"... I forgot to put batteries in my dynamo."

On Monday, November 11, 2013 8:26:00 PM UTC-8, Clive George wrote:
On 12/11/2013 02:12, Jay Beattie wrote:

On Sunday, November 10, 2013 6:38:28 PM UTC-8, Dan wrote:

Clive George writes:







On 10/11/2013 03:30, Phil W Lee wrote:



Frank Krygowski considered Sat, 9 Nov 2013



09:18:48 -0800 (PST) the perfect time to write:







http://tinyurl.com/cambridge-lights







- Frank Krygowski







All courtesy of the tory blight, which has been inflicted on



Cambridgeshire, (elected by a single figure percentage of voters) and



refuses to take road safety seriously enough to do anything about



dangerous driving, speed limit enforcement, careless driving,



infringement of cycle lanes by motor vehicles, or threatening



behaviour (as long as it's done with or from a motor vehicle). And



note that the car that was stopped without lights only received "words



of advice", despite clearly posing a far greater hazard to the general



public. Clear double standard (if you can find any standard at all -



I doubt if Sir Graham Dim could even spell it).







I don't really mind them having the occasional blitz on unlit cyclists



-



it's not a continuous thing, it's a few hours, it gets headlines, and



encourages people to get lights. Note the timing - after the clocks



change, which is when people need reminding.







The fines aren't even fines unless you fail to demonstrate you've gone



and got some lights. That's positive policing, not being miserable



facists.







I don't know. What got me about the article was how there



were too many unlit bikes going by for the blitz squad to



even make much of a dent. And the cops attitude? "Like



shooting fish in a barrel." Does no one think they're



treating people (hoardes of people apparently going about



their business without a problem) people who may have room



for improvement for their own safety being treated as if they



were a menace to society?







"Load up the fish guns and gather 'round the barrel, boys!"



Well, you can give a man a fish and feed him for a day, or give him a gun and a barrel of fish . . .



Anyway, because of this: http://vimeo.com/25717583# We got this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5RdFFlFz9g



I mean you can at least fake following the law -- slow a little, act like you didn't see the sign . . . claim not to understand English. Damn. They even pulled over the girl with the milk crate rack basket! Man, this is a bad day for the Bohemians.



Shouldn't that be a give way rather than stop? That's the way

roundabouts are supposed to work, and why they're a good junction design.

Yes. I think the stop signs went in for traffic calming and pedestrian issues. One could certainly argue that "yield" signs are more appropriate -- and more common even here in PDX.

-- Jay Beattie.

On Tuesday, November 12, 2013 3:46:22 PM UTC-5, Jay Beattie wrote:
On Monday, November 11, 2013 8:26:00 PM UTC-8, Clive George wrote:

Shouldn't that be a give way rather than stop? That's the way
roundabouts are supposed to work, and why they're a good junction design.

On Tue, 12 Nov 2013 11:51:41 -0800 (PST), Dan O
wrote:

On Monday, November 11, 2013 4:16:34 PM UTC-8, Frank Krygowski wrote:
On Monday, November 11, 2013 6:52:45 PM UTC-5, Wes Groleau wrote:

How about some FREE educational material? Just yell, every time you
pass him, "When are you going to stop being an IDIOT and get a light?"

Even that's controversial, it seems. I know people who claim one should never say anything to another road user, and never honk one's horn when driving. :-/

For wrong-way riders, I usually say something like "You're on the wrong side of the road." I've gotten reactions ranging from "I'm sorry, I know I should be on the other side" to rude yells in return. One crazy guy turned around and rode after me, yelling about fighting me. No telling what chemicals were in his system.

But I continue to try.


On Sunday, November 10, 2013 10:10:39 PM UTC-5, Dan wrote:
I came upon a bicyclist with no lights coming at me head on one
dark morning. That was like "expletive deleted!" But we passed
each other okay without incident.

(The quotation marks means he actually got the audible.)

And had you not been successful the expletive probably wouldn't have
been deleted :-)
--
Cheers,

John B.

On Tuesday, November 12, 2013 2:17:29 PM UTC-8, Frank Krygowski wrote:
On Tuesday, November 12, 2013 3:46:22 PM UTC-5, Jay Beattie wrote:

On Monday, November 11, 2013 8:26:00 PM UTC-8, Clive George wrote:



Shouldn't that be a give way rather than stop? That's the way

roundabouts are supposed to work, and why they're a good junction design.



Yes. I think the stop signs went in for traffic calming and pedestrian issues. One could certainly argue that "yield" signs are more appropriate -- and more common even here in PDX.



Speaking of stop signs for traffic calming: In Ohio, at least, my understanding is that there are certain "warrants" necessary to justify a stop sign. If a stop sign is put in only to calm traffic, it's considered "unwarranted." Any vehicle operator can use that fact as defense against a ticket..



This is all "IIRC" and "IANAL" of course. But we do have some that meet that description, in a residential street which (like mine) gets a large number of rude rat-runners.



The controlling of such MFFY motorists does seem to be a difficult problem in the U.S. No matter what measure is proposed (lower speed limits, stop signs, traffic cameras, speed humps, etc.) someone will always come up with "reasons" it must not be done. Many people are highly devoted to preserving their (assumed) constitutional right to drive fast wherever they please..



- Frank Krygowski

Now that you're retired, Frank, here is your homework assignment: can a "road authority" (e.g. city) do whatever the hell it wants in terms of placing stop signs and other traffic control devices? See http://www.oregonlaws.org/ors/810.030 (Generally, Oregon Revised Statutes Ch 810). Start with Oregon because it's the only place I ride regularly.

I get tired of the incessant diddling with basic rules done by the City of Portland -- following all the sinage is like doing the Hokey-Pokey. I'm always wondering if the City can really make me ride up and down sidewalks, into the path of trains and buses, etc., all in the name of "bike lanes." http://tinyurl.com/q4vcyo2 Look to the right of the orange street car. The bike lane jumps you on to the sidewalk right at the kiosk, into a crowd of waiting passengers and then down the sidewalk and into the intersection right in front of the train. Woohoo -- what's next? Alligators?

-- Jay Beattie.

Jay Beattie writes:

snip


I get tired of the incessant diddling with basic rules done by the City of Portland -- following all the sinage is like doing the Hokey-Pokey. I'm always wondering if the City can really make me ride up and down sidewalks, into the path of trains and buses, etc., all in the name of "bike lanes." http://tinyurl.com/q4vcyo2 Look to the right of the orange street car. The bike lane jumps you on to the sidewalk...


I scoff one of those almost every day. Even if I might have been
kind of *inclined* to get on the sidewalk, the sign activates the
rebel inside :-)

... right at the kiosk, into a crowd of waiting passengers and then down the sidewalk and into the intersection right in front of the train. Woohoo -- what's next? Alligators?


I went into "The Alligator Pit" outside turns 1 and 2 in
Bellingham. Didn't see any gators, but it was pitch dark
and anyway I didn't wake up until I was back in the pits.

Frank Krygowski writes:

On Tuesday, November 12, 2013 9:23:38 PM UTC-5, Jay Beattie wrote:

Now that you're retired, Frank, here is your homework assignment: can a "road authority" (e.g. city) do whatever the hell it wants in terms of placing stop signs and other traffic control devices? See http://www.oregonlaws.org/ors/810.030 (Generally, Oregon Revised Statutes Ch 810). Start with Oregon because it's the only place I ride regularly.

I get tired of the incessant diddling with basic rules done by the City of Portland -- following all the sinage is like doing the Hokey-Pokey. I'm always wondering if the City can really make me ride up and down sidewalks, into the path of trains and buses, etc., all in the name of "bike lanes." http://tinyurl.com/q4vcyo2 Look to the right of the orange street car. The bike lane jumps you on to the sidewalk right at the kiosk, into a crowd of waiting passengers and then down the sidewalk and into the intersection right in front of the train. Woohoo -- what's next? Alligators?

