Bitter battle between motorists and bikers
Aamer Madhani, USA TODAY 5:47 p.m. EDT July 14, 2014
CHICAGO — The problem for cyclist Gillian Wu started when she yelled at a gaggle of pedestrians lingering in the bike lane to get out of the way.
The group, which included a woman carrying a small child, responded with jeers. Wu, 21, a heavy user of this city's extensive bike lane system, said she decided to stop anyway, hoping she could engage the group constructively.
Instead, one man in the group told her he hoped she'd get splattered by a semi, called her entitled and concluded "the world would be a better place without me and people like me," according to Wu.
"I think there are a lot of people who can relate to that aggression," said Wu, who first vented about the incident in an open letter on Craigslist this month. "I think there are also a lot of people who can relate to the way I felt. But there have got to be more productive ways to have this conversation."
Wu's letter went viral and spurred a spirited — and sometimes vitriolic — debate in which some motorists berated cyclists as thoughtless, spandex-clad elitists who pay no heed to traffic laws, while bikers noted that motorists are responsible for thousands of deaths and hundreds of thousands of injuries annually as a result of unsafe driving.
Over the past decade, "bike lane backlash" has been commonplace as communities big and small have established thousands of miles of dedicated cycling lanes throughout the country. Local governments consider bike lanes with nearly all long-term road projects.
The rage may have hit a peak last week after a prominent Washington Post columnist suggested some motorists might think it worth paying a fine to hit bicyclists.
That column came days after National Public Radio host Scott Simon faced public scorn from cyclists after he wrote on Twitter, "Any walk through downtown demonstrates cyclists think they are above the law. Does that explain Lance Armstrong?" Seemingly chastened, Simon later wrote on his feed that he learned many cyclists feel threatened by cars.
The issue has become an emotional one for Americans as drivers are increasingly told they'll have to share the road with bike riders, an adaptation that has been easier said than done for a car-obsessed country.
Biking has boomed in recent years as cities have gone on a "road diet" to reduce congestion, cut air pollution and improve quality of life. It still represents a tiny fraction of how Americans get around in the country's largest cities.
Most perplexing is how the tensions over America's roadways show no signs of dissipating even as cycling on dedicated bike lanes has increasingly become an option for Americans, particularly those in and around urban centers.
The number of Americans traveling to work by bike spiked by 60% from 2000 to 2012, according to U.S. Census Bureau statistics. In the USA's 50 largest cities, bike commuting accounts for 1% of work travel. Cycling advocates point to polls that show Americans overwhelmingly support establishing bike lanes in their communities and are more likely to cycle when lanes are established.
But when officials push to create dedicated bike lanes, they routinely face stiff resistance.
In Louisville, which has established about 40 miles of bike lanes over the past year, the lanes have ignited an intense debate between motorists and bicyclists about rights and responsibilities, access and public funding.
Last month, the City Council put a temporary stop on funding new bike lanes until Mayor Greg Fischer's staff provides a report on bike network plans. Council members called on the mayor to report on the potential for taxing bicyclists through licensing fees.
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel is getting close to reaching the goal he set in 2011 of establishing 100 miles of protected bike lanes — lanes shielded by poles and other barriers. Emanuel has made the case that bike lanes are a critical tool to creating a quality of life in Chicago that attracts businesses and families.
There is growing opposition from business owners and residents in the northwest corner of the city over a plan to establish protected bike lanes in that area. One option under consideration would reduce four traffic lanes down to two for motorists on a busy 2-mile stretch of road.
Businesses — and a Chicago police lieutenant running for City Council — launched a petition drive opposing the bike lane expansion and in a matter of days were able to gather 4,000 signatures from area residents.
"We've had six cyclists (ride) by in the last hour," said John Garrido, the Chicago police officer who helped coordinate the petition drive against the bike lanes while off-duty. "Really? You are going to reduce lanes of traffic and create more congestion for a few bikes?"
