I have no problem following the basic rules laid out by both the article and the TA web site. However I do agree with Matt that people who don't bike - whether they drive or walk - will almost always notice the bad behavior, and conveniently ignore the good behavior if they want to see bicyclists as villains.
I also think that we have as much chance of stamping out bad behavior in bicyclists as we do stamping out bad behavior in motorists, which is about zero. But peer pressure and community standards go a long way, and if a few more of us set examples, the dominant bicycling culture will begin to change. (I already think we have better biking behavior in Madison than in New York.) I can't tell you how often I've been told, "I never see bicyclists stop at lights/stop signs!" I usually reply, "You obviously haven't observed me or the people that ride the same route as me to downtown, because I see many stop. Not all, but many, and I see many car drivers not stopping as well, but we don't seem to be talking about them. Why is that?" Stopping in the traffic lane and dutifully waiting for the green also at times blocks someone trying to turn right. Oh, well, I guess he'll never say all bicyclists run red lights after he's waited behind me. Ditto for the guy that thought he'd roll through the stop sign, and then I make him stop behind me. Call it civil obedience (not disobedience) or call it passive-aggressive, but I'm following the law. Of course, there are lights and stop signs, and even missing links that are just so poorly designed and inhibit decent biking that they are just begging to be violated. That's another conversation for another day, and I always check for traffic, stop before I blow the light, and bike at pedestrian speeds on those bits of sidewalk. Now, about behavior on shared use paths...... Robbie Webber Bike Walk Madison Steering Committee www.bikewalkmadison.org Join our group on Facebook!
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