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Sharing the road with cyclists
Will recent deaths prompt change to bike paths/trails in Greater
Cincinnati? EAST END — Andrew Gast was pedaling along the edge of Wilmer Avenue near Lunken Airport – not the biking and walking trail alongside it – when he was fatally struck by a vehicle shortly before dawn Aug. 28. A quick glance at the path shows why he may have chosen to bike in the street despite its lack of a paved shoulder: the bumpy path is covered with gravel, making pedaling treacherous. A poor trail system and roads with little room for bicycles are common complaints as bicycling for transportation and exercise explodes in Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky, an area historically inhospitable to cyclists. “I used to ride in the road, but not anymore,” Phil Phipps, 69, of Ludlow, said as he biked along the Lunken path one morning this week. “I just try to stay to the side away from traffic.” Bicyclists are legally entitled to be in the road. In fact, in many cities, including Cincinnati, it’s illegal for riders older than 15 to be on sidewalks. Some drivers think that invites trouble. “They shouldn’t be in the road,” said Dennis Griffith, 31, of Newport. “If a motorist didn’t see them, they don’t stand a chance up against a car.” The hazard is real. Two weeks to the day after Gast was killed, another bicyclist, 59-year-old Ronald Richardson, died when a Metro bus struck him in Bond Hill. He was biking along California Avenue near Oakland Avenue in a residential area when he turned in the path of the bus, according to Cincinnati police. Another cyclist, Tommy Broderick, was hit and injured in Newport by a suspected drunken driver while biking home the evening of Sept. 4 from a memorial “Ghost Ride” in Cincinnati honoring Gast. “The catch phrase that night among cyclists was: This could have happened to any one of us,” said Broderick, 54, of Covington, who suffered cuts on his face. “And then it happened to me on the way home. It’s just surreal.” Broderick, riding with two flashing lights on his bike, was struck at 11th and Isabella streets by motorist Anthony Broughton, 60, of Crittenden. Broughton told Newport police he didn’t see Broderick crossing Isabella in the crosswalk, but was charged with aggravated driving under the influence after he failed a sobriety test. “Literally two seconds can change your life forever,” said Broderick. “Since I’ve gotten hit, I am definitely, definitely more conservative on the bike,” said Broderick, an investment adviser. “I am riding a little bit slower and definitely spending a lot more time looking around, particularly at intersections. A lot of the roads have narrow lanes. Even though you are doing something legal on a bike, it’s not necessary safe.” Motorists have a responsibility, too, he said. “We are in this together.” Infrastructure is critical to promoting bicycling Cincinnati lags behind other cities in miles of trails. The city has just 20 miles of bike trails and less than 10 miles of bike lanes, well below most cities of similar population. Even Dayton, with 142,000 residents, has 30 miles of paths and was recently ranked 45th on a list of the top 50 bike-friendly cities in America by Bicycling magazine. Minneapolis ranked second. Chicago was fifth. Louisville ranked 21st. Pittsburgh was 35th. Cleveland made the list of five up-and-coming bike cities. Cincinnati has never cracked the annual list. City officials acknowledge the problem and say they are working to catch up. Before 2009, the city only had 5 miles of bike lanes, said Melissa McVay, senior city planner. Topography is one of the biggest challenges. Cincinnati is an older, hilly city with narrow, winding streets. Building a path is not easy. “Infrastructure is critical to getting more Cincinnatians on bicycles,” McVay said. “I think more people would choose to ride a bicycle versus driving to their neighborhood business district if they felt that they could get there safely on a bicycle. And research shows that the average person needs a separated bike lane in order to feel safe riding in the street.” Scott Goodfellow, 40, of Anderson Township belongs to the 1,000-plus member Cincinnati Cycle Club. “I can't say that Cincinnati roads were built with limitations. I would simply say that other cities have put efforts to removing limitations. “Municipalities have heavily resisted bike trails out of nebulous fears – Terrace Park fought the extension of the Loveland Trail for years,” Goodfellow said. “Residents feared ‘bike hooligans.’ Now that it is installed, property values have climbed, and people are asking for more.” Is Cincinnati becoming an 'up-and-comer?' Cincinnati was given a C grade in its survey of 560 cyclists in 2010, but they gave the city a B-plus for its effort and progress over the previous year. “Cincinnati may not have as many miles of bike lanes or trails yet as some other large cities, but we are definitely an ‘up-and-comer’ in the world of bicycle infrastructure and bicycle culture,” McVay said. Members of cycling clubs around Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky acknowledge the effort and say it’s easier now to get planners to pay attention and get projects built. “It used to be it would take 10, 20 years before any projects got off the ground,” said Jason Reser, owner of Reser Bicycle Outfitters in Newport and Over-the-Rhine. “Now it seems like they are coming out with plans for them and building them in two to three years.” His business has increased “five times” over the past decade, he said, showing exploding interest in cycling in the region. “There are more bikes on the street,” he said. “The demand is there. We will just see more and more cycling as people experience how free and easy it is to travel by bike.” Organized groups ride several nights a week in places like Oakley, Madisonville, Price Hill, and in Campbell and Kenton counties along the Ohio River in Northern Kentucky. Beyond Cincinnati proper, with tens of millions of dollars of mostly federal and state funding, about 120 miles of bike trails have been built in Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky. About 200 miles of trails are planned but have not been built, according to Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Regional Council of Governments. Since the construction of the first stretch of the Little Miami River Scenic Bike Trail from Loveland to Morrow in the early 1980s, the region's bike trail system has expanded piece by piece. But it still has key missing links, forcing bikers to use busy streets to get from one trail to another, or from one part of the same trail to another part. One of the most glaring missing links is a 1.9-mile gap in a 6-mile segment of the Ohio River Trail between downtown Cincinnati and Lunken Airport. The gap extends along Riverside Drive from just east of downtown to Corbin Street in the East End, forcing cyclists must share lanes with the heavy truck and auto traffic on Riverside. Northern Kentucky lags behind Northern Kentucky lags behind most other parts of the region in bike trail development. The lack of public support might be a factor in at least one Northern Kentucky community. In 2009, trails became a controversial issue in Boone County. Tea party sympathizers strongly objected to the county building bike trails and even shredded a copy of a study before a Boone County Planning Commission meeting. That night, the commission shelved the study. Nowhere is the need for bike trails more apparent than on the two-lane Kentucky 8, which lacks bicycle lanes for long stretches. Speed limits range from 35 mph to 55 mph. The highway has been marked with yellow “Share The Road” bicycle signs by Kentucky’s Department of Highways, and is promoted by the Ohio Kentucky Indiana Regional Council of Governments as a preferred route for cyclists. Motorists say the mix of bikes and vehicles is dangerous. “Route 8 is my issue,” said Rebecca Hughes, 55, of Newport. “They need a bicycle lane. The bicyclists interfere with traffic. You’ve got 15, 20 bicycles going down the road, blocking traffic, and there’s nothing you can do about it.” When Gast died, it sparked a debate over bicyclists’ right to be in the road, something many motorists may not realize is legal. In Ohio, Kentucky and most states, bicycles are considered vehicles subject to all traffic laws. Some motorists say those rules don’t make sense. “I feel like they should be on the sidewalk,” said Candi Blizzard, 26, of Newport. “They ride in the middle of the road. I don’t think it’s safe. I have almost run one down before. They feel like they own the road and don’t care about their safety or other people.” She added, “We need more bike lanes. People walk up and down the sidewalks and it’s hard for people to bike on them.” http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs...EWS/309140120/ |
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Sharing the road with cyclists
It's bike commute challenge month here in Pac NW, so I've been taking alternate routes that add a few miles. It's totally justifiable, though (not just padding miles for the competition). The most direct route includes several miles of 4-lane highway with pretty heavy high- speed car and truck traffic, wide paved shoulders but lots of debris and on/off ramps, and it's boringly straight (for miles). Alternate routes are much lower traffic, cleaner, beautiful and interesting - very nice. So yesterday, though, I just wanted to get home as quickly as possible, and headed onto the main highway (shoulder). Then I come upon some pylons that force me into the right traffic lane (well, yes, I could hae gone behind the pylons, but there was some kind of construction going on up ahead on the shoulder and there are secured facilities to the right of the ditch and I just figured I'd... well, I *didn't anticipate what happened next.) The pylons gave way to a modular concrete wall with no gaps. Another such wall on the other side