David Wians, who heads the neighborhood Chamber of Commerce, remarked that collecting signatures was easier than he expected. Older residents, many of whom railed at a recent community meeting about bicyclists who roll through stop signs and disregard red lights, led the charge.
"A couple of my clients came in here and saw the petitions," said Wians, an insurance agent. "They went to bingo that night and came back the next day with eight pages of signatures."
In Indianapolis, Mayor Greg Ballard's goal of establishing 200 miles of trails and bike lanes has come under fire from motorists who prefer their roads bike-free and from council members who argue the money would be better spent fixing the city's crumbling infrastructure.
"The bicycle lanes can't be a high priority when you're a billion dollars underfunded for streets and sidewalks," said Indianapolis City Council member Vernon Brown, according to The Indianapolis Star.
The war between bicyclists and drivers has even worked its way into pop culture. IFC's hit comedy series Portlandia has poked fun at the long-running tensions between cyclists and motorists in Portland, Ore. — which leads the nation with 6.1% of work commutes by bike — with a sketch featuring a character who yammers about "bicycle rights" as he rides through the city.
The debate may have hit a new level of absurdity last week in the nation's capital, which has carved out about 72 miles of bike lanes, after Washington Post columnist Courtland Milloy derided bike riders as bullies who are discourteous to drivers and pedestrians.
Milloy's column spurred a protest on the newspaper's headquarters by angry cyclists who took particular exception to a provocative line in Milloy's column: "It's a $500 fine for a motorist to hit a bicyclist in the District, but some behaviors are so egregious that some drivers might think it's worth paying the fine," Milloy wrote.
Robert Schneider, an assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee's school of architecture and urban planning, suggested that the strife between cyclists, motorists and pedestrians over roadways is the predictable outcome of bicycling emerging over the past decade as a practical mode of transportation for more than just a fringe population.
When there is change in how any public space is being used, there is inevitably going to be tension as different interests compete for finite space, he said.
A study of five U.S. cities with extensive bike lane infrastructure published last month by Portland State University showed that 60% of respondents who lived near areas where bike lanes had been established said the changes in their neighborhood were positive for bicycling. Thirty-six percent said changes have been positive for walking, and 50% said changes in their neighborhood as a place for driving were negative as a result of the bike lanes.
"The most productive and helpful thing communities need to do … is to think of our roadways as places where we all have a shared responsibility to be safe and to behave according to the laws," said Schneider, who has consulted for several cities on bike lane projects. "In the long run, places with a good mix of transportation have shown to be safer than places that are just car-oriented."
Shane Farthing, the executive director of the Washington Area Bicyclist Association, said one problem the cycling community struggles to overcome is the perception that bike lanes are established by cities catering to Millennials and high-income whites.
U.S. Census data show cycling to work is more popular with Americans in lower-income households than it is with the wealthy. A larger percentage of Hispanics and multiracial Americans bike to work than do whites and African-Americans, according to the data.
"In some cases, a bike has become a symbol for some folks of so many social, historical, racial, demographic and mobility issues that have been packed over so much time and space," Farthing said. "At that point, the debate is not about bikes anymore."
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/07/14/bike-lane-back...
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Vilda on
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There was another petition brought to bingo about free oatmeal for old people and they all signed it.
YAY ANGRY OLD PEOPLE!
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Permalink Reply by Fran Kondorf on
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"GET OFF (the street in front of) MY LAWN!"
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Permalink Reply by Mike Zumwalt on
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"The rage may have hit a peak last week after a prominent Washington Post columnist suggested some motorists might think it worth paying a fine to hit bicyclists."
Hitting a pedestrian carries these fines so what are drivers thinking?
Hit and Run of an injured person is a Class 2 Felony which carries a possible sentence of up to 7 years in a state penitentiary and/or a fine of up to $25,000.
If the accident causes the death of a person, Hit and Run becomes a Class 1 Felony which carries a possible sentence of up to 15 years in a state penitentiary and/or a fine of up to $25,000.
