Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Carter O'Brien on July 29, 2011 at 7:39am

It might just be in the downtown area, there are yellow stripes demarcating the "big lanes," and then there are white stripes that (very possible the signs have faded to oblivion) say Ped, or something like that.

 

I understand people aren't going to stay walking single-file along the right edge of course, but the rule of thumb is slow to the right regardless (same as escalators on the CTA, standees to the right, walkers on the left). 

 

What I find most ridiculous about the situation is that on the lakefront besides the LFP you have a 1/4 mile of beach, parkland, and, b/n Oak and Navy Pier, other concrete.  What is it with people that they intrinsically are drawn to where they don't belong?  Nobody should ever be walking right down the middle of the LFP, yet it happens daily, and the bike cops don't do a bloody thing about it. 

 

A good example of poorly-thought out design - that "jogger path" that runs along the LFP just south of Fullerton - almost nobody uses it.  Waste of space, waste of money.  Put a dedicated bike lane along that western strip, it could be done, there are a few trees which would need to be moved and other obstacles, but putting pedestrians in a situation where they always need to cross the LFP to go from the beach to a hot dog stand or the restrooms is so shortsighted it's almost evil.

 

I agree with the poster that said it would be worth the time and effort to completely rethink the LFP, it has too many inconsistent markings, too many conflict zones (benches and kiosks right off the path), and most importantly, doesn't separate wheels and heels.  A *good* example of how that was done can be directly credited to ATA/Chicago Bike Fed, which had a new path made to go around (on the west) of the North Ave beach house - for decades that was the worst part of the path, now it's about the best.

 

On announcing ourselves to potential people crossing our path, there really isn't a perfect option.  I don't have the lungpower or desire to be able to yell "On your left" 200 ft before I pass someone, and often the path is so crowded nothing you say would ever make an impact.  Thinking the bell is well worth the $15 investment...

S said:

Carter O'Brien said:

It's just common sense.  The LFP does have stripes indicating where the bikes go, and where the pedestrians go, and the default etiquette in Chicago is always slow on the right, passing on the left.

I haven't really noticed stripes separating pedestrian and bike portions of the path, where is this located?  The vast majority of the path has a striped line down the middle separating north and south bound traffic and that's about it.

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Permalink Reply by MagMileMarauder on July 29, 2011 at 8:20am

The bike/person/horse/skater/stroller in front of you should always have the right of way. So even if you ring or yell "ON YOUR LEFT, KIND SIR or MADAM", it's one's responsibility to avoid a collision.

 

This is analogous to tailgating for cars. Very often on the fast lane of Interstates. Another example is skiing, where the person below you has the right of way.

 

Still, bells >>> "On your left"  IMO.

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Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on July 29, 2011 at 9:27am

What surprises me the most about this discussion (and watching the behavior of some riders on the LFP) is that there seems to be sense of entitlement to the right of way over all other path users.

 

I'm sorry to say that an overtaking bicycle does NOT have the right of way over the other users in front him him/her going the same way regardless of how loud they yell, how many bells, whistles, air-horns or firecrackers they deploy to get the walkers/joggers/roller-blader's attention.

 

It's a matter of courtesy for slower users to let the faster movers by -just like it is on the road. But it not required and the faster bicycles are NOT ambulances or emergency vehicles that DO have the right of way in these situations.  

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Permalink Reply by Garth Liebhaber on July 29, 2011 at 9:37am

I would like to apologize for the lack of sympathy in my previous post. Especially when you have children, you think differently.

 

I would like to encourage Dario to not give up, to reflect on it and take away an important lesson. We've all been there. We've all had near misses, or hits, and had to acknowledge that we have to do what's in our control.

 

There's a psychological phenomena occurring here. I live near Lincoln and Cullom where the cyclist was k****d last month. My wife saw the mangled bike and told me about it -very upsettedly. I found myself wanting to blame the cyclist. Why? Because if it wasn't the bicyclists "fault" then the bicyclist had no control over the situation.

 

That means that I, too, don't have complete control when I'm out riding my bike - I'm at the mercy of someone else. That's a difficult reality to be confronted with. Especially when severe injury or worse is factored in.

That's why I don't ride my bicycle down Ashland. Or Western.

 

Somebody can always come out of nowhere and injure us, but we have to be tenacious in taking as much control over our riding situation as we can. - it's ultimately our best way of keeping safe. Being "in the right" doesn't matter much after the accident, because it's the bicyclist who will generally be injured. And it's no fun to be the one that caused somebody else's injury, either!

 

Perhaps a few "bell awareness" or "rules of the LFP" signs are in order?

 

 

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Permalink Reply by Carter O'Brien on July 29, 2011 at 10:25am

Not necessarily.  I think you're assuming the person in front is more-or-less behaving according to basic path etiquette.  But just because it often is ignored does not mean it doesn't exist- of course there are basic rules for the path, if there weren't they wouldn't have lanes there in the first place.

 

I've been riding to/on the lakefront since the early 80s, most people are and always have been respectful of those around them, but jerks will be jerks regardless of what their mode of transport is & nobody should get a free pass to do so simply as they aren't on a bike. 

