It's a pedestrian, It's a vehicle, it's a Bicycle!

I’m going to do it. I’m going to badmouth bicycles. I’d like to first say that I do own a bike, and I ride it for fun (non commuter), and I have fond memories of riding my bike as a child. I also am amazed at people who can ride ridiculously long rides because I don’t think that’s something I could ever do, or would want to try.

BUT, here's the thing bicycles. You are a vehicle. You must obey the laws of the road. This includes, but is not limited to, stopping at stop signs. Taking turns (ie waiting) at said stop signs. Riding on the correct side of the road so cars aren’t startled by you suddenly appearing coming towards them. Staying in your lane, if you have a bike lane then that goes double for you.

Also, you are not a pedestrian, you cannot ride your bike through a crosswalk- get off and walk your bike like you’re supposed to. I’m not expecting to see pedestrians moving at speeds of 25 miles per hour giving me no time to stop for them at said crosswalks.

I’m pretty sure I covered some of this in my last post, when I was complaining about pedestrians not looking out for their own good. I will do my very best not to hit you with my car- believe me I don’t want to hurt anyone, but you have to be responsible for your own life and safety. Bicycles, that goes for you too. You can’t just pop up in unexpected places and expect that I will see you in time. I am looking twice, and looking around, but with so many cars, people, traffic, motorcycles, scooters and such I won’t always see what I need to see.

SO, besides me being annoyed at everyone apparent lack of self preservation- I also think bicycles are a bad idea for other reasons. One, it’s great that you have low emissions (hey, you still breath so you have some emotions no matter what) but bicycles use the roads too, and they don’t pay a gas tax so there isn’t enough money to keep the roads in good repair. Two, bike lanes are great. But if you have to change the layout of a city, making it harder for cars to get around that's not cool. Our modern cities, for better or for worse, were designed with cars in mind- all the bike boulevards and street blockades and redirected traffic flows make traffic worse- which also makes it unsafe for bikes. (And traffic adds commute time which means cars are out there longer -emitting various gases that are purportedly bad for the environment and are the “reason” for bikes to be used in the first place).

Putting bikes first is not the answer to a sustainable mobile society who also values the environment. Safety of all people is paramount, but I don’t think bikes are really safe in the current set up anyway, and it isn’t good for cars either. It’s a lose-lose and there needs to be a better answer. I just don’t know what that is yet.

But in the mean time Mr. Bicycle, stop at the stop sign like you’re supposed to.