To those of you who put a "ticket" on my car last night.

billmacon · 2011-04-15 12:10:36

The anonymous ticket reads (and it really is in all caps and full of exclamation points, so I'm just quoting): "STOP PARKING IN THE BIKE LANE! IT'S LAZY, SELFISH AND RUDE! BICYCLISTS HAVE TO GO OUT INTO TRAFFIC TO GET AROUND YOUR CAR WHEN THIS LANE IS SUPPOSED TO BE FOR BIKES! THERE IS NO TIME WHEN IT'S OK FOR YOU TO PARK HERE."

If you people knew the laws you wouldn't put "tickets" on my car parked very legally in front of my house. Just because there is a bike lane on my street doesn't mean I can't park there. A bike lane does not take precedence over a parking spot.

I don't dislike bikers, in fact I bike to work probably 3 times a week. I also don't have a problem with you disagreeing with someone who parks in a bike lane, but to (1) deface my vehicle by putting a "ticket" on the windshield; (2) misrepresent what the law is by saying on the ticket "There is no time when it's ok for you to park here"; and (3) do all of this anonymously and in the cover of darkness, is just plain cowardly.

Get over yourselves and learn to deal with cars parked (legally) in bike lanes the way the rest of us do. Use your senses (eyes and ears- that goes for you idiots listening to ipods while you bike) do a quick head turn to gauge oncoming traffic and then merge into the lane for the 0.4 seconds it takes you to pass the parked car.

Further, how is parking on a street "LAZY" or "RUDE"? Is it any lazier than the biker who can't enter "TRAFFIC" for 0.4 seconds? Is it any ruder than a biker who anonymously posts a "ticket" that misrepresents the law on my car in the middle of the night?

If you're riding your bike on a street you certainly should have anticipated entering "TRAFFIC" and how many times have I seen a biker (or many) taking up an entire car lane? You can't have it both ways. You can't argue you have a right to use the car lanes indiscriminately and then argue that it's unsafe for you to enter "TRAFFIC." Geez. Where did you people learn basic logic?

rmonsees · 2011-04-15 16:55:31

Why does your message assume that people on this forum in general don't agree with you? It is an unfortunate fact that it is perfectly legal to park motor vehicles in most bicycle lanes in Austin. The problem with that is it totally defeats the purpose of a bicycle lane, which is to separate bicycle and motor vehicle traffic. Imagine if it were perfectly legal to park bicycles in motor vehicle lanes, and you'll see the problem with the law. I'm of the opinion that if parking is going to be allowed, there's no point in putting in a bicycle lane. It doesn't function as intended. The person who left the note was ignorant and rude, but the source of frustration is understandable.

McChris · 2011-04-15 17:24:23

Where was your car parked? I don't believe parking is permitted in any of the bike lanes in my neighborhood.

MichaelBluejay · 2011-04-15 17:30:24

First, Mr. Macon, rude is spamming your identical message to five different threads on this forum (!), four of which had nothing to do with your rant. It's like bursting into four different meetings having nothing to do with you and starting to scream about something completely unrelated. You forced me to spend more time cleaning that up than it did for you to remove the flier that someone put on your car. You want to talk about rude behavior, look in the mirror.

Next, why do you assume that anyone here put the fliers on your car? Just because we're bicyclists? You claim you're a bicyclist, too, so maybe *you* put the flier on your car -- you can see how silly that assumption is. You know, Mr. Macon, I've been hit & run'd by drivers three times in this city, and since you're a driver, then you're one of "those people", aren't you? I wish "you people" would stop hitting & running me. If "you people" "knew the law" you'd know that that's illegal.

And by the way, how many people do you imagine fliered your car? There are hundreds of people on this forum. Do you think it would have taken all of us to stick a piece of paper under your windshield?

And while you chastise these teeming hordes for not knowing the law, congratulations on missing their point. The flier you quoted shows that they never claimed that you were breaking the law, just that you were being rude. Now, you seem to think that it's impossible to be rude or wrong if it's not against the law, so what if I called you a f**king idiot? That wouldn't be against the law, so there can't possibly be anything wrong with that, right?

I don't know who fliered your car, but I definitely agree with the sentiment. Bike lanes are for bikes, not cars. Parking there anyway is certainly not illegal, but it's still certainly selfish.

dougmc · 2011-04-15 18:42:02

McChris wrote:

I don't believe parking is permitted in any of the bike lanes in my neighborhood.

Perhaps not, but by default parking in bike lanes is permitted in Austin -- if there's no "no parking" sign or something else to make it illegal (paint, fire hydrant, etc.), it's legal.

Austin is rather unusual in this -- in most places, it's illegal to park in bike lanes by default.

Beyond that, Michael summed up my sentiments quite well. I have to generally agree with Rod too, though I wouldn't agree that "the person who left the note was ignorant and rude" -- passive-aggressive, probably, but not ignorant or particularly rude.

MichaelBluejay · 2011-04-15 21:08:19

Oh, and by the way Mr. Macon, most mods, when seeing five identical posts spammed to five different threads, would simply delete *all* your posts and ban you from the site, the same way they'd do with other troublemakers. But I kept one copy of your post up and kept your account active so that you're free to continue to share your feelings with others here. You're welcome.

MichaelBluejay · 2011-06-16 01:41:13

Turns out that Councilmember Randi Shade, who doesn't even ride a bike supports fliering cars in bike lanes. More bad news for Mr. Macon.

Bicycle Austin forum

#1 2011-04-15 12:10:36

To those of you who put a "ticket" on my car last night.

#2 2011-04-15 16:55:31

Re: To those of you who put a "ticket" on my car last night.

#3 2011-04-15 17:24:23

Re: To those of you who put a "ticket" on my car last night.

#4 2011-04-15 17:30:24

Re: To those of you who put a "ticket" on my car last night.

#5 2011-04-15 18:42:02

Re: To those of you who put a "ticket" on my car last night.

#6 2011-04-15 21:08:19

Re: To those of you who put a "ticket" on my car last night.

#7 2011-06-16 01:41:13

Re: To those of you who put a "ticket" on my car last night.

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