 

People walking 3 or 4 abreast and taking both lanes have no business complaining about a cyclist yelling at them, it's not the cyclist creating the bottleneck, it's them.  Walking a dog you can't control because of a 15' extendable leash on the path is criminally stupid and selfish.

 

And rollerbladers aren't analogous to cars on the highway in front of you unless said car is weaving back and forth from one lane to another.  If a car did that, it would be pulled over, and the driver given a breathalyzer test for driving like a drunk.  Your other example of tailgating in the passing lane is an example of more gray area - I have seen plenty of reasonable interpretations of the law which describe the left lane as both a "fast lane" (inferred by signs that say "Slower traffic keep right") as well as a "passing lane" (which means pass the guy in front of you and then move back over to the right.

 

I'm not defending the Tour de France wanna-be's who are trying to bike 25 mph on a Saturday afternoon or during the evening rush hour.  I'm actually not supporting the idea a cyclist is entitled to pass people, period.

 

But there are basic rules of etiquette for the LFP, and generally cyclists are far, far, far removed from the worst offenders camp.  I'm not surrendering my right to ride a bike at a moderate speed along the only extended car-free stretch of Chicago just because people feel they should be able to watch volleyball while standing in the path, or to turn the LFP into a dog park where they socialize in the middle of it.

 

MagMileMarauder said:

The bike/person/horse/skater/stroller in front of you should always have the right of way. So even if you ring or yell "ON YOUR LEFT, KIND SIR or MADAM", it's one's responsibility to avoid a collision.

 

This is analogous to tailgating for cars. Very often on the fast lane of Interstates. Another example is skiing, where the person below you has the right of way.

 

Still, bells >>> "On your left"  IMO.

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Permalink Reply by Doug Haynes on July 29, 2011 at 10:32am

Why should we, as cyclists, expect people to move out of our way as if we were emergency vehicles; way to share the road.

Rowbike Mike said:

 

It sounds like the response we want from pedestrians and others on the path is similar to what automobile drivers (should) do when an ambulance or fire truck is trying to get to an emergency - i.e., watch out for the vehicle that needs to get past you.  I wonder if the solution is to have, not a siren, but something that you can activate early enough, and which repeats a noise, so that people aren't caught off guard.  Maybe it's just as simple as continuously ringing a bell as you approach someone from behind to pass. 

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Permalink Reply by Doug Haynes on July 29, 2011 at 10:38am

Stop for a second and think about how the original post reads to someone who is not a cyclist.  The O/P screamed a threat at somebody who did not mean to cause an accident; can you blame them for taking off on the whole scene?

Ruby Red said:

 

I think the general sarcasm on this thread is a little surprising and unnecessary. The guy had a serious scare and now he has a baby he can't even hold because of it. He's making a personal choice. Don't judge. Take it as informational and make your own decisions.

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Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on July 29, 2011 at 10:48am

Some of the reasoning I'm readiing sounds just like what is going through a car-driver head when us damn slow bicyclists are in their way.  Beep-BEEP!  Get on the sidewalk and off the road!

 

notoriousDUG said:

Why should we, as cyclists, expect people to move out of our way as if we were emergency vehicles; way to share the road.

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Permalink Reply by Tank-Ridin' Ryan on July 29, 2011 at 12:03pm

Who died?  When's the funeral?  It definitely wasn't hyperbole - that's alive and well.  Thanks for the movie recommendation.

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Permalink Reply by Kevin C Dormant on July 29, 2011 at 4:18pm

Between May and October, with very few exceptions, the Lake Front Path is neither a suitable nor a safe place to ride a bike. I can't say I never ride it, but I ride it about as frequently as I ride on Western Avenue.

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Permalink Reply by Chris B on July 29, 2011 at 5:52pm

For the OP I hope you called the hotline and taking a break is probably good. In a couple months you'll have some better perspective and able to decide better what you should do. Don't forget the other positive benefits of cycling you'll bring as a dad: calmer, in a better mood when you get home compared to aggravated dealing with public transportation or driving, fitter, more time to spend, etc.

 

re: the LFP, Thursday i was passed by  this guy going a bit fast  . It looks like I am going faster than I remember, I remember barely moving, but even for going slow in the Oak street curve area I still slowed down a lot when I saw the barely supervised kid on the left, then I heard this guy yell "watch your kid!" as he zoomed by.

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Permalink Reply by Garth Liebhaber on July 29, 2011 at 7:09pm

As though he's doing them a favor. Of course the kid shouldn't be on the path, but is he prepared to stop if the kid steps in front of him?

 

When I ride the Lakefront Path in the day, I enjoy it for what it is. I enjoy seeing all the people, I enjoy negotiating the space respectfully with others, it's like a mobile park.

 

I really like riding the Lakefront Path at night, though! Especially the side trails. This evening I sat by the lake by Addison for a while. I noticed there were stars, which are hard to see in the city. And of all things, I saw a shooting star, burning up in the atmosphere. That was cool. On Sunday mornings, the area around the Montrose bird Sanctuary is really cool. I like waking up really early and heading out there. The cool morning air, and the sounds and smells that only happen at that time. Then I ride down to Belmont, cut over to Lincoln and ride home.

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