"From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
CC: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent from the Internet (Details)
While true that parking meters are not intended for bicycles,� it is also
true that there are nowhere near enough bicycle racks or stands.� I ride on
the road, in the correct direction, giving signals before I move around
vehicles in the bike lane (illegally), with a helmet, at the risk of injury
due to careless or hostile drivers(most drivers are considerate but it only
takes one of the inconsiderate),� because I believe it is better for me (the
exercise ) and for my community (less pollution, less noise, one fewer
speeding car, less use of fossil fuels, less competition for parking) - and
now I'm supposed to put another car on the road because I cannot lock my
bike up many places that I need to go for work.� While everyone is
delighting in telling horror stories about those "horrid" cyclists, there
are plenty of us who are thoughtful and responsible.� Why all of a sudden
are we pariahs?� Instead of making it harder for cyclists, the city should
be making it safer and easier, so no cyclist feels they have to choose
between living and riding on the sidewalk.� Allowing cyclists to lock bikes
onto ubiquitous parking meters seems a small enough accomodation until the
city is prepared to put bike racks on each block."
Hi
Nice to read a post from a considerate, responsible person...no matter your mode of transportation. I would hope that all bike riders are not being considered "pariahs"...there's good and bad, just like drivers and even pedestrians (ever try to cross the street or just walk down a block with 4 or 5 people just standing in the middle of the sidewalk who refuse to move?).
I have 2 opinions on this whole bike issue - one is that I think bike riders do belong riding in the street and not on the sidewalk. I understand that there are times when there is no alternative but to ride on the sidewalk, but for the most part, just speaking for myself, I've had one too many close calls walking down the street when a bike either comes up behind me or zooms past so close that they almost knock me down. I am disabled, I don't walk really fast, I use a walking stick - so I'm not exactly invisible. But I have been on the receiving end of dirty looks, nasty remarks, etc. because I didn't move fast enough or stop so the biker could pass me (no, I don't have eyes in the back of my head!).
As far as locking bikes on parking meters, I'd prefer seeing that to the people who insist on, when visiting our next door neighbors, locking their bikes onto the fence on the front of our house, making the fence lean and mangling parts of the garden in the process. I agree, there is a need for many more bike racks - I haven't seen that many, not enough for the amount of people on bikes I see around here. The negative to locking your bike onto a parking meter? Depending on where/how you place the bike and lock, it could make it difficult for a passenger to get into a car.
Oh, one more thing...there was a post about people being afraid of being robbed by someone on a bike and how that was so "European"? It has happened to me and my roommate - to me when I was living in Queens Village and my roommate when she was walking to her job via Jeweler's Row one day! No, neither of us was robbed because we have our bags across our bodies - but we both were grabbed (by our bag strap) and dragged for a bit before the person trying to rob us decided to give up, zoom off before we could get the police and probably try to find an easier "mark".
Wendy