The bike lanes in Chicago seem to be experiments and they're inconsistent through out the city still the law provides that a bike can take the lane regardless but since that's nearly suicide bike lanes at least won't get the response from drivers to "get the hell out of the road/my way...".
"We've had six cyclists (ride) by in the last hour," said John Garrido, the Chicago police officer who helped coordinate the petition drive against the bike lanes while off-duty. "Really? You are going to reduce lanes of traffic and create more congestion for a few bikes?"
Maybe on the far reaches of the city not a lot of people bike, it certainly isn't convenient or possibly even pleasurable to ride downtown from Jefferson Park, or Austin but in places like Wicker,Logan Sq the loop, Lakeview,Andersonville it's more like 6 cyclists every few minutes.
Last check was 30,000 people rode their bike to work in the loop that's hardly a few.
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Permalink Reply by Chitown_Mike on
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I live in the Jeff Park area and ride into the city a few times a week. I stay off of Milwaukee because they might as well host a F1 or NASCAR race with the cars, buses, and trucks. That said, I STILL don't want to have Milwaukee go to one lane. I do want better marked bike lanes and more police enforcement, but it isn't a heavily used area for cyclist so to revamp it like they wanted to seem over reaching.
However if they city needs more revenue they can sit by the McDonalds by Milwaukee and Elston and write tickets all day for left-,right hooks, cars parked in the bike lane, and cars driving in the bike lane. 3 times this week I have almost been crushed or hit right there. Not excited about the winter time when drivers haven't let their windows defrost completely......
Mike Zumwalt said:"The rage may have hit a peak last week after a prominent Washington Post columnist suggested some motorists might think it worth paying a fine to hit bicyclists."
Hitting a pedestrian carries these fines so what are drivers thinking?
Hit and Run of an injured person is a Class 2 Felony which carries a possible sentence of up to 7 years in a state penitentiary and/or a fine of up to $25,000.
If the accident causes the death of a person, Hit and Run becomes a Class 1 Felony which carries a possible sentence of up to 15 years in a state penitentiary and/or a fine of up to $25,000.
The bike lanes in Chicago seem to be experiments and they're inconsistent through out the city still the law provides that a bike can take the lane regardless but since that's nearly suicide bike lanes at least won't get the response from drivers to "get the hell out of the road/my way...".
"We've had six cyclists (ride) by in the last hour," said John Garrido, the Chicago police officer who helped coordinate the petition drive against the bike lanes while off-duty. "Really? You are going to reduce lanes of traffic and create more congestion for a few bikes?"
Maybe on the far reaches of the city not a lot of people bike, it certainly isn't convenient or possibly even pleasurable to ride downtown from Jefferson Park, or Austin but in places like Wicker,Logan Sq the loop, Lakeview,Andersonville it's more like 6 cyclists every few minutes.
Last check was 30,000 people rode their bike to work in the loop that's hardly a few.
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Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on
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Similar to what we have with Vincennes on the far south side in sections where we haven't yet gotten buffered or protected lanes. Major speeding, lane weaving, drivers cutting other folks off, etc.
Chitown_Mike said:I live in the Jeff Park area and ride into the city a few times a week. I stay off of Milwaukee because they might as well host a F1 or NASCAR race with the cars, buses, and trucks.
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I laughed, but totally agree. I feel bump outs and more traffic lights will slow down Milwaukee ave traffic but still allow for 2 lanes. Devon and Milwaukee is a nightmare and regularly backs up to almost Elston in the morning commute.
Since riding exclusively I now see why I hated my life by the time I got to work.....traffic!
h' 1.0 said:The drivers that need a 4-lane highway through the northwest side can use the Kennedy.
Chitown_Mike said:I live in the Jeff Park area and ride into the city a few times a week. I stay off of Milwaukee because they might as well host a F1 or NASCAR race with the cars, buses, and trucks. That said, I STILL don't want to have Milwaukee go to one lane. I do want better marked bike lanes and more police enforcement, but it isn't a heavily used area for cyclist so to revamp it like they wanted to seem over reaching.
