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WOSU wrote
Tension Between Cars and Bicycles on the Increase
Sam Hendren, WOSU Reporter
May is National Bike Month; this week is Bike to Work Week and Friday is Bike to Work day. Thousands of central Ohioans are already riding bicycles for a variety of reasons – not the least of which are rising gasoline prices. But there’s tension on the streets of Columbus between cars and bicycles.
Linda Vitak says she doesn’t usually ride in the city because of drivers. “I try not to ride in town because I don’t think the cars really believe that you have really any right on the road,” she says.
Ohio State student Josh Botti was riding up Lane Avenue recently when he says he was accosted by a driver. “I was only able to go about 15 miles an hour up hill,” he says. “He didn’t want to wait behind me and honked at me and honked at me and just came and tried to swipe at me with his car. It was pretty ugly.
Ryan Delia has a similar story: “I was actually pretty scared,” he says. “He flew passed me in his monster truck and got really close, almost clipped me. And then when he came to the stop sign he chased me down. I had to ride away pretty quickly.”
With more and more bicycles competing for the same asphalt that cars use, more confrontations are occurring.
Comments
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- bucki12: I like the business model, but the internet sales part seems like something
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Tension Between Cars and Bicycles on the Increase
By: timjeby
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I wish we could be more like Boulder. It has always been a great bike friendly city, but cyclists do not do retarded things like the aforementioned.
This is funny to me. About the only time I am not annoyed by cyclists is when they are riding in residential neibhborhoods. If I am in a neighborhood in dublin, or bexley, or any area that is mostly residential, and does not have high traffic, cyclists never get on my nerves. I am going slow already, there is a low amount of traffic which makes easy to move around them. I pay cyclists no mind on streets like these. It is when they are on 5th Ave. or a place like that where it upsets me.
You forgot horses. And palanquins.
I would SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO ride a horse to work, and out to bars…
You got it. No opinions allowed.
Forget I said anything and please accept my apology for a failed attempt at moderation and civility.
Carry on with whatever else.
You know what, I think i would actually be fine with that. :D
Assuming we had a great rail system both in the city, and nationally.
I think people get my opinion misconstrued sometimes, I am not some person that loves the suburbs, and the city. Right now though, in the city of columbus, living in neibhborhood and driving a car, is actually more convenient than living in the short north and riding a bike. Heck if it were up to me, I would throw another tax on gasoline sales in Columbus and use it to build a massive transportation system.
People get emotional about this, I would think more discussion is in order. Very few of us have the power to make laws or approve civic improvement funding, but we can at least talk about things, and hopefully reach a concensus or two. I’m not sure what kind of “productivity” you’re after.
Not every topic can save Via Colori :wink:
Don’t think that Kevin Kurgis still couldn’t find a way to come after you. :P
I’m dying to know who this “main clique or crew on here” is exactly.
Also, does this “main clique” have any relation to “the man” I wonder?
Are you an attorney? You are great at mincing words.
Funny you mention that as my solution to the problem is to make streets like that slower with traffic calming including road diets for some roads (like the urban stretch of Broad which currently acts as a mini-highway). My reasoning behind that is if you’re already going slow, a cyclist isn’t going to slow you down much. There was talk about complete streets from city council, specifically Oshaughnessy (good), but the reality is we’re getting a street or two getting this kind of treatment per year (bad).
Yes, Gay street is great as is the “temporary” 25MPH limit on Neil and 3rd Ave (which the city can easily make permanent, but won’t demonstrating car-only culture holds plenty of sway, I’m guessing it’s the city traffic engineers who need that power overrided) along with the coming conversion of Front and Civic Center Downtown, but really now, I’m going to be an old geezer in a wheelchair before I’m able to ride around in a generally bike/ped friendly city at this rate, not to mention those wide fast streets Downtown will not see investment as long as they are like that. Of course, there are plenty of bike-friendly streets that connect the neighborhoods together now and for those all I ask is for a sharrow here and there just to remind drivers.
not everyone has time or wants to go bicycle slow
I think the productive issue with this thread comes from this devolving into a re-hash of another thread already in existance.
instead of saying – “this is an idea I have to open a dialogue, address the issue, or to help each party understand each other” this debate turns toward “this is my opinon, try to prove me wrong by expressing your opinion which I’ll ignore because I’m right just like I was in the last three threads where we had this same debate”
Instead of thinking of a p.r. campaign or centralized education program or highlighting things already in existance we sit here arguing semantics, again… and again. Some posts and threads don’t even get read because either people are tired of the infighting or they skip over all the posts to repeat an opinion they stated in another thread we’ve already read.
OK, it’s Friday, but I guess I’ll try to be productive.
How did streets change to accommodate cars when they were new on the scene? There was probably a period of 10-20 years in which cars and horses shared the road. While safety wasn’t as much a priority then as it is now, I wonder what wisdom we can glean from that era when two very different transportation systems shared the roads.
I guess the same situation exists in parts of Ohio that are heavily Amish. Although the solution of buggy lanes seems to have worked (in very rural areas with far lower tax bases than Columbus) there aren’t a lot of miles of those lanes, and horrible accidents still happen often.
So where would my probably inapt analogue get us in this argument? Bike lanes are necessary but not sufficient to create a safe way to share the road?
great idea. don’t make Broad slimmer with traffic calming crap. commit a lane for bikes.
I object!! 8) :lol:
There is a system in place down in Louisville along Bardstown road that I believe would solve the bike issues altogether. Basically all four lanes can be changed to one direction, or one in each direction with parking lanes, or three in one direction and one in the opposite. Most often they have 1 in each direction with the center being a turn lane. The way it works is a series of overhead electric signals with green arrows, yellow turn arrows, P’s and red X’s. Each has its own meaning and it is easy to understand.
With that sort of system we could very easily change the traffic pattern on any given street at any time, based on volume or whatever. It would take away the need for designated turn lanes, and open up options for bike and pedestrian lanes.
I object!! 8) :lol:
Thats it, Gram. You are SO not invited to the super sercet CU clique meet up party fiesta.
Ndcent is fulla beans today!! :P
I miss ceiling cat.
I object!! 8) :lol:
Thats it, Gram. You are SO not invited to the super sercet CU clique meet up party fiesta.
That’s OK. I get invited to more events off of this site than I’ll ever be able to attend, anyway!