Pay attention
Let me agree with Kelley Timms on this issue.
It isn't as if we don't need more forms of alternative transportation or safe avenues for cyclists to use, it's that you have several folks who don't give a flip about the good work advocated by groups like BikeAthens.
For every cyclist who adheres to rules, I see two or three - a large number of them students at the University of Georgia - who completely disregard them, and that's infuriating. Driving through downtown Athens-Clarke County or through the UGA campus can be trying because you have cyclists and pedestrians who absolutely don't care about where they cross the street, when they cross the street, if they stop at the light or whether or not they weave in and out of traffic.
And their actions give a negative - and unfounded - perception of the folks who advocate for things like multi-use pathways or more pedestrian-friendly measures.
That's the real problem here.
It isn't as if we don't need more forms of alternative transportation or safe avenues for cyclists to use, it's that you have several folks who don't give a flip about the good work advocated by groups like BikeAthens.
For every cyclist who adheres to rules, I see two or three - a large number of them students at the University of Georgia - who completely disregard them, and that's infuriating. Driving through downtown Athens-Clarke County or through the UGA campus can be trying because you have cyclists and pedestrians who absolutely don't care about where they cross the street, when they cross the street, if they stop at the light or whether or not they weave in and out of traffic.
And their actions give a negative - and unfounded - perception of the folks who advocate for things like multi-use pathways or more pedestrian-friendly measures.
That's the real problem here.
posted by Jmac at 11:00 AM
2 Comments:
I'm a bit surprised we don't have a bike season, with associated 3-bike limit...
Seriously, though, I suspect our bike laws are outdated at best, and not tested to any significant degree. So in this case, it's half-baked to talk about 'following the law' without a corresponding opinion on what those laws should (dis-)allow.
I agree with Timms as well. It's nice, though, that ACCPD does actually write tickets for bad bike behavior, so there is some incentive to mend one's bad biking ways.
That said, I hate reading about this kind of stuff for two reasons. 1. UGA students aren't necessarily educated on Athens's cycling laws, which aren't necessarily the same as the cycling laws of other cities. 2. Some of the existing laws are not feasible or are very undesirable, and so every cyclist has to break the law somewhat. So to address the issue Timms highlights we'd need to address the underlying issues.
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