New protected parking on Cambridge St?Amy_Ponder t1_iu0ntx2 wrote
Reply to comment by wolfiewu in New protected parking on Cambridge St? by wegry
It's a good start, but if we're already spending the money let's just widen the sidewalk and pave a proper separated bike lane on top of it. I understand it's more expensive up front, but since you don't have to replacing the dildoes every time they get rammed and snap, you're saving more money in the long run.
Plus, you plant a few trees, add a few benches, maybe a public art installation if you're really feeling frisky, and you've suddenly turned your boring sidestreet into a genuinely pleasant place to spend time. Which gets more people out of their cars, which makes it more likely they'll wander into nearby businesses, which helps the economy and generates more tax revenue for the city, so they can pave more wider sidewalks / separated bikelanes... it's a virtuous cycle.
wolfiewu t1_iu0piw8 wrote
Honestly just about anything else would have made this better. This was a non-solution. But officials around here have a massive boner for making bikers miserable and half-assing every public infrastructure project.
Amy_Ponder t1_iu0q9b6 wrote
Amen to that. I don't understand how we can be one of the wealthiest states in the country and still suck at public infrastructure projects so badly. It's not lack of funding, it's not lack of willpower, so what's going wrong?
wolfiewu t1_iu0s7ge wrote
It's 100% lack of willpower. Any time a new initiative or project comes up, neighborhood associations or stores whine and the politicians get meek and fold.
seriousnotshirley t1_iu20y39 wrote
Because they remember how bad the ideas got in the mid 20th century. They were going to cut right through Cambridge and anywhere else they wanted. If the plans back then hadn’t been so awful and pushed through by egos it wouldn’t be so bad but it was awful so we’ve swung so far the other way to making every little town and neighborhood have veto over anything.
Virtual_Natural1642 t1_iu2b77r wrote
Maybe because very soon smart cars / smart dust enabled architecture / biometric surveillance is going to change the landscape so they figure why spend all of this money now just to rip it up in 10 years?
Macbookaroniandchez t1_iu18vb2 wrote
the ones that make this state so wealthy are not where bike infrastructure is needed or desired.
artificial_osler t1_iu2049j wrote
Ah yes all the tech, biotech, business, healthcare, research, and entrepreneurial activity throughout Central Boston and Cambridge are definitely not the source of most the states wealth...
/s
Macbookaroniandchez t1_iu2618h wrote
...and then they return home to their homes with quiet, low traffic streets in places like Canton, Newton, and West Cambridge. Again, they aren't impacted by the problems caused by poor public infrastructure. Thus, they aren't as motivated to ring up their representative and demand something get done.
Anustart15 t1_iu47srh wrote
Half the C suite at my company bike commute from their wealthy suburbs. The bike ride from Arlington/west Cambridge/Belmont/Winchester to Kendall is pretty manageable with the halfway decent infrastructure we have up here.
kangaroospyder t1_iu0pkdi wrote
Sidewalk bike lanes from a cyclists perspective are the worst implementation. Pedestrians are far more erratic, just walk along them without realizing they are meant for bikes, and have no realization when a bike is coming down the lane, even if you ring a bell or shout at them from 2 feet off their heels, then get mad at you for trying to use infrastructure meant for bikes.
Amy_Ponder t1_iu0qexh wrote
I think that's more out of ignorance than malice, since separated bike lanes are still pretty rare, so a lot of pedestrians flat-out don't know what they are or that they're not supposed to walk there. The more people we have biking on the streets, the more pedestrians will start getting the memo and respecting the lanes.
kangaroospyder t1_iu0yu7s wrote
I just walked from South Station to the BCEC and back today. The entire walk next to the sidewalk level bike lanes both ways had pedestrians in them, and that's a with benches and trees seperating the sidewalks from bike lanes. I've literally been yelled at for using the bike lane on Mass Ave outside The Elliot, and I refuse to use the Mass Ave one between Boylston and Westland because it is so chaotic... No one respects bike lanes, it's just extra sidewalk or extra car space.
charons-voyage t1_iu14p6k wrote
The Mass Ave ones are horrible. Every time I need to brake and wait for morons on two feet to get out of my way. I stopped going that way though cus I’m legit scared of Mass and Cass nowadays.
charons-voyage t1_iu14fjk wrote
It sucks for everyone involved. I had a cyclist scream at me today by Wollaston beach because he was riding on the sidewalk, faster than was safe considering the foot traffic), and I was running in the opposite direction. He told me to “STAY TO THE RIGHT!”…like wtf this is a sidewalk, mate. Use the road like I do when I ride my road bike. It’s fine to go pedestrian speed while on a sidewalk. But bikes need to yield to peds on the sidewalk.
Morale of my rambling, keeping all modes of transportation as separated as possible is best for everyone lol
CJYP t1_iu4j2pi wrote
Sidewalk isn't the same as a sidewalk level bike lane. If biking on the sidewalk, you have to yield to pedestrians. If you're biking in a sidewalk level bike lane, pedestrians should yield to you.
charons-voyage t1_iu4rrgc wrote
Agreed
Anustart15 t1_iu48923 wrote
>He told me to “STAY TO THE RIGHT!”…like wtf this is a sidewalk, mate.
Was there room for you to be farther right though? Nothing is more annoying than people that just on the wrong side of the sidewalk for no reason, whether they were on a bike or not, obstructing the wrong side of the sidewalk when there's space to make room for others is just shitty behavior too.
charons-voyage t1_iu4ryy9 wrote
There was room to my right. But why should I move over when he was cruising by, on the sideWALK, on his bicycle? He should have yielded to me. It’s not like there is a rule on sidewalk that runners have to stay to the right…
ETA, I’m not a prick. I move over to give people room when it’s obvious that there is a “right of way”. But I didn’t know if he was gonna go left or right, he was going way too fast and had just passed another group of people. I can’t read his mind and he gave no indication that he was gonna go stay to my left.
