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Ceci n'est pas une bike lane
By adamg on Fri, 02/24/2017 - 11:21am
Karen Newman spotted this car parked in the bike lane on Congress Street in Post Office Square this morning:
I guess we need sock puppets to explain bike lanes?
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Comments
Not ignorance, just entitlement
The problem is not that they don't understand, it's that they just don't care.
And why should they?
Why should they care? We live in a state where you can get back on the road quickly after a drunk driving arrest, why should anyone be worked about a bike lane violation.
I'll Bite
1. Stop at Stop Signs.
2. Don't Ride Against The Traffic.
3. Obey Red Lights (and wait for the light to turn green).
4. Stay Off of Sidewalks.
5. Use Lights At Night.
6. Stop For People In The Crosswalk.
7. Remember that riding around on two wheels instead of four does not make you a martyr / special person, only the same old self-entitled you on a bike.
If your side wants to make a concerted effort on these matters, I'll encourage my fellow drivers to hold up their end of the bargain.
Thanks and Have a Nice Day.
Whataboutism
n/t
As a pedestrian I'll suggest
As a pedestrian I'll suggest maybe you and your fellow drivers should be focusing on reducing the number of people you kill in the US every year from 35,000 to 0 before you worry about cyclists. They aren't the ones brutally killing people by the tens of thousands. Your priorities are sickening.
Fact free Kinopio
According to the CDC, the number is 4,735 in the last year measured. You apparently pulled your number out your posterior orifice.
https://www.cdc.gov/motorvehiclesafety/pedestrian_safety/b
If you pedestrians didn't
If you pedestrians didn't jaywalk, you could reduce your own numbers. If you didn't drunkenly stumble into traffic you could reduce your numbers. You're priorities are that of an entitled elitist.
Funny
I almost have gotten hit by a car twice in the past week while the driver had a red light and I had a walk sign. This is not at all an infrequent occurrence. Maybe if you drivers would get off your damn phones and pay attention you'd realize it is not drunks stumbling into traffic, it's your inability to pay attention and be responsible behind the wheel that causes so many accidents.
alternative facts
You have incorrectly and with bias implied that EVERY SINGLE DEATH involving a motor vehicle over the past year was fault of the car operator.
As someone who
once ended up with a sprained ankle due to a cyclist blowing a red light, no. Just, no. If you're traffic, you obey traffic laws. Cars, bikes, whatever. Period.
as a pedestrian and driver
Might I suggest that both sides at least be smart about it when performing an illegal maneuver? I saw a guy almost get mowed down last night on Revere Beach Parkway, as he waited until the oncoming traffic had the green to start slowly crossing against the no walk sign in the dark. Cars, cyclists, and the rest of us too. If you're gonna take a few liberties, you better be sure no one's coming.
What a dumb comment
It's pretty much saying that some people don't behave, so therefore nobody should behave. For the record, I follow all the practices you recommend, so when I come across this car, should I pretend it doesn't exist? Maybe try thinking before opining, and perhaps we can then all come up with something that actually works for people. But a car parked in a bike lane kind of forces the point that a cyclist approaching that location will need to engage in one of the behaviors you rail against, such as riding on the sidewalk.
Cyclists will do these things
When drivers do or don't do them.
EVERY example you point out I can point out NUMEROUS and far more dangerous examples of DRIVERS doing the same thing.
That's nice dear
Now explain this to the dimwit driver of that truck I saw drive up on the sidewalk on Congress Street this morning.
Or the drivers who plow through pedestrians at Water Street.
Or the drivers who don't stop for stop signs ever.
Or the driver that nearly hit me yesterday because it was 8pm and he didn't have his lights on.
Referring to 1 ton or more vehicles right?
What is funny is that until I saw the word drivers I thought you were referring to the folks who drive their cars and trucks according to the observations you listed.
In JP every stop sign is only a suggestion often ignored. In Dot cars can be found parked on sidewalks all the time. Stopping for people in crosswalks? Explain the usefulness of that action to the person who I ripped a new you know what for nearly running into me because he didn't stop for a pedestrian.
Most important drop the us versus them argument. It's a stupid argument made by people who leave their ability to think on the toilet seat. Especially considering that many, possibly most, bicyclists are also drivers.
If I may add, southie
If I may add, southie residents (the original ones) use the sidewalk as their personal parking lot, often from 5pm until 8am the next morning, and the city of Boston purposefully do not ticket them. I've even submitted to the 411 app and got the response "no vehicle found in violation". For a car parked with two wheels on the sidewalk and two on the road, over night. No permit.
Your logical fallacy is Tu Quoque
https://yourlogicalfallacyis.com/tu-quoque
BUT HILLARY'S EMAILS!
Also noticed you didn't mention anything about texting and driving or having a phone in your hand while driving.
Doesn't this work in the other direction?
By your own logic, you have no right to complain about any of these things as long as drivers still park in bike lanes.
guess i shouldve known
Guess I should've known this would unleash hell, but my comment wasn't on drivers being entitled, just people in general.
Trifecta?
I thumbed this up -
After almost getting hit by cyclists on the sidewalk on my way home from work last night and on my way to work this morning. See if we can hit the trifecta tonight.
One
I do all those things and yet, enough people driving cars are still threatening and bitching assholes. So, you work on those douchebags who actually threaten lives and I'll work on my douchebags who actually threaten drivers' entitlement.
There's room on the right
There's room on the right side for the biker to pass by.
That's a good way to get
That's a good way to get whacked by the opening door as the passenger of the uber/lyft gets out. Not recommended.
As a biker myself
I know where there's danger, so slow down and walk the bike.
There is room on the left for
There is room on the left for the driver to continue ahead until they find an actual parking spot.
Low blood sugar?
Low blood sugar, or is this a fair indicator of your intellect?
This is why I bike in traffic
This is why I bike in traffic.
Yes! It is so much safer to
Yes! It is so much safer to take the full lane. There is almost always a FedEx truck, cabbbie, delivery van, or 'OMG it was just for a sec!' suburbanite double-parked in the bike lane to fetch their Dunks snickerdoodle iced coffee, so what's the point?? Take the full lane and motorist are just going to have to get used to the fact that it is LEGAL for cyclists to take the full lane.
Just because it's legal
Doesn't mean it won't end poorly for you...
Let me tell you good folks all a story.
One fine day, many years ago, our car began to act weird. We were on 95 and needed to use the break down lane. We crept to the break down lane where a woman, who came up behind us, proceeded to call us "f*cking a**wholes" through her open window because we were using the lane for what it was intended.
Now, we can assume that this driver was, oh, just lazy. Or a jerk. Or, perhaps, it might be someone who had a car breakdown. So, slow down the knee jerk insults please before you know the entire story.
Aside from all that, post to Boston 311 if it upsets you that much.
This driver
Is not using the lane as intended.
No comparison. No excuse.
Your internal combustion toy does not make you special.
I'll say this much
Obviously, I only saw the photograph, but it looks like the taillights are on, which means it is probably not parked.
Now, of course there is a reason that there is such a thing as "No Stopping," but, yeah, there is a chance that the car broke down, or even that they were dropping off or picking up someone.
Or they really did park there, in which case they are a-holes.
Still an asshole
Even if dropping someone off (or picking up), because they're blocking the lane and forcing vulnerable road users into dangerous situations
I took the picture, and I saw
I took the picture, and I saw the driver come out of the CVS on the corner, get in and drive off. But as a pedestrian commuting through PO Square I see cars parked or standing in the bike lane more often than not.
Was this a place where you're
Was this a place where you're allowed to drive in the breakdown lane during rush hour?
Nope
100% dedicated bike lane only.
Doesn't matter why they're
Doesn't matter why they're stopped there - it's still illegal.
Your story is an apples-to-oranges comparison, because you stopped on the shoulder. This car is not stopped on a shoulder, it's stopped smack dab in the middle of a bike lane, directly in front of a no cars sign.
Blah blah blah
It's not drivers that suck, or cyclists that suck, or pedestrians. It's people. Period. Learn to live with that fact and your life will be a lot more stress free.
Cosigned to the n-th degree.
Cosigned to the n-th degree.
I am a person
But I can't help that, and I approve this message.
This is bigger than the Trump Russia
thing.
laughing at everybody here
i run three days a week, ride my bike at least 6, and own a car and its pretty funny that a lot of the comments are divided among 'factions'
i've decided to lump all of your 'factions' into one, which is, vituperative counter productive nincompoops
i have considerable disdain for all of you when i'm on the road, be it on 4 wheels, 2, or shoes.
Or, as I like to say,
I hate everyone, everywhere, all the time.
Now shut the hell up and have a nice weekend.
That sign is illegal. Signs
That sign is illegal. Signs on public roads have to comply with Federal standards. No exceptions.
This one is even worse: https://goo.gl/maps/6FdB2hy3BoL2
its not a road tho
its a bike lane
It's not illegal
It just prob ably doesn't conform to the MUTCD (which, by the way, varies slightly state-to-state, and is uniform state law, not really a federal standard).
I'd argue that's actually
I'd argue that's actually debatable.
I hate to see agencies that can't follow the MUTCD, but the MUTCD severely lags behind when it comes to meeting new trends, like bike infrastructure, so there is no official sign they could have used instead.
Also, the MUTCD explicitly only provides guidance on parking signs - due to the variation in legislation from state to state, and city to city. There are a few standards (shall statements), that just cover the basics (red = prohibited, green = permissive; and handicapped regulations). Everything beyond that is left up to the agency installing the signs.
Which is why every city has their own style of parking signs. Some are really out there, like NYC with its "Don't even THINK of parking here" signs, and Los Angeles' time diagrammatic ones.
So basically, given that this is essentially a parking sign, no, it's not an MUTCD violation.