> "As a side note, I'd prefer it if the buses were > run on some fuel other than diesel. I Have you > ever gotten stuck behind a bus on a motorcycle or > bicycle? It makes you want a gas mask!" > > Buses are lower on some pollutants, but diesel > engines in general put out a lot of hydrocarbons. > If you have to breathe a lot of it, you'd do well > to have a gas mask. But one way to NOT breathe it > is to use streets the buses don't use. I think > there are no buses on Monroe, and fewer buses on > Washington Street. Have you ever tried getting > downtown on either of those, Jason?
The diesel thing was more of a general concern than a problem with my daily commute. I've got a pretty good route that overlaps a couple bus routes but since they're not very frequent, I seldom have to interact with them and almost never end up behind them at a stop light/sign (that's where it is really harsh). Oddly, almost no buses use University! The road quality is decent enough there that I can make pretty good time as well - in decent weather, around 18 - 21mph. Monroe wouldn't be bad, but it'd add another 30 - 50% to my ride and I'd still have 1st ave/Hennepin for a stretch. Getting over the bridge at 8th or Broadway to get to Washington ends up dealing with too many confrontational drivers wanting to do 40 or 50 - I'm a little concerned about getting someone who goes beyond yelling and honking their horn until the left lane opens enough for them to get around me. And yes, I ride to the right side of the right lane, just like the law says. I can't go too far over because that's where all the debris ends up from the car tires, so the safest "lane" is generally about where car's right tires end up. I've had a number of drivers who cut close enough to my side and around in front of me that if I did have any problems or have to swerve I'd be in real trouble. I wonder if these people know the law says 3 feet! I've tried the sidewalks on those bridges but they really aren't wide enough to be safe for pedestrians and bicyclists unless you're moving REALLY slow. A lot of peds use headphones as well which is a problem if you're coming up behind them. The sidewalks across Hennepin are the only bridge from NE that I feel safe on. Central would be fine, but that's adding a significant distance to my commute. A couple of my more militant bicyclist friends do get on my case a lot for using the sidewalk on the Hennepin bridge, but there's only so much risk I'm willing to take. Drivers coming across Hennepin do tend to be more polite than drivers across 8th and Broadway, but it's still pretty high speed and the high curb to the right gives me no maneuvering room. The places I run into the diesel fumes from the buses more is when going other places in town. It seems like almost every bike lane I've used through downtown double as bus lanes. What is with those lanes anyway? Especially the one on Hennepin that sort of just ends leaving me in the middle of 4 lanes? > Actually when my house was in NE and my job > downtown, I found it was FASTER to ride the bus > to my job than to drive my car. Always amazed me > a little given the way buses poke along. But cars > have other problems when going into downtown. > Such as finding a place to park!!! And then > WALKING to work from wherever that place is. *nod* It was pretty close. Bicycle is faster than either though. - Jason Goray, Sheridan, NE __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? HotJobs - Search new jobs daily now http://hotjobs.yahoo.com/ _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:mpls@;mnforum.org Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