Anustart15 t1_iu4ukjy wrote
>But why should I move over
Because it's the normal neighborly thing to do.
>But I didn’t know if he was gonna go left or right
Because you weren't off to one side, so he also didn't know if you were going left or right.
>It’s not like there is a rule on sidewalk that runners have to stay to the right…
But clearly you can see how it would be beneficial to everyone's ability to efficiently share the sidewalk
charons-voyage t1_iu4xj95 wrote
I was ALL the way to the left (hugging the wall). He should have yielded to me since he was on a bike. He also could have moved over. Not like there are rules over which side of the sidewalk to walk on lol
Anustart15 t1_iu54tt6 wrote
Again, there aren't rules, but literally everyone here walks on the right side for the very obvious reason of making everyone safer and more predictable. I don't blame him at all for yelling at you to go on the side of the sidewalk that literally everyone else goes to
charons-voyage t1_iu56hxg wrote
The left side is further from the road (a busy road) hence why I stay to the left. Again, this is a sidewalk lol. Not a shared use path. Bikes can use the sidewalk but should slow down and yield to pedestrians. Or just use the road like a normal person.
Anustart15 t1_iu5banu wrote
Again, literally everyone else walks on the right side of the sidewalk, so don't be surprised when someone gets annoyed that you choose not to
charons-voyage t1_iu5cbg0 wrote
I’ve been running in the city for over a decade. Nobody favors either side of the sidewalk lol that’s ridiculous. If anything, pedestrians distance themselves from the road. Usually people spread out and block it tbh, it’s obnoxious trying to dodge people who don’t pick a side. On a shared use path, there’s usually signage (like the Minuteman) indicating to stay to one side. But on a sidewalk? Nah, it’s a mixed bag.
Maybe we can agree to disagree here haha. At the end of the day, Lance should have slowed down and yielded to a pedestrian, or gotten his bitch ass in the road where road cyclists (myself included) belong.
Azr431 t1_iu1ae7u wrote
If they're purpose-designed/built, they are very nice. If they try shoe-horning some bike lines into an existing sidewalk, it rarely works well.
kangaroospyder t1_iu1e8ne wrote
The one on summer street towards the BCEC is very well seperated (wall of trees and benches) yet pedestrians still take it over... It's probably the best designed sidewalk level bike path I've seen. Doesn't help one bit.
nonitalic t1_iu1kfda wrote
It takes time and more bikes using the paths. Pedestrian adherence on Western Ave in Cambridge is way better now than when the path went in.
kangaroospyder t1_iu1qfhz wrote
I don't know how much time you want to allow, but the path near the BCEC is at least 2 years old, as is the one outside The Eliot. The one from Boylston to Westland is at least 5 years old and always a shit show.
Voiles t1_iu1sf9r wrote
> Sidewalk bike lanes from a cyclists perspective are the worst implementation.
I cannot emphasize how much I disagree without this statement. When I use a bike lane on the level of the road, I have to:
- constantly watch out for inattentive people opening car doors into the bike lane;
- frequently go around cars parked in the bike lane, forcing me merge into traffic;
- fight with buses who pull into bus stops to let passengers off, forcing me to merge into traffic. As the bus and I are often traveling at about the same average speed, this leads to a game of leap-frog, where they zoom past me only to pull over at the next bus stop.
- watch for inattentive people going to and from their cars, as they step into the bike lane without looking.
Yes, pedestrians sometimes obstruct bike lanes on the level of sidewalks, but I find this much less dangerous and less irritating than the above. In Cambridge, riding down Western Ave is just a delight compared to riding on Mass Ave, even after the massive improvements they've made to the bike lanes on the latter.
ScruffTheNerfHerder t1_iu0rpzt wrote
You need what's on comm ave where the bike lane is separate from the sidewalk and road. Shared bike lane sidewalks just put pedestrians at greater risk.
catknitski t1_iu44xjx wrote
You don’t want the bike lane the same level as the sidewalk bc then people will just walk in the bike lane b
Amy_Ponder t1_iu46urh wrote
I think that's mainly because bike lanes are still pretty rare, so a lot of pedestrians flat-out don't know what they are or that they're not supposed to walk there. The more people we have biking on the streets, the more pedestrians will start getting the memo and respecting the lanes.
Anustart15 t1_iu48ece wrote
But if you do it somewhere touristy like downtown Boston, there will always be a critical mass of people with no clue walking down the bike lane
Amy_Ponder t1_iu49cuf wrote
So install some signage explaining what the bike lanes are there. Meanwhile, continue paving them as normal in the rest of the city.
Anustart15 t1_iu4ap4e wrote
Because tourist (and everyone, realistically) are famously good at reading signs and following their instructions.
Amy_Ponder t1_iu4bk21 wrote
So because we'll never get 100% of people following the rules all the time, we should just give up completely? Come on, man. Don't let perfect be the enemy of the good.
I'd much rather have a lovely network of separated cycle tracks, which may have some issues with tourists being idiots in certain tourist-heavy areas, than the current life-threatening bike gutters most roads have now.
Anustart15 t1_iu4cira wrote
I'm not saying no bike lanes, I'm saying sidewalk level bike lanes are not the best option for that area
link0612 t1_iu1kh6e wrote
They'll be ripping up the whole road in a few years for MGH expansion and red-blue connector, so they didn't want to spend the money now just to tear it up again
Amy_Ponder t1_iu1nhmt wrote
Wait, the red-blue connector is actually happening?
HammerfestNORD t1_iu0w94c wrote
C'mon now. You know the logic train works as well as the T around here.
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