Quote:
Originally Posted by atbw
Your way of cycling is similar to my current way of cycling - keep moving, move like a car. This is fine for you and me, and my riding buddies, but it sucks for the mom taking her kids to school, the kids riding home from school, or when I want to take my girlfriend on a relaxed ride over to Dartmouth. Riding in 50km/h traffic, shoulder checking and changing lanes is not a chill time for anyone who isn't already on the roads.
I find the 2-step turns a bit of a pain, but once the lights are operational I'm hoping they're phased in a convenient way.
One other thing - think of the size of a Honda Civic from 30 years ago, and the size of a Honda Civic now. The sedan from 30 years ago represents a class of vehicle which no longer exists today. Everything is a crossover, or an SUV, or a pickup truck, longer, wider, and heavier than in years before. Drivers see less, and are driving vehicles that may be safer for themselves, but more dangerous for those around them. So, traffic separation becomes a baseline requirement.
A last point on old infrastructure - really the only place that is a big challenge is right downtown. Most of the streetscape off the peninsula is mid-century or newer, and can accommodate cycling infrastructure fine. Montreal is big and old and has narrow streets and it's one of the top cities in North America for cycling. I think there's an idea (not saying this is your stance, just rambling) that Halifax is uniquely unsuitable for cycling when that isn't really the case.
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Yes, that's exactly how I rode, as if I were part of traffic. Also having car-driving experience helped, as I tried to imagine situations where it would be difficult to see a bicycle as a driver, and rode the bike to avoid conflict with cars when possible. I actually liked riding that way, giving 100% every time I rode, as it was exciting in a sense and a good workout at the same time. I suppose I liked the adrenaline rush as well...
There was no bike infrastructure in Halifax/Dartmouth at the time, and dicing it out in traffic did put you into situations where you felt like a sitting duck and had to hope for the best. The solution was to get out of it as fast as possible. But I was young and 'invincible' at the time so I didn't linger on it much.
You make a good point that there needs to be a safe way for everybody to bike, not just those who are willing to take the risks... and maybe you just want to have a leisurely ride (or aren't able to ride banzai style) and not worry so much about getting smoked by a car or truck every time you go out.
Sedans are less of a worry to me than trucks. 30-40 years ago there were lots of large sedans on the road (the Plymouth Fury that cut me off in my story was all of 18 feet long).
Pickup trucks, however have grown to monstrous sizes, almost caricatures of their previous selves. I have driven a 5-ton straight truck and was surprised how little you can see of traffic around you, or even in front of you - kind of like "driving by braille" in a sense. You can lose a whole car in front of you due to the height of the hood. You have large mirrors but still can't completely see who is beside you, and before the advent of rear view cameras, could see nothing behind you. In driving and cycling it's always best to assume that they don't see you, because they probably don't.
The newer pickup trucks are similar, but not as bad (but still bad). I once drove a newer F-150 that a work associate had rented, and it was so much harder to see around than older trucks. If there was anything I could change about the auto industry, it would be to bring pickup trucks back to sensible sizes. The move away from sedans and to SUVs among the general public doesn't make it any easier for cyclists, as they are higher and heavier than sedans - more truck-like in terms of seeing pedestrians/cyclists, and more likely to kill or maim in a collision situation.
Another issue with all newer vehicles that I think most people aren't aware of, is that a number of years rollover standards were raised, resulting in A-pillar (the pillar at each side of the windshield) width increases. On top of that, many manufacturers install airbags in the A-pillar garnishes making them even bigger. I had noticed the change as it was happening, and found that it was possible to lose a pedestrian or cyclist in the A-pillar of some vehicles, so I adjusted my driving to include sweeping looks around the pillar to make sure I could see any person around my vehicle.
As car operation goes, I find that the past decade or so has yielded more aggressive and less attentive drivers. Drivers that continue to use their cell phones while driving, despite the fact that it's illegal. Cars that have more gizmos and touch screens that take your attention away from the road even when doing simple tasks like adjusting HVAC settings. Cars with more "safety equipment/software" that lull drivers into a false sense of security and allows them to often overdrive their capabilities. Plus, I find (honestly) that people just seem to be more combative and less empathetic than in times past (even pre-pandemic times). And did I say aggressive? I'll say it again. Combine all that and you have a hazardous situation when you are a cyclist mixing with traffic.
My point about infrastructure is just that it is more of a challenge to retrofit existing roads and signals for cycling when it was never a consideration originally. Also it costs a lot of money to put it in, and can result in a lot of incohesive infrastructure that makes it a little better but still doesn't do the job. And then there's the bike-lane-by-painted-line approach, which is just one step above useless in that it provides no protection, but gives cyclists false confidence that drivers will understand and obey. I've seen several instances where drivers have misread painted bike lanes and just driven in them... thankfully there were no cyclists in them at the time.
So... yeah, cycling infrastructure is needed. I was questioning the signals as I'm still not sure of their effectiveness overall in alleviating safety problems. I hope it doesn't give a false sense of security to cyclists who trust the signals completely while a driver makes a right turn through lack of attention or a feeling of entitlement.
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he's the contrarian that keeps the forum from falling into the mundane and boring. Been that way since I've been around at least.
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