Chicago: Minus one cyclist

https://maggionews.com/1-man-killed-...ings-saturday/

--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org/
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

On Sun, 23 Sep 2018 10:14:27 -0500, AMuzi wrote:

https://maggionews.com/1-man-killed-...ings-saturday/

But he probably wasn't wearing a helmet.
--
Cheers

John B.

On 9/23/2018 6:33 PM, John B. Slocomb wrote:
On Sun, 23 Sep 2018 10:14:27 -0500, AMuzi wrote:

https://maggionews.com/1-man-killed-...ings-saturday/

But he probably wasn't wearing a helmet.
--
Cheers

John B.


Bring your 4" tires to ride in Milwaukee:
https://fox6now.com/2018/09/23/cycli...kee-streetcar/

And a helmet to keep your head out of the track.

--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org/
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

On Sun, 23 Sep 2018 19:15:51 -0500, AMuzi wrote:

On 9/23/2018 6:33 PM, John B. Slocomb wrote:
On Sun, 23 Sep 2018 10:14:27 -0500, AMuzi wrote:

https://maggionews.com/1-man-killed-...ings-saturday/

But he probably wasn't wearing a helmet.
--
Cheers

John B.


Bring your 4" tires to ride in Milwaukee:
https://fox6now.com/2018/09/23/cycli...kee-streetcar/

And a helmet to keep your head out of the track.

It seems to me that says something about the cyclists that got their
wheel caught in the track... Perhaps a short class on "how to ride a
bicycle" should be a part of every bicycle purchase?
--
Cheers

John B.

On Sun, 23 Sep 2018 19:15:51 -0500, AMuzi wrote:

On 9/23/2018 6:33 PM, John B. Slocomb wrote:
On Sun, 23 Sep 2018 10:14:27 -0500, AMuzi wrote:

https://maggionews.com/1-man-killed-...ings-saturday/
But he probably wasn't wearing a helmet.
--
Cheers
John B.

Bring your 4" tires to ride in Milwaukee:
https://fox6now.com/2018/09/23/cycli...kee-streetcar/
And a helmet to keep your head out of the track.

"Milwaukee Hop officials lead bike ride down the rails"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48on9GjIGk0 (2:28)

Or, buy a bicycle with super fat tires that won't get caught in the
tracks:
https://www.google.com/search?q=fat+tire+bike&tbm=isch

So how to I ride though this intersection, being careful to cross each
rail at a 90 degree (perpendicular) angle?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toronto_streetcar_system#/media/File:Toronto_Streetcar_Grand_Junction.jpg


--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

Jeff Liebermann wrote:
On Sun, 23 Sep 2018 19:15:51 -0500, AMuzi wrote:

On 9/23/2018 6:33 PM, John B. Slocomb wrote:
On Sun, 23 Sep 2018 10:14:27 -0500, AMuzi wrote:

https://maggionews.com/1-man-killed-...ings-saturday/
But he probably wasn't wearing a helmet.
--
Cheers
John B.

Bring your 4" tires to ride in Milwaukee:
https://fox6now.com/2018/09/23/cycli...kee-streetcar/
And a helmet to keep your head out of the track.

"Milwaukee Hop officials lead bike ride down the rails"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48on9GjIGk0 (2:28)

Or, buy a bicycle with super fat tires that won't get caught in the
tracks:
https://www.google.com/search?q=fat+tire+bike&tbm=isch

So how to I ride though this intersection, being careful to cross each
rail at a 90 degree (perpendicular) angle?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toronto_streetcar_system#/media/File:Toronto_Streetcar_Grand_Junction.jpg


Apparently John has this course you can take...

--
duane

On Mon, 24 Sep 2018 10:01:59 -0000 (UTC), Duane
wrote:

Jeff Liebermann wrote:
On Sun, 23 Sep 2018 19:15:51 -0500, AMuzi wrote:

On 9/23/2018 6:33 PM, John B. Slocomb wrote:
On Sun, 23 Sep 2018 10:14:27 -0500, AMuzi wrote:

https://maggionews.com/1-man-killed-...ings-saturday/
But he probably wasn't wearing a helmet.
--
Cheers
John B.

Bring your 4" tires to ride in Milwaukee:
https://fox6now.com/2018/09/23/cycli...kee-streetcar/
And a helmet to keep your head out of the track.

