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I am sure a lot of people will want to share their thoughts about last nights meeting but it looks like I' ll get the ball rolling.
The place was packed. I joined many people in the hallway and never made it to the meeting room so I just got the audio.
Local residents were frustrated and they had legitimate reasons. They talked about riders going 4-5 a breast and not moving over when someone was in back of them. Many talked of cyclists blowing stop signs and of near misses by the motorist.
They were also frustrated with the timing and size of some of the organized rides. There were 3 big rides in a row on a Saturday morning. People couldn't get their mail delivered-One person said she couldn't get their recycleables to the drop off point in Mazo because bike traffic was so thick. Some of the rides were well organized and residents had adequate notice- others weren't as well publicized.
Some wondered if there was a way to ban events from town roads. Others recognized that it was a few bad apples in a group that give others a bad rep. The town chair of Vermont, a level headed guy, went out of his way to praise Bombay- saying they have never had any problems with them and it is a real responsible group.
The tone was pretty civil, thankfully.
Solutions will be hard to come by. Sheriff's Department staffing is inadequate as deputies have to cover a huge area. Education can help with some but one racer noted some not only ignore the advice to be responsible but laugh at it.
Steve Meiers
Safety educator Madison Dept. of Transportation Box 2986 Madison, WI. 53701 (608) 267-1102 [EMAIL PROTECTED] >>> Robbie Webber <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> 7/9/04 1:24:00 PM >>> In case anyone is interested in going out to the meeting regarding biking in western Dane County, here are the details: Monday, July 12 7:30 PM Vermont Town Hall 4017 Hwy JJ I guess I'd like to make a plea of calm and courteous dialogue instead of anger and hostility. Bicyclists have a right be ride on the roads whether we live in that jurisdiction or not. We all pay for the roads whether we own cars or not. (I wish I could get out of paying school district taxes for not having kids...) County property taxes are used to maintain, plow, police, and landscape the roads. So this is just a little rough spot we will need to get through. Let's not come out guns blazing at the meeting, because the press is likely to attend, and we want to appear as a calm, rational, cooperative bunch. Speaking of cooperation... we ask for it from motorists, and I'd like to be sure that we as bicyclists extend it as well. Although I would never ask bicyclists to do anything that endangers their safety - like riding so far right that motorists are tempted to pass in an illegal or dangerous manner - I think we sometimes forget courtesy when in a group. State law requires that we single up if a motorist would have trouble passing. That means that if there is oncoming traffic or a double yellow line that prohibits passing, we should single up. It is true that the motorist may STILL not have room to pass if there is no shoulder, but at least we have done our part to comply with the law. It also signals, "We see you and are trying to be polite." Obviously, stop signs are a touchy subject, but I will risk the wrath of everyone by stating that I don't think we are helping promote bicyclists as legitimate road user when we blow through signs without even slowing down. Yelling, "CLEAR" early in the morning is also not appreciated by those trying to sleep in. (This tip from some friends that used to live at the T intersection of Sayles Trl and Sun Valley Pkwy.) So, please ride safely and courteously. I will extend the same advice to bicyclists that I do to motorists, but in reverse: Please think, "Would I do this (traffic habit or maneuver) if I was driving my car?" (In the case of motorists, it is, "Would I do this if that vehicle was a car instead of a bike?" Example - making a right turn across the path of another vehicle.) Thanks for reading and biking. Please let me know if you want to carpool. I plan to clean out my hatchback of bike stuff so people can actually use the back seat. -- Robbie Robbie Webber Program Manager Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin 106 E Doty St, Ste. 400 PO Box 1224 Madison, WI 53701-1224 608-251-4456 (voice) 608-251-4594 (fax) [EMAIL PROTECTED] www.bfw.org _______________________________________________ Bikies mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.danenet.org/mailman/listinfo/bikies |
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