Peter, Thanks for the advice, but I will point out that in that case, it was the passenger of a car in the driving lane that opened the door suddenly at the red light. I think I might have been more prepared if I hadn't been so busy looking at the parked cars to see if anyone was about to pull out or open their driver door. Basically, I agree with your idea of riding towards the left, but sometimes in a busy area like that, all kinds of things go on at the same time. E
ELISABETH DUBIN hillier ONE SOUTH PENN SQUARE, PHILADELPHIA, PA 19107 TEL: 215.636.9999 FAX: 215.636.9989 [EMAIL PROTECTED] -----Original Message----- From: Peter Rosenfeld [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Thursday, October 09, 2003 12:10 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; [EMAIL PROTECTED]; Dubin, Elisabeth Subject: RE: Bike traffic increases dramatically on Spruce St > From: "Dubin, Elisabeth" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > Just for the record, a few weeks ago I was riding in that bike lane and got >doored by a passenger who suddenly got out of a car in the lane next to me. I >wound up in the ER for an open fracture to the toe (weird injury, I know, but I >was wearing sandals). Before that, I was always vigilant and terrified when >riding on Spruce between 38th and 33rd, and now I just plain won't ride there >at all. It's just too busy with taxis, loading, and chaos. No one pays >attention to bikes, and despite the sign regarding ticketing vehicles in the >bike lane, I don't think people think twice about hovering there in their cars. > I honestly don't know what should be done there, but there is still an >inherent conflict between the bike lane presence and the fact that it just >isn't safe... in other words, just because you put a bike lane there does >change the nature of the street. So, what's the solution? I have been very concerned about the fact that these bike lanes are built such that, if you ride down the center of the lane, you are in the so-called door zone of cars parked parallel to the lane. Dooring is a very common accident on urban streets with parallel parking. I was particularly alarmed after a fatality last summer in Boston on a similar door-zone bike lane (DZBL). A woman fell under a bus after either getting hit by a car door or swerving to avoid an opening door. The proper thing to do is to design the lanes to indicate the safe position to ride with respect to the door zone. Until that is done, I would suggest riding on the far left-hand side of the lanes, close to, or on, the left bike lane stripe. I think this will keep you out of the door zone in most cases, but you need to check make sure. Two-door cars open very wide. Really, bike lanes offers no safety at all. In general, never ride in the door zone. You should ignore the bike lane striping and choose a position that is safe for you. If you learn safe riding positions, you'll find this section of Spruce quite safe and comfortable. If you are really interested and know other people who are interested, I can try to arrange a set of classes with our local Effective Cycling instructor. Unfortunately, the bike lane tends to cause you to want to go down the middle, and this can be quite dangerous as you found out. Sorry about your toe, I hope it's healing well, but I'm glad it wasn't worst. -Peter Rosenfeld ---- You are receiving this because you are subscribed to the list named "UnivCity." To unsubscribe or for archive information, see <http://www.purple.com/list.html>.
