Guest Blog: An Uneasy Coexistence?
Dear Fellow Team Riders,
I was distressed to read this letter to the Montecito paper published on June 14th. The writers express some valid concerns, I think, but also an amazing naiveté about who owns our roads. I have drafted my own letter of response and encourage others to chime in via a note to the Montecito Journal.
Attention: Letters to the Editor
tim@montecitojournal.net
Meanwhile, navigate well -- there are some confused people sharing the road with us.
Don Lubach
Captain of UCSB’s Team Ding Bell
>==========( begin letter )==========
>
>Coexisting with Cyclists
>
>I have a question: does anyone else in Montecito have a problem with
>cyclists? My wife and I have lived here two years now and have not
>heard anyone complain. I know we live in a beautiful area and
>community, that's why we moved here, but I don't feel like jeopardizing
>my family¹s life every time I drive on East Valley, Toro Canyon,
>Sheffield and Ortega Ridge Road because a cyclist thinks he owns the road.
>
>All of these roads have very limited visibility, with no bike lanes and
>the cyclists expect you to break the law by having to cross over a
>double line, which is illegal, when you can't even see if there is
>oncoming traffic. This is an extremely dangerous situation and it
>happens everyday. I am in constant fear of being responsible for
>hitting a biker just because I want to stay safe in my lane.
>
>Since there is no shoulder, a single cyclist is bad enough, as they
>refuse to stay on the white line and ride in the middle of the lane,
>but if there are multiple cyclists they insist on riding side by side
>and taking the whole lane. You have no choice but to break the law and
>endanger your life to get around them. They have no fear of cars and if
>you honk you get a hand gesture as if you are the problem, acting as if
>it is their road and I am inconveniencing them.
>
>I had thought before I moved here that cycling required a bike lane but
>I guess that is not true. Why do we have bike lanes if they can ride on
>roads with no bike lanes and even more with no shoulders and no room
>for a cyclist? They have spent millions on bike paths lately and some
>roads in our area do have them; why can't we restrict cyclists to roads
>with bike lanes, which do exist in the area?
>
>I spoke to a Sheriff¹s Deputy and he told me that cyclists have the
>same rights as a car, which I understand, but if I was in my car doing
>5 mph in a 35 mph zone I would get a ticket for going too slow. The
>deputy also told me they have problems all the time with cyclists and
>not long ago a group of them almost attacked an officer for approaching
>a group of cyclists that were causing trouble. I thought cyclists were
>mostly good people; they obviously care about their health so why would
>they think they don't need to worry about cars? I have heard stories of
>many people in the area hurt or even killed cycling by a car.
>
>I would like to not just complain, but to do something about this. Can
>anyone tell me what we need to do to fix this problem? What can we do
>to stop this?
>
>Mark & Adriana Shuman
>Montecito
>
>==========( end letter )==========
7 comments:
Wow! I happen to ride from the west side in SB, to my job in MOntecito a few times a week. I make every effort to ride where there ARE designated bike paths, but as we all know, there just aren't enough of them for us to get everywhere we need to go. Maybe we can get the writer to advocate for more bike paths rather than complain we are taking his road!!
Pretty scary.
Main point I would make is that:
"You have no choice but to break the law and endanger your life to get around them"
You always have the choice to wait until a safe place to pass.
"if I was in my car doing
5 mph in a 35 mph zone I would get a ticket for going too slow"
If a cyclist is only going 5mph, they they're pretty easy to pass quickly. This person is frustrated, and trying to justify their desire for cyclists to be off the roads. I'm also bothered by that 'group attack' thing. If he's talking about the incident I think he is, there are definitely two sides to the story.
All that being said- the weekend warriors that ride through Montecito need to learn some share the road etiquette themselves. This is indication that they're making things harder and more dangerous for the rest of us.
I'll write a letter to the Montecito Journal- just hope it's not too late.
I don't see anything wrong with what the author of the letter said. It was well written, intelligent, and made plenty of sense. If what he says is true, about the narrow lanes, slow bikers, etc, then this is certainly a problem.
I think it's pretty ridiculous that someone would suggest that a driver "always has a choice." Not only does it not address the issue of breaking the law, it is completely impractical and I doubt anyone would follow a pack of bikers going 5 mph and not try to pass. As the author of the letter said, there is no safe spot because there are blind spots and he can't see around the bikers.
I think bikers have every right to be on the road, especially since I am one of them. I don't think it helps the cause when bikers make laughable arguments.
I seriously doubt the accuracy of the author's allusion that cyclists are riding 5mph in the middle of the lane on any of those roads. If I'm in the middle of the lane, it's because I'm either a) going the speed limit or b) it's is not safe to pass me at that point, and I'll move over as soon as I can.
What I'm trying to point out is the presumption that cyclists are making the driver do something. It's subtle, but it's important.
Practical or not, nobody is holding a gun to anyone's head.
The author is trying to shift the blame for doing something dangerous. I'm not saying it's reasonable to drive at 5mph for 5 miles, but it is reasonable to slow down to 15mph for 10 or 15 seconds, which I think is a lot closer to reality.
While we all seem to agree that the author has some valid points. It doesn't help if the author thinks that waiting even 30 seconds isn't an option.
To those who say that the motorist should just wait, not everyone is a person of infinite leasure. Some of us have scheudles to keep, the breaking of which will (at best) inconvenience others and (at worst) result in the loss of our jobs. (Then, with no money, we won't be able to buy gas, so won't be driving as much--but I guess you bike fanatics would say, "One less driver on the road is no bad thing.")
Patience isn't reserved for waiting 10 seconds for a safe spot to pass a cyclist. Patience means not running the yellow light. Patience means not pulling out in front of another car and making them slam on their brakes. Patience means lives saved.
I live on San Andres, and ride the speed limit (25mph) from Valerio to Mission. I have had cars cross the yellow line to pass me, only to cut me off and slam on their brakes at Mission, saving themselves NO time and risking my life.
The need to pass that bike RIGHT NOW is more a mindset than an actual time saving need. If you can schedule your commute to accommodate car traffic, you can accommodate bike and pedestrian traffic as well.
Try counting how much time it actually costs you to be safe around cyclists, and I guarantee it's a LOT less than the time spent accommodating other cars.
Nicely put Richard (comment on June 29, 2007), we all need to be more accommodating to others. I don't cycle much, but I am mindful of other cars, kids, animals and cycles. Let's all play nice!!
Post a Comment