I hate shortened crossings. Pedestrian crossings should follow the flow of pedestrians. Bikes shouldn’t have to slow down to make sharp turns just to cross the street. There should be crossings that go in a sensible line.
I know, it’s not a great solution but think about it - if you’re on a bike you’re faster than a pedestrian and there’s a high chance a car won’t see you if they aren’t already stopped (assuming there’s no traffic light to regulate traffic).
Doesn’t matter if the car sees me, I’ll see the car. I’m always careful. Any time my attention is compromised, I do get off. When I’m healthy and cautious, I ride.
I also thought it was a bit of a wild request for bikes to only cross where bike infra exists. If we can’t make progress in driver behavior, we should build more mode separation to contain the thousand pound death machines in their own physically isolated section of the street. At no point should we be compromising bicycle or pedestrian mobility. We have a right to the street also, and it’s the cars who have trouble co-existing with the other modes of transportation without murdering a bunch of people.
In my area, bikes are allowed on all sidewalks except for a street-bounded square around the downtown core where we must ride in the street. When on the sidewalk, we are expected to yield to pedestrians. This works in practice, mostly due to low volume of bikes and pedestrians, and in some places 12 food wide sidewalks specifically designated as class 1 urban trails that even allow some ebikes. In practice, this works okay but you are definitely forced to have little micro interactions with people to negotiate sidewalk space or signal your intentions. Cyclists go to the sidewalk as a last resort because it’s often not a comfortable place for us to ride, just less likely to get us killed. I will never understand cyclists who don’t ring. It’s a bad look for our ability to share space. Unlike cars, bicycles and pedestrians are close enough in speed to occasionally mix.
I do agree that in city centers and high traffic areas, riders should dismount.
Given that’s not the law in my country, I have to assume that it’s your personal opinion. And your personal opinion that I should risk my life just to get to the grocery store is fucked.
Weird thing is that you can ride slowly and safely while passing pedestrians.
Making a general statement like this is just completely ignorant of the reality of living in cities where car drivers HATE bikes and will absolutely kill you if you try riding in the road.
I mean, getting hit by a bike hurts, but it doesn’t kill you. Still, I’m not a fan of people endangering and inconveniencing others so they themselves can be safer either. But that’s what people are like. That’s one of the reasons everyone should be pro bike lane, even if they don’t cycle.
I’ve been in cities where the “bike lane” was a “Parked car door zone”
Some of these cities literally made it illegal to not ride in the bike lanes. Not everyone should be pro bike lane, especially when they’re death lanes
Yes. I also think doctors should risk the lives of patients by prescribing antibiotics for bacterial infections. This is a risk because some patients have undiagnosed penicillin allergies. There is always a level of acceptable risk. Given that nobody has ever been killed by a bicycle they weren’t riding in my country, I find the risk acceptable. The pedestrians on the route I take have a higher chance of dying from lung cancer due to car pollution, PER CAR, than from me killing them.
To optimize the intersection for car traffic. Or maybe rather to minimize signal wait times.
If pedestrians could take the shortest path, it would roughly double the size of the intersection in both width and height. Which then requires clearing times on each signal pass to be longer. Which ultimately makes everybody wait longer at the intersection, including pedestrians.
So, that is one possible explanation. I guess you didn’t really ask for one, and maybe I should also add that it’s just that; an explanation, not a justification.
Better explain why pedestrian crossings are stretched so much instead of being on shortest trajectory to other side
I hate shortened crossings. Pedestrian crossings should follow the flow of pedestrians. Bikes shouldn’t have to slow down to make sharp turns just to cross the street. There should be crossings that go in a sensible line.
Crossings should be safe for humans and bikes. Meaning, they should be short and bikes should not be ridden across intersections if no bike lane
If there’s no bike lane, and bikes can’t ride across intersections, how on earth are bikes supposed to get around at all?
Get off the bike and push it.
I know, it’s not a great solution but think about it - if you’re on a bike you’re faster than a pedestrian and there’s a high chance a car won’t see you if they aren’t already stopped (assuming there’s no traffic light to regulate traffic).
Doesn’t matter if the car sees me, I’ll see the car. I’m always careful. Any time my attention is compromised, I do get off. When I’m healthy and cautious, I ride.
I also thought it was a bit of a wild request for bikes to only cross where bike infra exists. If we can’t make progress in driver behavior, we should build more mode separation to contain the thousand pound death machines in their own physically isolated section of the street. At no point should we be compromising bicycle or pedestrian mobility. We have a right to the street also, and it’s the cars who have trouble co-existing with the other modes of transportation without murdering a bunch of people.
Bikes belong in the road.
If you’re in a pedestrian path with a bicycle, you should be dismounted
In my area, bikes are allowed on all sidewalks except for a street-bounded square around the downtown core where we must ride in the street. When on the sidewalk, we are expected to yield to pedestrians. This works in practice, mostly due to low volume of bikes and pedestrians, and in some places 12 food wide sidewalks specifically designated as class 1 urban trails that even allow some ebikes. In practice, this works okay but you are definitely forced to have little micro interactions with people to negotiate sidewalk space or signal your intentions. Cyclists go to the sidewalk as a last resort because it’s often not a comfortable place for us to ride, just less likely to get us killed. I will never understand cyclists who don’t ring. It’s a bad look for our ability to share space. Unlike cars, bicycles and pedestrians are close enough in speed to occasionally mix.
I do agree that in city centers and high traffic areas, riders should dismount.
Given that’s not the law in my country, I have to assume that it’s your personal opinion. And your personal opinion that I should risk my life just to get to the grocery store is fucked.
Your personal opinion is that you should risk the lives of pedestrians by riding a vehicle in their path?
Its not about laws, its about morality.
Weird thing is that you can ride slowly and safely while passing pedestrians.
Making a general statement like this is just completely ignorant of the reality of living in cities where car drivers HATE bikes and will absolutely kill you if you try riding in the road.
I mean, getting hit by a bike hurts, but it doesn’t kill you. Still, I’m not a fan of people endangering and inconveniencing others so they themselves can be safer either. But that’s what people are like. That’s one of the reasons everyone should be pro bike lane, even if they don’t cycle.
I’ve been in cities where the “bike lane” was a “Parked car door zone”
Some of these cities literally made it illegal to not ride in the bike lanes. Not everyone should be pro bike lane, especially when they’re death lanes
I meant that as in ‘everyone should be pro creating safe bike lanes’. Sorry I wasn’t clear
Yes. I also think doctors should risk the lives of patients by prescribing antibiotics for bacterial infections. This is a risk because some patients have undiagnosed penicillin allergies. There is always a level of acceptable risk. Given that nobody has ever been killed by a bicycle they weren’t riding in my country, I find the risk acceptable. The pedestrians on the route I take have a higher chance of dying from lung cancer due to car pollution, PER CAR, than from me killing them.
It seems to be a 4-way intersection.
To optimize the intersection for car traffic. Or maybe rather to minimize signal wait times.
If pedestrians could take the shortest path, it would roughly double the size of the intersection in both width and height. Which then requires clearing times on each signal pass to be longer. Which ultimately makes everybody wait longer at the intersection, including pedestrians.
So, that is one possible explanation. I guess you didn’t really ask for one, and maybe I should also add that it’s just that; an explanation, not a justification.