However if they city needs more revenue they can sit by the McDonalds by Milwaukee and Elston and write tickets all day for left-,right hooks, cars parked in the bike lane, and cars driving in the bike lane. 3 times this week I have almost been crushed or hit right there. Not excited about the winter time when drivers haven't let their windows defrost completely......
Mike Zumwalt said:"The rage may have hit a peak last week after a prominent Washington Post columnist suggested some motorists might think it worth paying a fine to hit bicyclists."
Hitting a pedestrian carries these fines so what are drivers thinking?
Hit and Run of an injured person is a Class 2 Felony which carries a possible sentence of up to 7 years in a state penitentiary and/or a fine of up to $25,000.
If the accident causes the death of a person, Hit and Run becomes a Class 1 Felony which carries a possible sentence of up to 15 years in a state penitentiary and/or a fine of up to $25,000.
The bike lanes in Chicago seem to be experiments and they're inconsistent through out the city still the law provides that a bike can take the lane regardless but since that's nearly suicide bike lanes at least won't get the response from drivers to "get the hell out of the road/my way...".
"We've had six cyclists (ride) by in the last hour," said John Garrido, the Chicago police officer who helped coordinate the petition drive against the bike lanes while off-duty. "Really? You are going to reduce lanes of traffic and create more congestion for a few bikes?"
Maybe on the far reaches of the city not a lot of people bike, it certainly isn't convenient or possibly even pleasurable to ride downtown from Jefferson Park, or Austin but in places like Wicker,Logan Sq the loop, Lakeview,Andersonville it's more like 6 cyclists every few minutes.
Last check was 30,000 people rode their bike to work in the loop that's hardly a few.
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Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on
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THIS
A million times THIS!
h' 1.0 said:The drivers that need a 4-lane highway through the northwest side can use the Kennedy.
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Then don't bitch about it. The Kennedy is proof-positive that the Internal-Combustion rapid-transit model of transportation is flawed beyond redemption. Don't like it? Then get on a bike and shut the frak up.
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You might interpret it as hostility.
I feel that I am simply stating universal truths.
"In a time of universal deceit - telling the truth is a revolutionary act" --George Orwell
Potato/potahtoe...
Duane Waller said:Dude, why the hostility? I'm not bitching about anything, I don't even own a car so I ride everywhere. So I guess I'll get on my bike and shut the frak up.
James BlackHeron said:Then don't bitch about it. The Kennedy is proof-positive that the Internal-Combustion rapid-transit model of transportation is flawed beyond redemption. Don't like it? Then get on a bike and shut the frak up.
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I'd LOVE that to be the case, but I don't see how it would happen. The demographic of my area is pretty much elderly that haven't moved out, or young families (like my wife and I). There really isn't anything happening up our way in regards to attracting a younger crowd. Most of my friends I grew up with moved into areas like Lincoln Park, Bucktown, and so on where the younger crowds are.
However I could be completely wrong and I'd love to see changes done. Especially push back the allowed parking line so as I pull out in a car (when I do drive) I can see further than 5 feet down the bike lane.
Davis Moore said:Maybe the reason it isn't heavily used is because the current conditions suck? Build it and they will come.
Chitown_Mike said:...it it isn't a heavily used area for cyclist so to revamp it like they wanted to seem over reaching.
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Until Devon and Lawrence....then back to blah. But I get off at Lawrence and take Milwaukee home when I do drive, I just use Elston to get into the city on a bike. I love cruising past stuck motorists on Elston....ahhh, refreshing!
Duane Waller said:Even a two-lane Milwaukee moves faster than the Kennedy 90% of the time.
James BlackHeron said:THIS
A million times THIS!
h' 1.0 said:The drivers that need a 4-lane highway through the northwest side can use the Kennedy.
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