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MichaelBluejay

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From: Austin, TX

Registered: 2008-05-26

Posts: 1,466

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Surprising neighborhood support for white hockey-stick barriers

On Nextdoor.com, a neighbor complained about the vertical white plastic barriers the City put in the street near some intersections, separating the car lane from the bike lane, saying they were an eyesore.  Surprisingly, most neighbors disagreed with him, saying they enhance cyclist safety.  Or maybe not so surprising:  while the *general public* has a disdain for cyclists and their safety, people on Nextdoor.com are more likely to be community-minded, by definition.

Here's the original complaint:

New stupid street nonsense in your neighborhood
Let's put little white poles obstructing turns at the intersection! Come see what nonsense our idiot city planners have added to Threadgill and Zach Scott. Now it's impossible to turn onto Zach Scott from the side street. And it's an eyesore as well. Stay tuned as the city ruins our streets, one block at a time.NOTE***BICYCLE LANES ARE NOT THE PROBLEM HERE...we have had safe lanes on our street for many years.. this is about implementing A BAD SOLUTION TO A NON-EXISTENT  PROBLEM***

And selected, excerpted responses:

Here's the nuance I think is lost here: another tragedy is the number of people who *aren't* riding bikes because they're too afraid for their safety.  I'm a grown adult competent rider comfortable on a street in traffic.  An elderly person on a bike might not be so comfortable; a person with a disability might not be so comfortable; a novice right might not, and so forth.  When we opine the aesthetics of bike lane hockey sticks, we should do so only after first considering what it is like to be a parent teaching their child to ride a bike in that lane.  What may seem a nuisance to you is a world of difference in opening up access to the city for so, so many.

The above comment got 21 Likes, while the OP's got only 5

This is a good addition.  I've witnessed plenty of cars driving in the buffer and in the bike lanes themselves!  If the drivers can't obey the lines, it's time for a gentle reminder.

I drive Zach Scott every morning and evening and haven't had any issues turning.  I'm assuming you are trying to turn at a speed higher than the turns are designed.

As someone who often bikes, walks, runs, whatever through Mueller, I gotta say, the number of cars who almost hit me every. single. time. is rather astounding.  And it is mostly because people in their cars will fly through right turns without looking to their left and will almost mow down anyone who might be coming and who assumes they are safe because they are in a neighborhood and have the right of way where they are.  Anything to make a neighborhood safer, and that might make a driver look around a little more than they might usually do... especially in a place with so many people out walking and bike riding, is a good thing.

There are a lot of kids in Mueller; some of them may be riding for pretty close to their first time. Anything that makes it safer for them is a good thing. If it means the rest of us have to slow down a little - well, that's an even better thing.

I’d be willing to bet that the unfettered freedom to breed is worse for traffic control than the city....

People who never ride bikes have no ground to comment on how bike safety measures are an "eyesore". I never ride much myself. But every person riding a bike to work, is 1 less car on the road. Given Austin's ridiculous traffic, that's a good thing. If you are in a car and get into a minor accident, it will most likely be harmless. Cyclists don't have that luxury. An accident for them is very likely to be fatal.

Protected bike lanes save lives: https://usa.streetsblog.org/2019/05/29/ … tudy-says/

Not all of the responses were anti-OP and pro-bike safety, but most of them were.  That's a far cry from what you'd see at, say, the end of a Statesman article.

Jack

Member

Registered: 2013-03-27

Posts: 344

Re: Surprising neighborhood support for white hockey-stick barriers

Nice to see, for a change.