constricted the two lanes. A temporary double solid white line divided the narrowed lanes and indicated no lane changes allowed. I was trapped in a physically contained corridor on a major highway at Friday afternoon rush hour,with rough pavement, narrowed lanes, high speed motor traffic. I considered and reconsidered and considered again cyclocross hopping the ~four foot high concrete wall. Could not even see for sure how far this trap went. Kept shoulder checking and trying to make sure I was seen from behind. In the end I just pushed as fast as I could (had a tailwind thank dog) and got out the end of it. All was not rosy after that since the paved shoulder was *really* filthy with debris from construction and everything, and now the left lane was blocked and the right lane narrowed such that cars figured they could also use the shoulder. But eventually I came to the end of construction. Won't be going that way again for a long time. |
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Sharing the road with cyclists
On 9/15/2012 2:19 PM, Phil W Lee wrote:
Then they should be banned from the roads. Motorists who don't know the basic laws under which they drive are not adequately trained to operate the dangerous machinery they bring into the public realm. Where is Hezbollah when you need them? Being able to accurately fire a RPG while cycling would even things up, eh? -- Tºm Shermªn - 42.435731°N, 83.985007°W Post Free or Die! |
#4
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Sharing the road with cyclists
"Tom $herman (-_-)" " wrote in
message ... On 9/15/2012 2:19 PM, Phil W Lee wrote: Then they should be banned from the roads. Motorists who don't know the basic laws under which they drive are not adequately trained to operate the dangerous machinery they bring into the public realm. Where is Hezbollah when you need them? Being able to accurately fire a RPG while cycling would even things up, eh? Methinks Mr. Lee would fire one off in a NY second. -- EA -- Tşm ShermŞn - 42.435731°N, 83.985007°W Post Free or Die! |
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Sharing the road with cyclists
"Phil W Lee" wrote in message ... "Tom $herman (-_-)" " considered Sat, 15 Sep 2012 14:35:25 -0500 the perfect time to write: On 9/15/2012 2:19 PM, Phil W Lee wrote: Then they should be banned from the roads. Motorists who don't know the basic laws under which they drive are not adequately trained to operate the dangerous machinery they bring into the public realm. Where is Hezbollah when you need them? Being able to accurately fire a RPG while cycling would even things up, eh? Well, my recumbent dealer calls my crutch holders "rocket launchers" but as they are mounted on the back of the seat they are at the wrong angle - maybe some use as mortar tubes? Sounds like depth charge launchers! |
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Sharing the road with cyclists
Phil W Lee wrote:
(Garrison Hilliard) considered Sat, 15 Sep 2012 15:26:45 +0000 (UTC) the perfect time to write: (or cite A poor trail system and roads with little room for bicycles are common The road has plenty of room for bicycles - it's the motor vehicles that cause the problem. Exactly. A bicycle requires only about five feet. Motorists simply need to be taught to be patient, and wait until it's safe to pass. “They shouldn’t be in the road,” said Dennis Griffith, 31, of Newport. “If a motorist didn’t see them, they don’t stand a chance up against a car.” If a motorist didn't see them, he shouldn't have been driving a motor vehicle. It really is that simple. Agreed. The hazard is real. Two weeks to the day after Gast was killed, another bicyclist, 59-year-old Ronald Richardson, died when a Metro bus struck him in Bond Hill. He was biking along California Avenue near Oakland Avenue in a residential area when he turned in the path of the bus, according to Cincinnati police. Well, he can't give any evidence himself, can he? I heard about that incident previously. There were some who said the city buses now have cameras recording the bus's travel. If true, it will be interesting to see if that evidence comes to light. I've also read complaints that Cincinnati's bus drivers have been pushed to make time and reduce delays, leading to more aggressive driving on their part, even to crashing of red lights. Before 2009, the city only had 5 miles of bike lanes, said Melissa McVay, senior city planner. Cycle friendliness has bugger all to do with the miles of bike lanes, trails, or anything like that - it's down to how well regulated the motor traffic is. Again, agreed. I'm dismayed that it's now assumed by so many that bike lanes are - dare I say it? - essential. So many people now believe they don't dare ride unless a street has a segregationalist stripe. I've heard that even about calm, traffic free residential streets. :-( -- - Frank Krygowski |
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Sharing the road with cyclists
On Sep 15, 8:55 pm, Frank Krygowski
