I don't know how many of you are bicyclists, or how many make regular trips down Hennepin, but after the little confrontation I only barely avoided tonight, I feel like I need to say something.
(big snip)
Whatever has been done to make drivers aware of the bike lanes, and of the bicyclists in them, it is obviously not enough. I'd really like to see the police out--even just one, during rush hour--to make sure the bike and transit lanes are kept open for the vehicles that belong in them.
<<<
I agree with Jeremy here. We need to share the road. Bike lanes need the protection of pro-active law enforcement. Some folks do not believe bikes have a right to be on the road, and so ignore the law regarding this matter, endangering bikers.
Aggressive education and law enforcement would help.
Incidently, London recently passed a ruling related to the bike lane enforcement topic. Could Minneapolis learn from this? See:
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/traffic/articles/12320016?source=Evening%20Standard
From the article:
Motorists face a major new fines campaign in plans to protect London's 560 miles of cycle lanes.
Drivers who are caught parking, blocking or driving in the lanes will be fined £100.
Record numbers of fines in the capital are expected as a result.
Last year, the boroughs issued 5.3 million penalties for parking and bus-lane infringements with a face value of £482million.
This figure will be boosted by at least £5 million with the recent introduction of fines for yellow box misuse, and a further ?5million when cycle lane fines come into force next year.
The news was welcomed by pro-cycling campaigners.
They say motorists who ignore cycle lanes force riders to negotiate an "obstacle course", often with lethal results.
Kevin Mayne, of the national cyclists' organisation CTC, said it welcomed the enforcement. He predicted it would encourage more cycling in the capital and benefit all road users.
He said: "Poor parking not only contributes to congestion but makes the roads more dangerous for pedestrians and cyclists, including children. Any measures that help encourage even more Londoners to take to their bicycles should be encouraged." <<<
London plans to enforce the bike lane laws just as they do bus lane laws. Makes sense to me. In addition, people need to be made aware that bikes and other HPVs are transportation, too. They belong on our city streets, and actually can wake us up to a variety of safety, environmental, and even geopolitical issues directly related to our transportation choices.
I speak with a number of folks who are afraid to ride on the streets. This tells me that we Minneapolitans have a long way to go in understanding the impacts of our transportation choices. Education and enforcement both seem like good ideas to me.
-- Gary Hoover -- pedaling for local and global peace, local and global ecojustice, local and global petrojustice (how's that for a new phrase?) from Kingfield neighborhood
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