Ah, but it's "innovative" so it must be good!


And "Ah, there's a paint stripe, so I must be safe!"

Yeah, sure, Frank.

Actually, the worst place I remember for that sort of nonsense was Vienna, Austria. The "old town" (whatever it's called) was once surrounded by medieval walls, like many back in those times. When Krakow (in Poland) tore down its walls, it turned the space into a beautiful ring park, with gardens, wide MUPs, etc. When Vienna did the same, it turned the space into a crowded multi-lane ring road.

We did bike that ring road, using their bike facilities. My most frequent question was "Where the hell are we supposed to go _now_??"


I don't have that particular problem ;-)

The signs and pavement markings sent us onto sidewalks, into and around parking lots, into parks, back onto sidewalks...

I suppose Portland's advocates might have visited Vienna and said "Oooh, this is cool! Let's do this at home!"


Leave it to Frank Krygowski to criticize Portland and The
Netherlands' bicycling infrastructure.

On Tuesday, November 12, 2013 9:23:38 PM UTC-5, Jay Beattie wrote:

Now that you're retired, Frank, here is your homework assignment: can a "road authority" (e.g. city) do whatever the hell it wants in terms of placing stop signs and other traffic control devices? See http://www.oregonlaws..org/ors/810.030 (Generally, Oregon Revised Statutes Ch 810). Start with Oregon because it's the only place I ride regularly.

I get tired of the incessant diddling with basic rules done by the City of Portland -- following all the sinage is like doing the Hokey-Pokey. I'm always wondering if the City can really make me ride up and down sidewalks, into the path of trains and buses, etc., all in the name of "bike lanes." http://tinyurl.com/q4vcyo2 Look to the right of the orange street car. The bike lane jumps you on to the sidewalk right at the kiosk, into a crowd of waiting passengers and then down the sidewalk and into the intersection right in front of the train. Woohoo -- what's next? Alligators?

Ah, but it's "innovative" so it must be good!

Actually, the worst place I remember for that sort of nonsense was Vienna, Austria. The "old town" (whatever it's called) was once surrounded by medieval walls, like many back in those times. When Krakow (in Poland) tore down its walls, it turned the space into a beautiful ring park, with gardens, wide MUPs, etc. When Vienna did the same, it turned the space into a crowded multi-lane ring road.

We did bike that ring road, using their bike facilities. My most frequent question was "Where the hell are we supposed to go _now_??" The signs and pavement markings sent us onto sidewalks, into and around parking lots, into parks, back onto sidewalks...

I suppose Portland's advocates might have visited Vienna and said "Oooh, this is cool! Let's do this at home!"

- Frank Krygowski

On 11-12-2013, 14:57, Dan O wrote:
On Monday, November 11, 2013 6:45:30 PM UTC-8, Frank Krygowski wrote:
... and while doing it, he's thinking "I'm an unusually perceptive guy, and I'm learning all the time, and I've thought about the risks and considered the law, but due to my knowledge and skill I feel I'm fine with ignoring the law and doing whatever the ***k I decide to do."

Can you just be a little more transparent, Frank? I can't tell who
*exactly* you're referring to ;-)

I think Frank sometimes has trouble distinguishing "Dan" from "Dan O"

"Book him, Danno"

--
Wes Groleau

Heroes, Heritage, and History
http://UniGen.us/webtrees

On Wednesday, November 13, 2013 3:50:49 PM UTC-8, Phil W Lee wrote:
Dan considered Tue, 12 Nov 2013 20:21:16
-0800 the perfect time to write:
Frank Krygowski writes:

snip

I suppose Portland's advocates might have visited Vienna and said "Oooh, this is cool! Let's do this at home!"

Leave it to Frank Krygowski to criticize Portland and The
Netherlands' bicycling infrastructure.

Leave it to Dan to think Vienna is in the Netherlands.

Frank is on record criticizing The Netherlands bike infrastructure.