ideath: bike boxes

ideath (

ideath) wrote,
@ 2008-01-10 11:22:00

bike boxes
Of course, Portland cyclists know that we're gonna be getting bike boxes here to help prevent more deaths. But they've also been rolling them out in NYC with, apparently, little fanfare. This is a cute video on how to use them.

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timemachinego
2008-01-10 07:30 pm UTC (link)

Mayor Bloomberg may be a billionaire capitalist media mogul but he HAS been throwing down for the bicyclists, at least in ways previous mayors haven't been.

I was gobsmacked when I saw my first bikebox at the Intersection of 2nd Ave and Houston St., but in a good way.

Fun trivia: that intersection where he demonstrates making a turn onto 6th Ave. is about one block away from where I work and am sitting and typing this comment.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

	ideath 2008-01-10 08:42 pm UTC (link)
	They're such a neat, simple idea that make priorities a little clearer. Is it true that they're just going in, without much real publicity? The Portland ones come after several dramatic deaths; they're a very public gesture. Seeing a video of a spot you pass all the time must be a little spooky. Oh, no, wait, you live in New York. Nevermind! (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

	timemachinego 2008-01-10 09:20 pm UTC (link)
	Well, I haven't noticed any fanfare about any of the bike traffic improvements... it's just suddenly THERE with maybe a brief news story way buried. However, I'm sure the bike activists are not only aware of all of this very early on but likely have instigated quite a bit of it. metacognizantis probably a good person to ask. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	trunkbutt 2008-01-10 07:34 pm UTC (link)
	I've never seen one before, but I'm a bike sissy who's afraid to ride in busy traffic. I'm going to ask Tedd if they have any in Boston. I do have to say that I'd be really surprised if drivers actually stopped at the proper stop line. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	trunkbutt 2008-01-10 07:34 pm UTC (link)
	Also.. BIKE BOX! BIKE BOX! BIKE BOX! (Reply to this) (Parent)

	ideath 2008-01-10 08:44 pm UTC (link)
	Yes, i never trust drivers. People in cars are very scary. Which is why i still rarely ever have the courage to ride on streets with cars at all, even though i'll promote cycling at any opportunity. Let me know if there are any in Boston - i've never actually seen one in real life. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	<-- Always wear a kitten for safety joyquality 2008-01-10 07:49 pm UTC (link)
	AWESOME. 1) I hate that moment when you're not sure whether to choose getting run over or broadsiding a car. 2) I've gotten yelled at for getting into the car lane so I could turn safely. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	Re: <-- Always wear a kitten for safety ideath 2008-01-10 08:45 pm UTC (link)
	Most cutest. Thanks for never getting squashed. (We're only getting boxes at 14 intersections, but that's better than nuthin.) (Reply to this) (Parent)

Re: <-- Always wear a kitten for safety

pmb
2008-01-10 10:53 pm UTC (link)

goteam has gotten yelled at for taking the lane to turn too.

I never have been, even though I am WAY more aggressive about it. I think only the non-threatening get yelled at, and a guy with a beard on a bike who is clearly taking the lane on purpose and staring back at you to make sure you know it is just a little too worrying for most people at a stoplight. Which is not a conclusion I am particularly comfortable with, because the implication is that the tentative and the newbie cyclists are also the ones who get the worst treatment, which of course further marginalizes the activity.

Which means that I have to be even more macho and confrontational in order to get a safe biking experience, which further radicalizes the drivers, which further radicalizes me, and down the rabbit hole we go.

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

	Re: <-- Always wear a kitten for safety qousqous 2008-01-10 11:04 pm UTC (link)
	It's true, newbie cyclists get treated very poorly because they don't have the courage to ride far enough out in the lane to be safe. If you're riding less than a door's width from parked cars, you're not safe, for a variety of reasons. (Reply to this) (Parent)

Re: <-- Always wear a kitten for safety

joyquality
2008-01-10 11:37 pm UTC (link)

What they yelled was "You're supposed to share the road!" which I think indicates that I was doing a good job of taking full use of the lane, rather than huddling to the side so they could try to squeeze past me and possibly hit me in the process. You're right that I'm not very threatening, but I know my rights and can be assertive about them if I need to. I also try to make eye-contact with drivers while I'm stopped at a light, and make my intentions clear, because one big problem is that cyclists can be unpredictable.

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

	Re: <-- Always wear a kitten for safety pmb 2008-01-11 12:01 am UTC (link)
	I don't even get that, and I don't share the road - I make it mine. There's just too many dangerous intersections in Eugene for the "sharing" fiction to be anything other than a trap. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	Re: <-- Always wear a kitten for safety qousqous 2008-01-10 11:02 pm UTC (link)
	I got honked at when turning left onto Poplar from Hawthorne. But I've never gotten honked at making a legal left turn and holding up traffic when surrounded by two tons of steel. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	unkle_social 2008-01-10 09:46 pm UTC (link)
	We have a few of those! They're super rad. (Reply to this)

	xauenmurph 2008-01-10 10:45 pm UTC (link)
	hee I go ahead and take the lane when I need to make a left turn. I look and see who's coming, of course, because drivers don't look where they're going. If cars won't let me over, I get off my bike, walk it in a crosswalk, and enjoy the sudden selective blindness drivers affect toward pedestrians in the crosswalk who happen to be walking bicycles. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	ideath 2008-01-11 12:29 am UTC (link)
	and then you BOX! (Reply to this) (Parent)

	jes5199 2008-01-10 10:48 pm UTC (link)
	Is there a list of the intersections in Portland? I'm curious if they're putting one at the intersection where Stacy got slightly squished. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	ideath 2008-01-11 12:29 am UTC (link)
	Yes, there's a map and diagram attached to the Oregonian article. See here. I don't know which intersection is Stacy's. There are only four locations on the east side - 2 in SE, 1 in N and 1 in NE. (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

	joyquality 2008-01-11 04:02 pm UTC (link)
	But, wow 11th and Hawthorne is where the "share the road" people yelled at me. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	glowing_fish 2008-04-02 04:49 am UTC (link)
	I think she was at N Williams and Broadway, which is right by my house. Its hard to say, since there is actually like...four intersections or so, right close to each other, and all of them are weird and dangerous. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	chancel 2008-01-11 02:10 am UTC (link)
	it sounds like an interesting idea (although I more often nearly get killed by people turning left across traffic, or running two-way stops, because i also get the hell into the actual lane at intersections). how are they going to publicize it to motorists, and then make them comply, though? are they putting it on the dmv tests? essentially i agree with chii. (Reply to this)

	georgedorn 2008-01-11 06:23 am UTC (link)
	Clinton street has had them for a while, but nobody's really noticed. They're at the intersection of Clinton and 39th. I used one a couple weeks back and felt funny, but the car I was passing by using it gave me plenty of room. Then again, it's Clinton. If you're driving a car on Clinton, you're in the minority. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	ideath 2008-04-03 12:22 am UTC (link)
	Yay Clinton bike boulevard! (everyone you know has done that survey, right?) (Reply to this) (Parent)

(23 comments) - (Post a new comment)

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