"Milwaukee Hop officials lead bike ride down the rails"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48on9GjIGk0 (2:28)

Or, buy a bicycle with super fat tires that won't get caught in the
tracks:
https://www.google.com/search?q=fat+tire+bike&tbm=isch

So how do I ride though this intersection, being careful to cross each
rail at a 90 degree (perpendicular) angle?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toronto_streetcar_system#/media/File:Toronto_Streetcar_Grand_Junction.jpg

Apparently John has this course you can take...

In Santa Cruz, there's a place where the Big Trees railroad tracks
crosses Hwy 9 at a 45 degree angle, on a downhill:
https://goo.gl/maps/VeDNDkkNnYB2
I recall that there was once a sign suggesting that cyclists cross the
rails by either walking across or crossing at a right angle. There
have been a few cycling accidents at this crossing over the years,
including me, twice.

The problem is that crossing perpendicular to the tracks doesn't work.
In order to do that on the downhill, I had to turn sharply to the
left, which requires leaning the bike over. If I ride all the way to
the right, and start my turn roughly in the middle of the lane, I
might be able to cross safely and straighten out near the left side of
the lane. The problem is that if I don't do it perfectly, I could
easily end up straightening out into opposing traffic.

As soon as my rear tire hit the smooth steel rails, my bicycle slid
sideways while leaning into the turn, and down I went. It wasn't a
smooth fall, but rather two lurches sideways as each tire lost
traction on the tracks. I thought that since I knew about the risk in
advance, my reaction time would be sufficient to prevent falling over,
but that was wrong, twice. My reward was the usual road rash and a
twisted left ankle. My bicycle (Miyata 610) fared better with a
broken cheap resin pedal and a torn rear saddle bag. Umm... twice. I
consoled myself by suggesting that it could have been worse.

The math is easy enough. The wheelbase on my bicycle is about 1
meter. The railroad track is 1.4 meters wide. The road is about 3.5
meters wide. I would need to ride perpendicular to the rails turning
45 degrees where the front wheel hits the right rail, and come out of
the turn where my rear wheel leaves the left rail. Total distance
traveled is:
1.0 + 1.4 + 1.0 = 3.4 meters.
At 45 degrees, the minimum road width that this could be accomplished
would be the aforementioned length of the rail crossing, plus twice
the turning radius, which I would guess would be no less than 0.5
meters. Therefore the road width required would be:
(0.707 * 3.4) + (2 * 0.5) = 4.4 meters
With a 3.5 meter wide road, it can't be done without riding into
opposing traffic.


Drivel: I wonder if they're going to bury the tracks?
https://gogocharters.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/street-car-intersection-1.jpg


--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

On 9/23/2018 8:15 PM, AMuzi wrote:
On 9/23/2018 6:33 PM, John B. Slocomb wrote:
On Sun, 23 Sep 2018 10:14:27 -0500, AMuzi wrote:

https://maggionews.com/1-man-killed-...ings-saturday/


But he probably wasn't wearing a helmet.
--
Cheers

John B.


Bring your 4" tires to ride in Milwaukee:
https://fox6now.com/2018/09/23/cycli...kee-streetcar/

And a helmet to keep your head out of the track.

Street cars puzzle me. They have much higher first cost than buses, they
have much less route flexibility than buses. Their tracks introduce new
hazards.

Sure, they're trendier, and fashion is ridiculously powerful, but buses
could be made just as fashionable.

https://humantransit.org/2009/07/str...ent-truth.html

--
- Frank Krygowski

On Sunday, September 23, 2018 at 7:48:35 PM UTC-7, Frank Krygowski wrote:
On 9/23/2018 8:15 PM, AMuzi wrote:
On 9/23/2018 6:33 PM, John B. Slocomb wrote:
On Sun, 23 Sep 2018 10:14:27 -0500, AMuzi wrote:

https://maggionews.com/1-man-killed-...ings-saturday/


But he probably wasn't wearing a helmet.
--
Cheers

John B.


Bring your 4" tires to ride in Milwaukee:
https://fox6now.com/2018/09/23/cycli...kee-streetcar/

And a helmet to keep your head out of the track.

