| Re: Buses with racks go a long way
In article <45ca0bfa$0$5056$4c368faf@roadrunner.com>, Wayne Pein wrote:
>Fred G. Mackey wrote:
>
>> Wayne Pein wrote:
>
>>>
>>> So is farm equipment,
>>
>> Right - in rural areas, possibly, but they're not even common there.
>>
>>> leaf collection tractors,
>
>> What the hell are those?
>
>My town picks up leaves for about two months using a tractor pulling a
>vacuum bin.
>>
>>> garbage trucks, and an assortment of stopped or slow traffic,
>>> including bicycles.
>>
>> Fortunately, I live in a town that is very biker friendly. They have
>> their lane, I have mine.
>
>Oh no, here we go again! "Giving" cyclists their own lane is like
>putting American Indians on their own reservations. It's really being
>friendly to motorists.
How then do you rate what all has happened to the West Philadelphia
portion of Walnut Street?
That street used to have 3 lanes, except 4 during evening rush hour,
all westbound. The street is one way westbound with the right curb lane
in the past being a traffic lane during evening rush as opposed to being a
parking lane.
Now the curb lane is a parking lane 24/7. The next-rightmost lane is
now a bike lane. The remaining two traffic lanes got widened (the
previously designated lanes were on the narrow side) due to one traffic
lane being restricted to bikes.
So now that the parking got increased at a time when Phi8ladelphia
decided to tolerate double parking, the bike lane sometimes has cars
parked on it.
Despite that double parking issue, I do see Walnut St still becoming
more favorable to cyclists than it used to be, and a lot less friendly to
motorists than it used to be.
Cyclists merely have to beware of Philadelphia motorists that need some
traffic tickets issued against them for theit all-too-often right-turn
practice to be to lane-shifting onto the bike lane when approaching a
righjt turn (permitted if yielding to cyclists) but not signalling the
right turn until departing rightward or about to depart rightward from the
bike lane! (The late start of signalling is a bad move - PA law requires
starting a turn signal at least 100 feet before turning, with an exemption
of using less warning when necessary and the extent necessary to avoid
confusion as to where the turn will occur - such as when a driveway exists
close to an intersection. Lane changes by moving vehicles also need to be
signalled - that is not done even by some of the minority of Philly
drivers that properly signal turns! Exiting a parking lane does not have
a 100 foot warning requirement since the vehicle must move from the
parking lane to a traffic lane in much less distance, but the need to
signal remains and all too many Philly drivers don't do that one either!)
- Don Klipstein (don@misty.com)
|