What do cyclists want? There is a lot out there about infrastructure: lanes and signs and signals to support the decision to ride a bike, the same way millions are automatically supported when they default to using a motor vehicle. But hats not really what cyclists want the most. More than all the separate bits, what it all boils down to is one thing: cyclists want to be taken seriously. And I dont mean their choice of vehicle, the benefits they provide to traffic and other road users, or how much harder they work when getting from one place to another. Cyclists want to see their LIVES taken seriously. Rather than just taken. Simply put, cyclists would like to be seen. Seen at all, of course. Yet much more than that, seen as people. They would like to be seen for the friends, co-workers, and colleagues they might be. Seen for the parents, children, and partners that they almost always are. Once and for all, they would like to expect to live out their lives with their families and friends. Just as others on the roads get to expect from their travels...without any effort on their part. To be seen as people. Rather than be ignored...or worse yet, vilified...by pundits, propagandists, and politicians. To be seen as people. Rather than be ignored, harassed, injured, maimed...killed...by motorists. To be seen as people. Rather than reduced to an unfortunate accident when motorists...who are typically ignorant, distracted, or inept - when they arent just outright malevolent...impact their lives. Figuratively and literally. To be seen as people. Rather than be written off as worthless, when motorists are rarely punished in any meaningful way...if at all...after taking the life of a cyclist. (Or as happens more often, when they merely injure a rider.) To be seen as people. Rather than be reduced to talking points, obstacles, and targets. Infrastructure is a nice idea and a frequent buzzword. But it doesnt accomplish much in this country, if it happens at all. Mostly it amounts to lip service and unfulfilled campaign rhetoric. The little that is implemented is limited, sporadic, and all-too-often disjointed. Bike routes are a back-handed compliment at best, indicating that cyclists dont deserve direct and efficient paths for their trips. They insist that cyclists arent trying to get anywhere, theyre just out there for recreation...for the fun of it. Bike lanes sound great and should help, but rarely do. Painted stripes (or even curbs) and knock-over bollards cannot stop motor vehicles. Created spaces that are placed in areas of greater danger than riding in the regular traffic lanes to begin with...whether door lanes next to parked cars, left-side lanes that motorists cant manage to understand, or gutter lanes with less than enough usable road - almost always covered in gravel and debris from motorists and their vehicles and ignored by the responsible city or county council once painted...are all examples of infrastructure projects that seem to involve zero cyclist input. Allowing motor vehicles to park or stop so that they obstruct or completely block the lanes...also typically without any sort of punishment...makes them unusable, even if they werent death traps. Providing less than a marked lane, the newer Sharrows are an even bigger joke. All of the above are functionally useless anyways. Bike routes, while occasionally scenic when one IS recreating, are nowhere near anything one needs to ride to/from regularly. Aside from being hidden away, they are convoluted and sometimes impossible to follow. The so-called bike lanes are even worse, as they are supposed to be the errand/commuter solution, though none of them extend for any meaningful distance, nor connect to one another in any navigable pattern. More than protecting cyclists in any way, bike lanes just allow (one could even say encourage) motorists to ignore cyclists, even more than they would normally...creating an Out of sight, out of mind situation. And almost all end with no warning, effectively dumping a cyclist into a traffic lane, with less-than-stellar results. None of it comes with the one key infrastructure change or addition that is really needed: education. Specifically education of motorists, drivers, motor vehicle operators. Cyclists know what they need to do, where they need to be, and how best to achieve those things. None of the paint or signs is really for them. But try and try again, no one can get the majority of motorists to pay any attention to all of these things. Motorists are not required to learn anything about any of these road features, what they mean or why theyre there. As it stands now, motorists barely have to demonstrate knowledge of road signs or competence in operating their own vehicle when getting their licenses. Much less prove any knowledge or understanding of the non-motorized aspects of the road and its other users. After all, motorists still hit motorcycles...a motor vehicle closer to their own than _any_ bicycle...so its clear they have no clue how other vehicles are used, or use the roads. Unless the motorist is also a cyclist. Then the knowledge, consideration...and most importantly vision...is more-or-less a given. Cyclists see other cyclists. Cyclists treat other cyclists as people...no matter what vehicle they are operating at the time. They seem to be the only ones on the road who take other cyclists lives seriously. Just as they would like their own lives to be taken seriously.
Posted on: Mon, 01 Sep 2014 02:57:18 +0000
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