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Permalink Reply by Christopher Williams on October 10, 2015 at 9:25am

What exactly are they cracking down on?  Ticketing cyclists who ignore road signs, or what?

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Permalink Reply by mike w. on October 11, 2015 at 2:41am

The usual, i suppose. Things like stop signs, two or more abreast... looks like a First World Problem of the Week. A few vocal drivers bitching about having to share the road, a few misbehaving cyclists. We see this every few years, these crackdowns, until something else gets the attention of the Discontented. Maybe next year it will be noisy landscaping crews or "excessive" holiday decorations. Possible by spring this will all be forgotten for a little while.

The very real danger here is that these villages will ban all bicycle traffic that isn't on a designated trail -think Sheridan Rd in Lake Bluff. 

We riders have to be aware of our actions, especially when we're in a group. While i'm not into blaming us for our difficulties with the law, let's just be aware that we have a vocal hostile audience in the form of Entitled Motorists and we are in their crosshairs.

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Permalink Reply by Yasmeen on October 11, 2015 at 4:35am

Thanks Mike.

There are a few concerns - as Mike mentioned, towns could restrict certain routes, banning bikes on some of our best routes. Another concern is that animosity can lead to putting cyclists in danger with impatient drivers that view cyclists as a pain. I think this goes back to needing to speak up when we see dangerous behavior, be careful to respect the laws, be respectful of the towns (and people in the towns) we pass through, etc. The linked opinion piece/article also provides some contacts. I do think cyclists need a PR campaign to humanize us more to motorists and this is another example of why. I also recommend going over to Chainlink's Facebook page and reading the comments there. Lots of good discussion taking place about the issues.

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