Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

As a bike commuter, I look at those areas marked in green as places where I can escape to if I get cut off, or where I can let a car overtake me. In fact, the narrowing of roadways due to piled up snow is one of the main dangers of winter cycling.


I'm a bike commuter and I commute on these streets. I don't think this is as much of an issue in Philadelphia as it is elsewhere. The roads are all small, one-way streets with stop signs at every block. Cars are rarely going fast enough that they need to overtake a bike before they reach the next intersection where they can pass more easily. Less anecdotally, New York has been making these changes with many intersections and finds the roads are safer for motorists, cyclists and pedestrians.


Anecdotally, the number of car drivers that have the miniscule intelligence required to foresee that overtaking me would yield zero benefit at extreme risk is 0.


The extreme risk to them is zero. If they run you over their insurance goes up, and they can complain to their friends about how some "hipster, commie, hippie biker" was in the wrong for even being on the road.

I know someone that was run over by someone that ran a red light. Her arm was broken, and the lady in the car was in the wrong. The lady that hit her had the gall to call her up later and complain to her that her auto insurance rates had gone up. No shit! You run a red light and hit someone, what do you expect?


Ideally, as a bike commuter, that extra space would be used to create physically isolated lanes for bikes.

(Normal 'bicycle lanes' are a death trap thought up by people that have not ridden a bicycle in their life, and should be avoided at all times.)


Yep, one of the problems with winter driving is the "nowhere to ditch" if it all goes bad. Taking away the area a car or bike use to maneuver can be very dangerous. Bikes are really penalized for having no wiggle room.




Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: