Mike, You are correct. I was referring to the circular traffic islands that look suspiciously like roundabouts, and so I casually wrote "roundabouts", because noone seems to know how to get around them.
Roundabouts are another topic for discussion. Growing up on the east coast I saw roundabouts being replaced with newer, more efficient technology- traffic signals. Roundabouts (or rotaries, as we call them in Boston) are ok in some large intersections for cars only, or in some relatively quiet intersections in lieu of the 4-way stop (yet another topic for discussion)- but having bikes and cars in a busy roundabout is about as pleasant as biking on the interstate. Not very fun. That's my 2 cents. Thanks for the clarification. To sum up my opinions: Traffic islands suck. Roundabouts have their place, and biking on the interstate is both illegal (in most places) and unpleasant. -India *********************** India Viola UW-Madison Stretton Lab 115 Zoology Research Bldg. 1117 W. Johnson St. Madison, WI 53706 608.262.3336 *********************** "How can we learn from our mistakes if we don't first acknowledge them?" -Anonymous "We exist in the bacterial world, not bacteria in ours" -Stuart Levy ----- Original Message ----- From: Michael Rewey <[email protected]> Date: Tuesday, October 13, 2009 2:22 pm Subject: (Fwd) Re: [Bikies] Sharrows, parked cars, and roundabouts- Oh To: [email protected] > Hi India. > > I think you might have the wrong concept/definition of roundabouts. > > Those little circles on neighborhood streets are just that - traffic > circles. They are supposed > to "calm" traffic. I do like them better than the traffic calming > islands. That is where I really > get squeezed. On the Board of Public Works I have been voting > consistently against the > islands unless there is ample room for a car and a bike side-by-side. > I prefer speed humps, > which have no impact on bikes since they are designed for 25 mph. > > Roundabouts are used on busier streets in lieu of traffic signals. > That means we as bikes > only have to make right turns. No merging left in heavy traffic. > One-lane roundabouts are > great. The two-laners are also good - but not great. The average > speed on a well designed > roundabout is 15 mph and no more than 20. About what a commute biker > does. > > I agree with you on parked cars - they make me nervous. > > Mike > 698-6673 > > ------- Forwarded message follows ------- > Date sent: Tue, 13 Oct 2009 10:38:11 -0500 > From: India Rose Viola <[email protected]> > To: [email protected] > Priority: normal > Copies to: [email protected] > Subject: Re: [Bikies] Sharrows, parked cars, and roundabouts- > Oh my! > > [ Double-click this line for list subscription options ] > > "I think as a community, we must accept that bikes and cars can't > share the same space safely with the current mindset." > > I have to say that I disagree. I bike safely around town at least 5 > days a week, 11 months a year. I don't think that as an experienced, > defensive yet assertive cyclist that I'm at any more risk than if I > were driving a car or walking. That isn't to say that more isn't > needed in bicyclist and driver education on sharing the road and > keeping everyone safe. > > And having parked cars on the streets that I bike on sucks as far as > I'm concerned. I feel much more threatened by people getting in and > out of their cars and driving into and out of parking spaces than I do > by steady vehicle traffic. I would rather bike on streets without > on-street parking if I could. I know some folks argue that on-street > parking has a traffic calming effect, but I find that most traffic > calming is wishful thinking. Never seen a roundabout calm anyone. > All a roundabout does is create less space for me and a car to be in > the street together. Grrrr.... don't get me started :) > > -India > > *********************** > India Viola > UW-Madison > Stretton Lab > 115 Zoology Research Bldg. > 1117 W. Johnson St. > Madison, WI 53706 > 608.262.3336 > *********************** > > "How can we learn from our mistakes if we don't first acknowledge > them?" -Anonymous > > "We exist in the bacterial world, not bacteria in ours" -Stuart Levy > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: David Waugh <[email protected]> > Date: Tuesday, October 13, 2009 10:09 am > Subject: [Bikies] Sharrows > To: [email protected] > > > Thanks Kevin for the Seattle sharrows link. > > I'm still a little uneasy about their use on even low to moderately > > busy streets. I think as a community, we must accept that bikes and > > cars can't share the same space safely with the current mindset. We > > made that decision about pedestrians and gave them their own space. > > > Howerver, I like the concept of sharrows as it makes sense to show > > the unexperienced bicyclists where they should be in the lane which > > would protect them from car doors and make them more predictable for > > motorists. And it advertises to motorists that they should share > > and be on the lookout for bikes present. But I think they could also > > be dangerous in the sense that we will always have a fairly > > significant percentage of motorists not paying attention (cell > > phones) and one small accident has big consequences for bikers. > > Perhaps what we should do is put bikes on sidewalks and put > > pedestrians out in the sharrow because they could walk closer to > > parked cars. While this makes sense in a way, it would seem > > absurdly dangerous to your average Madisonian. Yet the damage > > inflicted with hitting a pedestrian is on scale with hitting a > > bicyclist. Maybe we could have a special helmet for walking around > > town! > > > > I'm hoping that if we get a bike boulevard on East Mifflin, we get > > parking on both sides the entire length for residents as a tradeoff > > to restricted street access, and sharrows in the middle of the lane. > > Then I will feel that we will have at least one safe route west > > from my neighborhood. > > > > David Waugh > _______________________________________________ Bikies mailing list [email protected] http://lists.danenet.org/listinfo.cgi/bikies-danenet.org
