HI India,
Thanks for your post. I am new to the list and I always appreciate
hearing what you have to say. I have commuted from the same house to
the same job for 17 years, year round. I consider myself very, very
defensive. I never take chances. Last spring I was hit by a car that
failed to stop at a stop sign. Now, I am acutely aware that even the
most seasoned among us are always always taking chances. Even with a
car stopped and with apparent eye contact, it doesn't necessarily mean
they see you. What about the ones that don't make eye contact but are
sitting there. Do folks stop and motion them through? Bottom line,
cars and bikes don't mix because when flesh hits metal and pavement, it
matters little how good you are. I have a child, who bikes. I do not
feel it is safe out there in my particular neighborhood -- E. Gorham, E.
Johnson and E. Washington. What I teach him is that you minimize your
risks whenever possible. I tell him to never, ever drive on
Johnson/Gorham because Mifflin and Dayton have fewer cars and
therefore, statistically fewer opportunities to clash with one of them.
We can put a sharrow wherever, but that doesn't really mean much to me.
I appreciate that someone in authority is trying, but I really really
think bikes need their own space as much as possible. For my
neighborhood, Tenney Lapham, most of the designated bike path is up
Gorham. That in my opinion is not a safe route. I am hopeful for a
real, true, bike boulevard on East Mifflin. I fear all we will get are
sharrows.
BTW, I do feel parked cars on both sides slows traffic. When you have
few obstacles in the path of a motorist, they feel a sense of ownership
and anything that happens into their path is in danger. I recently was
lucky enough to visit Lima Peru. This is a city that is full of super
crazy drivers that you would think would be super dangerous. Because
they are all driving crazy, they are all super alert, and this makes
them actually safer than the car barreling down east mifflin with no
parked cars and ahead, oops, a bike. Why is that there. Why did that
crazy dog run out after that squirrel. His fault.
David Waugh
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