New Haven Independent

Posted by: Nestor Makhno | June 10, 2008 10:40 AM

Until cyclists are perceived as having the same rights as cars (which is unlikely to ever happen) I would rather Elm City Cycling reject the notion that cyclists should obey traffic laws. So often I find it's safer to run a red light than to wait with cars that will invariably crowd me out when the light turns green. Riding defensively is a must if you don't want to get hit, and traffic laws (which I doubt were designed with cyclists in mind anyway) tend to curtail the number of options you have to keep yourself safe.

Posted by: ROBN | June 10, 2008 12:16 PM

The constant whining from bicycle opponents about cyclist infractions is really lame. They totally disregard the difference between an automobile striking a person (often fatal) and a bicycle striking a person (sucky but seldom fatal). Its as if the bicycle opponents said, "I saw a guy steal some candy from a newsstand therefore I'm justified in continuing my own armed robbery."

Posted by: MattUva | June 10, 2008 1:27 PM

Wow! East Rock is tired of renegade cyclists!
How 'bout you stop swinging your car doors at me; I won't have to ride in the middle of the street.
How 'bout you stop parking without a blinker; I won't have to enter opposing traffic to pass you.
How 'bout you stop turning into me at intersections; I won't have to roll through them.
How 'bout you stop riding your bicycles on the sidewalk; you'll be more aware of bikes in the road while driving.
How 'bout you stop swearing at me when I point these things out to you at the next stoplight; I'll stop having to ride like an a**.

Posted by: MattUva | June 10, 2008 1:28 PM

as for the rest of you...
how not to get hit by cars

Posted by: Edward_H | June 10, 2008 5:08 PM

Mattuva

Great website. Thanks

Posted by: dylan | June 10, 2008 6:35 PM

So I was riding my bike down Chapel Street today, toward Wooster Square. The light was green, so I was ready to go through it, but noticed a Jaguar with tinted windows heading towards me at the intersection of Olive Street starting to turn. I slowed, he barely stopped half way to his turn, a couple feet from one another. I shook my head at him, carried on, and the kid rolls down his window a crack and yells "get a car, you fucking faggot!" (my apologies for the expletives).

First of all, I'm not sure how my choice of riding a bike and not paying $4.35 for a gallon of gas makes me a homosexual. Of course, from a kid with more gel in his hair than they ever could have dreamed of for Saturday Night Fever, I'm sure that's just his way of overcompensating and proving he's more of a man than I. But more to the point, I'd say this case pretty well exemplifies the way many motorists feel about cyclists.

That reality is a shame, but I think the only way to change this attitude is for more cyclists to start hitting the road (as they will now undoubtedly decide to do) and preempt the aforementioned lame whining of by bicycle opponents by following traffic laws, even if all those laws are only necessary because of the presence of automobiles.

Posted by: ON WHALLEY | June 10, 2008 9:30 PM

Forgive me, Dylan, but I have to make the obvious joke: Are you sure they didn't confuse you with David Streever?

Posted by: resident | June 11, 2008 2:03 AM

Dylan, I think the only way to change that attitude is for the city to make it VERY clear that bicycles have a right to the road. The city should spend $100,000 on bright road paint and immediately paint enormous bicycle / share the road icons on all of the major streets that are not currently wide enough for bicycle lanes. It should spend another $30,000 completing some of the planned lanes. Not only would this send a strong message, it would help calm traffic.

The city should also spend $5,000 to print out a whole bunch of large "0" stickers and officially convert 25mph streets to 20mph streets along bicycle routes like Chapel Street. Even if it takes a few years for the enforcement and traffic design to catch up with that reality, this would send a strong message, and have the side impact of promoting economic development by making streets more walkable.

I'm not sure why we are spending $1.6 million on the new EDC (economic development commission) when $135,000 would have a much greater impact.

Also we should keep in mind that for every 1 penny increase in gas prices, Americans send another billion dollars per year directly to overseas oil companies. We should promote bicycling and walking and recapture some of that lost household income (actually future debt in many cases) for families to use instead locally on schools, food, local retail, health care and entertainment.

Posted by: David Streever | June 11, 2008 2:54 AM

I thought you left New Haven, On Whalley??? What is this. Come on, get out of here! We're waiting eagerly!

It's true that many cyclists do break the rules--usually to their own detriment. I've never been so safe as when I behave like a vehicle. Knock on wood, my close calls/etc went down dramatically. Even angry drivers went down--i think people respond better when you take the lane & own it.

Posted by: Ned | June 11, 2008 7:50 AM

Dylan, are you sure that wasn't alderman, Greg Morehead in the Jaguar??

Posted by: Steve Ross | June 11, 2008 10:59 AM

"Dylan, are you sure that wasn't alderman, Greg Morehead in the Jaguar??"

*snicker

I agree very much with everything Matt said in his lyrical treatise. The way things are, cyclists are much safer using their wits, abiding by vehicular laws when practicable, and making certain that they don't get hit.

As an aside, my girlfriend and I made the unwise decision Saturday night to ride down Crown from State to Howe and we nearly died about 43, 000 times, were called every name in the book, were heckled, jeered, and catcalled (my girlfriend the recipient of the latter), and we didn't break a single law. We just nearly broke our necks.

Cyclists, avoid the high maintenance crowd!

Posted by: No longer "on whalley" | June 11, 2008 12:24 PM

Hey!! WTF??????

I did leave. I left three weeks ago. Somebody is posing as me and I don't exactly appreciate it.

I've been riding centuries around lakes, climbing mountains and swimming in clean water about 300 miles from that cesspool New Haven. The biggest crime I've seen on the news was some guy who got caught stealing tractors from construction sites.

This is the last post to be made by the real "On Whalley" and I won't won't post with "No longer on whalley" either so any semblance of the two is NOT me.

Wow. I never thought I'd be so upset by having a fake name hijacked. Oh well.

Posted by: In The Hood | June 11, 2008 2:24 PM

As a frequent walker it's unnerving when cyclist using the sidewalks on Prospect St and Whitney Avenue whiz past those walking without giving any warning.

On the other hand, I also see the dangers cyclists suffer on the streets by the indifference and ignorance of some drivers.

Everyone with a drivers license should receive a safety card reminding them of cycling and pedestrian rights.(maybe handouts at stoplights)

Cyclists, if you're afraid of the streets and you're illegally using sidewalks, I empathize; but please remember to do a shout-out or some kind of timely alert to let walkers know you're nearby.

Posted by: Ned | June 12, 2008 10:37 PM

Here's a taste (a taze?) of what some bicycle advocates are courting with their emphasis on "law and order" directed at bicyclists: Oregon: Tasered while cycling