Street cars puzzle me. They have much higher first cost than buses, they
have much less route flexibility than buses. Their tracks introduce new
hazards.

Sure, they're trendier, and fashion is ridiculously powerful, but buses
could be made just as fashionable.

https://humantransit.org/2009/07/str...ent-truth.html

--
- Frank Krygowski

Buses tend to run through residential neighborhoods. The roads in these areas ARE NOT constructed for the loads that buses put on them. So maintenance costs of the roads along bus routes usually are much higher than normal residential streets. While streetcars have a higher initial cost the costs of rail repairs are pretty low. They completely repaved a road three blocks away from me. Then during the repairs to an adjoining main road all of the traffic was taking that repaved road and after two years it is completely broken up with potholes and almost gravel over its entire length of three blocks. Welcome to the real world.

Frank Krygowski writes:

On 9/23/2018 8:15 PM, AMuzi wrote:
On 9/23/2018 6:33 PM, John B. Slocomb wrote:
On Sun, 23 Sep 2018 10:14:27 -0500, AMuzi wrote:

https://maggionews.com/1-man-killed-...ings-saturday/


But he probably wasn't wearing a helmet.
--
Cheers

John B.


Bring your 4" tires to ride in Milwaukee:
https://fox6now.com/2018/09/23/cycli...kee-streetcar/
And a helmet to keep your head out of the track.

Street cars puzzle me. They have much higher first cost than buses,
they have much less route flexibility than buses. Their tracks
introduce new hazards.

Sure, they're trendier, and fashion is ridiculously powerful, but
buses could be made just as fashionable.

https://humantransit.org/2009/07/str...ent-truth.html

There is a social status aspect to trams vs buses, at least in the US,
but there are also practical and political aspects. I just ran across
this comment on website, which addresses some of them.

From http://slatestarcodex.com/2018/10/02...comment-674523

-------------------%---------------------%---------------------
po8crg says:
October 3, 2018 at 4:19 am

The big advantage of first-generation trams over trolleybuses is that
they were invented first, so lots of cities built tram systems before
trolleybuses were invented.

Trams require less overhead wiring than trolleybuses (trams have one
pickup and do a neutral return through the rails; trolleybuses need two
wires, both a live and a neutral). This means that they can use the
(simpler and more reliable) pantograph rather than a trolley pole for
electrical pickup. Trolleybuses get dewired much more often than trams
do, and take longer to connect back up. A mechanical arm with a camera
and a bit of AI is probably capable of doing an auto-pickup while moving
these days, which makes that much less of a problem – until very
recently a dewired trolley had to stop and the driver had to hook the
poles back up manually.

The big advantage of second-generation trams (ie post-1970s) over
trolleybuses is that they can be much longer. Because of the rails, a
long, multiply-articulated tram will stay in lane when going around a
corner, which is a problem for buses/trolleybuses even with a single
articulation.

Trams are regularly over 50m long, which is far longer than any
trolleybus can be safely – which means that a single tram can carry far
more passengers, making them a useful intermediate-capacity system
between bus/trolleybus and metro.

The other advantage for trams is one that isn’t much talked about – Bus
rapid transit like Bogota or Brisbane, whether petrol buses or
trolleybuses, is a big improvement over normal buses. But BRT schemes
can be squeezed politically or financially – add a short section of
buslane that’s just paint and not physical segregation; add a section of
mixed traffic; cross a road through a signalled junction rather than
grade separation; take away signalling priority at a junction; etc. The
danger for a BRT scheme is that it gets cut down to a few improvements
for the existing buses. Trams, because you have to lay track, can’t be
cut back that much – either there is track somewhere or there isn’t. The
worst cases are the US cities that have unarticulated trams in mixed
traffic; those are completely pointless. But tram schemes work out much
better on average because it’s harder to chip away at a tram scheme
without cancelling large bits of it (the worst is generally taking
dedicated lanes and letting buses in, or replacing grade separated
junctions with at-grade ones with signal priority for the trams). This
is not something that politicians talk about, because it involves an
admission of how crap politicians are, but when politics turns against
trams, they tend to get cancelled; when politics turns against BRT, they
tend to get cut back to pointlessness, which results in lots of really
bad BRT schemes which then gives BRT a bad name.
-------------------%---------------------%---------------------
--