wrote: Phil W Lee wrote: (Garrison Hilliard) considered Sat, 15 Sep 2012 15:26:45 +0000 (UTC) the perfect time to write: (or cite A poor trail system and roads with little room for bicycles are common The road has plenty of room for bicycles - it's the motor vehicles that cause the problem. Exactly. A bicycle requires only about five feet. Agreed (except that I can ride in even much narrower spaces). Motorists simply need to be taught to be patient, and wait until it's safe to pass. Well, sure; but until that happens... (?) “They shouldn’t be in the road,” said Dennis Griffith, 31, of Newport. “If a motorist didn’t see them, they don’t stand a chance up against a car.” This attitude of course is utter BS - and the root of the problem. If a motorist didn't see them, he shouldn't have been driving a motor vehicle. It really is that simple. Agreed. The hazard is real. Two weeks to the day after Gast was killed, another bicyclist, 59-year-old Ronald Richardson, died when a Metro bus struck him in Bond Hill. He was biking along California Avenue near Oakland Avenue in a residential area when he turned in the path of the bus, according to Cincinnati police. Well, he can't give any evidence himself, can he? I heard about that incident previously. There were some who said the city buses now have cameras recording the bus's travel. If true, it will be interesting to see if that evidence comes to light. I've also read complaints that Cincinnati's bus drivers have been pushed to make time and reduce delays, leading to more aggressive driving on their part, even to crashing of red lights. Before 2009, the city only had 5 miles of bike lanes, said Melissa McVay, senior city planner. Cycle friendliness has bugger all to do with the miles of bike lanes, trails, or anything like that - it's down to how well regulated the motor traffic is. Again, agreed. I'm dismayed that it's now assumed by so many that bike lanes are - dare I say it? - essential. So many people now believe they don't dare ride unless a street has a segregationalist stripe. I've heard that even about calm, traffic free residential streets. :-( Not us, though - please keep this in mind when you are judging. |
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Sharing the road with cyclists
On Sep 15, 10:52 pm, Dan O wrote:
On Sep 15, 8:55 pm, Frank Krygowski wrote: Phil W Lee wrote: (Garrison Hilliard) considered Sat, 15 Sep 2012 15:26:45 +0000 (UTC) the perfect time to write: (or cite A poor trail system and roads with little room for bicycles are common The road has plenty of room for bicycles - it's the motor vehicles that cause the problem. Exactly. A bicycle requires only about five feet. Agreed (except that I can ride in even much narrower spaces). Motorists simply need to be taught to be patient, and wait until it's safe to pass. Well, sure; but until that happens... (?) “They shouldn’t be in the road,” said Dennis Griffith, 31, of Newport. “If a motorist didn’t see them, they don’t stand a chance up against a car.” This attitude of course is utter BS - and the root of the problem. I have to say I just about felt like I didn't belong in that concrete enclosed narrow lanes no lane changes allowed highway construction zone. It felt pretty hairy. Everybody was very accommodating though (lucked out). Like I said - didn't know what I was getting into. But I don't need bike lanes, either. I will use them (sometimes); or maybe not. The beauty of riding bike to me is that I can (and do) go almost anywhere. snip |
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Sharing the road with cyclists
On 09-15-2012 22:41, Phil W Lee wrote:
Well, my recumbent dealer calls my crutch holders "rocket launchers" but as they are mounted on the back of the seat they are at the wrong angle - maybe some use as mortar tubes? You have to practice the swerve/brake/skid 180° stunt-driver action, then add "Fire!" at just the right moment. -- Wes Groleau Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest thou also be like unto him. Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise according to his own conceit. — Solomon Are you saying there's no good way to answer a fool? — Groleau |
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Sharing the road with cyclists
On 9/16/2012 1:24 PM, Wes Groleau wrote:
On 09-15-2012 22:41, Phil W Lee wrote: Well, my recumbent dealer calls my crutch holders "rocket launchers" but as they are mounted on the back of the seat they are at the wrong angle - maybe some use as mortar tubes? You have to practice the swerve/brake/skid 180° stunt-driver action, then add "Fire!" at just the right moment. Easier to break the real wheel loose if you have a decent amount of torque [1] available. http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2011/11/jorian-ponamareff-video-628.jpg [1] Honda CBR600RR with most of the bodywork removed, and *way* lower than stock gearing. -- Tºm Shermªn - 42.435731°N, 83.985007°W Post Free or Die! |
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