CBS's Dave Savini looks into hazards for cyclists on the news...

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Permalink Reply by Skip Montanaro 0mi on September 28, 2016 at 5:40am

Good piece. I agree, it's a bit disappointing that Rob Johnson used a version of the "cars are entitled" argument with his comment about losing car lanes to bike lanes.

Something just occurred to me, and perhaps it deserves its own thread, but...

Many pf us who ride regularly in the city commute to and from work. There are a lot of reasons why we ride bikes, but there are advantages for our employers as well. They have healthier, generally happier employees, so their health insurance costs are lower. They don't have to subsidize downtown parking for employees who commute by bike. Employers don't like losing healthy, happy, productive employees, either temporarily or permanently. It seems it would be in their best interests to advocate for safer bike infrastructure throughout the city. With the relatively large focus on USPS in Dave Savini's piece, maybe that would be a good place to start. Despite the likely crushing bureaucracy at USPS, perhaps Savini can provide a good place to start.

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Permalink Reply by Jeremy Bloyd-Peshkin on September 28, 2016 at 8:56am

I think a lot of employers are realizing the benefits of having their employees commute by bike. I know my company will subsidize any employee's divvy membership, and had designed an indoor badge-access bicycle parking structure into their new building. As a result of that announcement alone, I've seen an increase in the number of people showing up on bikes in the morning! Now if only I could somehow convince them to use their size and status to make some change in the surrounding area...

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Permalink Reply by Gary Gilbert on September 28, 2016 at 9:09am

The report was mostly negative: about parking in bike lanes (mostly post office vehicles);  pot-holes in bike lanes;  dooring; and the recent rash of cycling deaths.  Despite the early promotion of the piece, there was little about  the positive aspects of cycling.  The anti-cycling crowd would love the piece as it lists many reasons not to cycle.

 

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Permalink Reply by Gage B. on September 28, 2016 at 9:29am

My thought of the piece was, what will be the outcome of having this story? Probably nothing.

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Permalink Reply by Jeremy Bloyd-Peshkin on September 28, 2016 at 9:56am

Is it the most positive story? No. But it does get views, and does shed some light on why we don't always ride in the bike lanes even when they exist. Maybe out of the tens of thousands that watch it, five or ten will learn something. That makes it worth it.

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Permalink Reply by Tom A.K. on September 28, 2016 at 10:00am

The report was mostly about the 'frustrating negatives' cyclists have to deal with every day, over and over again, with little hope for timely resolution in this city
Enforcement - currently seems hopeless
Pothole repair - an extremely slow and endless process
I am glad that the television media outlets here are beginning to understand cycling issues in this city.
CBS2 did a good job here.
Yeah, Rob Johnson did his opposing view comment, "what do they expect?"

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Permalink Reply by Jeremy on September 28, 2016 at 10:18am

When Loop Link was being built, Rob Johnson went into the street and did a "what is with this crazy bus lane construction causing all this congestion" piece.  Of course, his channel 2 biography says he lives in "the western suburbs", so he has to drive in to work, which informs his world view.

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Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on September 28, 2016 at 10:47am

'nuff said.

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Permalink Reply by Skip Montanaro 0mi on September 28, 2016 at 11:07am

Maybe doesn't "have to." There's probably a Metra station near where he lives. I presume a bigger driver (sorry for the pun) for his mode of transportation is the hours he keeps at the office. Maybe we should pitch in for a cot so he can nap until the next Metra train leaves the following morning. :-)

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Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on September 28, 2016 at 10:15am

Though this piece wasn't perfect (especially Rob Johnson being a jerk), I appreciate the fact that it brought attention to the problems we're facing. If it actually does some good in terms of getting postal workers NOT to park in bike lanes, that would be a big plus.

If it starts positive dialogue about solving a bunch of persistent problems and results in some progress, that would be a big win.

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Permalink Reply by Maurice on September 28, 2016 at 12:02pm

I agree with this.  There's a lot more he could've said and shown, but he's limited by time.  For example, the promos for the spot included footage that didn't make it into the final segment.  I'm glad they left in the parts where he shames USPS drivers.

 

IIRC, he asked USPS for an official statement, and they said they'd review their parking policy.  I had three reactions to that:  (1) Are they just saying that to blow him off?  (2) If they change their policy, will that have any effect on driver behavior?  (3) Does the current policy encourage them to park in bike lanes?

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Permalink Reply by mike w. on September 28, 2016 at 12:46pm

And when was the last time you saw a post office vehicle get a ticket? Just sayin'...

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