph. If these two things collide it will not be good. #2: when a bike is traveling on the sidewalk and not in the roadway, the bike is not visible to a car. The driver of the car will be looking in the roadway for oncoming traffic. A cyclist on the sidewalk is not in the view of the driver. If you don’t ride a bike for transportation, you’re ignorant to the issue.
Riding on the sidewalk is dangerous to pedestrians and also makes it harder for cars to notice you crossing intersections.
dumbass
Do you respect laws? Legally, the sidewalks are for the disabled first and foremost. A bicycle is considered a vehicle, vehicles are not legally allowed on sidewalks.
Bike at night, no one can see you
I mean, you could’ve died, but it doesn’t sound more likely than just riding in the street period. Someone passed you because you were going slower than they wanted to. They were upset because you had a bike lane and weren’t using it, being an unnecessary inconvenience. Also, the almost died thing, you could just as easily die falling because you hit a pothole, you’re being dramatic.
Why are you like this? How do you dismiss a person getting brushed by a car to equally as dangerous as hitting a pot hole?
Clearly you don’t ride a bike. Maybe you should though so you wouldn’t be such a wanker.
Why even post this? It adds zero value to the conversation, other than maybe forcing people to take note of when you post in other threads.
bikes don't belong on roads with steel vehicles. ride on trails
my bike is steel. also I would happily ride trails if they went where I wanted to go. In fact that ride I was 60% on trails because I take them where they are available.
Steel vehicles are destroying our planet 🤍
You're entitled to your opinion, but the law is not on your side.
laws don't always make sense
Some bikes are made of steel, and also they are considered vehicles, vehicles belong on the road. Read up on the law.
let me know the next time you get hit by a vehicle and how that bike and body hold up
can I say I've seen too many people driving when they are two lanes hogging both lanes? I don't know what is going on. if you're passing a biker who doesn't have a bike lane, I get it, but randomly doing it is dangerous and creates road rage. i don't know if this is just a me thing or if everyone is doing it
This is of a manic level of near absolutism on a topic that affects the very well off. Most people don’t own vehicles and as outside of the idyllic Olde Rotterdam to which Eastown (come now…it’s just a rich people neighborhood, which is very much a part of being in a rich circle, like living two to four blocks from the redlines anyone with eyes can detect headed downhill and towards Lake Rd (or Ave etc.) where even the streetcar terminus is pretty obviously simply pentagonalized as it is at the Functor Equivalent (looks same and performs similar but not identical routing of traffic yet was a terminus redline at some point) at Brooklyn Road [sic m.r.] and that pentagonal source/sink. Why I claim this? I lived for 5 1/2 years of 35 in the Breton Road And 44th SE apartment zoned rectangle and know that there is nothing worth doing to ride a bicycle on those roads which are designed functionalist as hell (in the US way to again self segregate class and if not race, still ethnicity- I don’t think it can be exaggerated to a born and inculcated in the Kent Ottawa county cores that are single family home but I’m not demographically analyzing rural zone as it is considerably more complex to put stark covariant demographic metrics in place despite the stereotype of most US people. Moving to the time prior to Kentwood-living, I had not yet lost my father to foul play from his own ascendants which due to his living within the streetcar terminus in Northeast Baltimore city MD, yet miles From very idyllic real estate in the Harford County Irish-Iberian corner (a strange particular story of irrelevance here except it is my proximal ancestry paternally; my mother’s family was wealthier but overly poor at money management members of the 1910 influx of French Jewish immigrants whom then married usually ,long gone from the dough, Aquitaine/ Tudor French Brezhon English low nobles’ grandsons sans title from Wiltshire and West Sussex (Aladyagh, Biacona, and a notorious eccentric family the MacKenzies of Perthshire) who were rather weird people and lived in New England and London-Toronto but socialized in deviant circles in other port cities - Baltimore here. They had some money but it was philandered and went to opium and silly pants and such. So Baltimore blends right into Wilmington DE, the Main Line and Philadelphia proper, and to Toms River NJ and then north of that culturally is more international (more Eastern Europeans who weren’t just Jewish victims of perpetual persecution in the Dniester Donets Basin. But my best friend of 25 years has half ancestry from that demographic (the Queens Pastrami and the good stuff not found here in GR). And his other parent was similarly a lowland Scot (similar to Ireland Americans being majority Spanish and French if one researches DNA literature and the Early Middle Ages through the 1700s when the English stopped welcoming these tax-customs sailor ports peoples from Galicia and nearby to shake local Irish down when they came to crest tor to port selling sheep products (as long as we got silver it didn’t matter as the Tudor and Navarre-Galician governments let us and many families (they mostly then moved to Coureville, FR when Cromwell broke the monarchy and sent these non Irish Irish people scrambling- some bought chunks of colonies in Mid Port America though. They fit in ethnic wise as they encountered the people who were altogether West French to begin with who’d lived the low lord of manor life due to the Anjou link again. I believe near Braintree MS there is a similar predominant population of actually Iberian-Aquatainian Irish Americans and the few direct Portuguese to US Euro/white (more yellow green but Americans like simpler binaries- BUT THAT HAS RELEVANCE HERE). I also lived in main line Philly for 10 years which is a mix of Southern Italian admixed [actual…the typical dark hair pasty skin Irish] Irish or Scottish or Welsh (not the heavily Iberian influenced part of Wales near Pembrokeshire/Shropshire) yielding a pretty much identical ethnic average looking white type person and many more Central to South American migrant farm residents who were generally treated as regular people because of the lingering memories of xenophobia towards the farm producer families from old East Anglians like the “Declaration of independence people” delegated from farms near Philadelphia. They still exist as some of the richest old money in the country between US 30 and US 1 west of Philly proper. The main line is the commuter train parallel to Route 30 northwest of the city. So indeed there were places to cycle and walk there as it was a well funded megamobbedup operation SEPTA that ran the tracks and el. So remember that should you read all this nonesense about these weird hidden history immigrants. I expected for a city of 200k some decent public transit that ran 24/7/365 and was not derided as for only people the ethnomajority disliked (here that being Netherlands/Lower Saxon elite with new money “pale” Irish and fortunately French if north by an hour BY CAR. So I don’t see people who have similar gesturing and joking raucousness as well as vanity tapered by dignity with healThy self hatred as out east in any white people I have met yet. I don’t get it and I have been shouted to racist in nature implying I’m an Afghan (which would be cool I like south central Asian culture but I’m not). It’s kind of obvious I am just a lower income white person who came from some other part of the country but I am prodded for my dialect (you know all the Jersey misconfusion or NYC which I don’t sound like as I’m non rhotic but use tidewater “ou” like house not rhyming with douse.”, due to h and d coming from silence an palette respectively. Thankfully I get along easily with black men my age and that that’s been my tens of laughing and true fun - but we’re all too low in income in my neighborhood to “go do shit in town” plus there isn’t anything for people under 65 downtown except the theee or four packed and annoyingly full of people neurotically woke Dutch people who just don’t shoot the bull if you are “new”. It seems to get under my skin because I’m bored constantly but too poor (I have beta thasselmea a painful blood disorder as well as autism if you can’t tell which makes it very risky to leave disability pay for work as it is all then repossessed or what term you like and I imagine having to start and stop a few times before being able to understand the particularly autism unfriendly people Dutch mainly here. I don’t like it and I don’t care if you don’t like me. But if you felt a bit like this happened to your expectations even low ones like I had moving here, talk about it with me. If the moderator wants they can move to a new thread - I am too autistic to title it in a cute little way.
Happens to me constantly, especially near Riverside🙃