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News & ArtsTuesday, September 28, 2010
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz / Breaking News Bicycle Lobby Strikes Again: Bike Boxes Hit Seattle
Posted by Cienna Madrid on Tue, Sep 28, 2010 at 4:46 PM
The Seattle Department of Transportation is laying down the city's first bike box tonight at the intersection of 12th Avenue and E Pine Street, as part of the city's Bicycle Master Plan to prevent collisions between cars and cyclists at heavily trafficked intersections*. A bike box is a giant green box painted onto roadways, roughly spanning the length of a hatchback Honda Civic, that gives bicyclists and motorists visual cues for where cyclists should line up at intersections. This makes the intersection safer for all road users: The bike box is at the head of the intersection (behind the crosswalk). Cars stop behind it, bikes pull into it, and theoretically, motorists see them and don't strike them. Motor vehicle right turns on red aren't allowed at intersections with bike boxes. (Though, as you can see below, there is no sign warning motorists of this.)
Once the light turns green, traffic moves as usual.
- Isn't she beautiful?
SDOT is planning to install additional bike boxes on E Madison Street and 12th Avenue (where both streets intersect with Union Street), and at Seventh Avenue S and S Dearborn Street. Bike boxes are already found in Portland and New York City, to name a few.
*All part of the bicyclist lobby's sweeping agenda to kill Seattle businesses at speeds no greater than 15 mph.
2
Damn it!
If you keep up this level of expenditures, cyclists will be using almost one-tenth as much in per-driver subsidies as car drivers do!
Remember, this is Washington. Everything goes to roads. Including education money, even if the State Constitution says that's the Primary duty.
If you keep up this level of expenditures, cyclists will be using almost one-tenth as much in per-driver subsidies as car drivers do!
Remember, this is Washington. Everything goes to roads. Including education money, even if the State Constitution says that's the Primary duty.
3
And I hope SDOT puts up some super-prominent signage telling motorists about the "No Right On Red" provision, because there are a LOT of drivers who do that at this intersection, myself included.
6
I see plenty of cyclists go right on a red light ... and onto a one way street (9th and Pine, next to the Paramount). Currently one lane is closed (mystery construction), so going east on Pine St (up the hill) on that intersection is not an option for cars, but I still see cyclists taking that route. So just as long as theres no ongoing motor traffic, going the wrong way on a one way street is ok, right?
Seriously, some of you folks have a death wish.
Seriously, some of you folks have a death wish.
7
You forgot to mention that each of these bike boxes requires a forest of deeply confusing signs, usually including a stop symbol, a yield symbol, a bicycle symbol, and a curving arrow that points at, well, no one is really sure what it's pointing at.
10
Bike boxes are pointless. What's wrong with just getting in line behind the cyclist in front of you? All a bike box does is encourage people to form a confused clump of "you go first, oh no, you first, after you".
Knowing Seattle they'll probably use the glossy green paint like they did for the green bike lanes on 7th just south of Denny. Slip and slide, ho!
Knowing Seattle they'll probably use the glossy green paint like they did for the green bike lanes on 7th just south of Denny. Slip and slide, ho!
11
And not to OVERSTATE the obvious
But just where in the hell is this in ANYONE'S logical budget given the recent announcements?
Really? And you expect citizens to take anything said out of McGinn's mouth seriously
But just where in the hell is this in ANYONE'S logical budget given the recent announcements?
Really? And you expect citizens to take anything said out of McGinn's mouth seriously
13
#11: Are you joking? Cars kill more people in Seattle than murder, hunger, and fires combined. Slash the fire department, jails, and police department before you cut safety against cars.
14
We've got some of those here. They're green, not slippery when wet, and work just fine. Sometimes cars park on top of them, and sometimes bicyclists don't strictly adhere to the rules of the road—
If everyone keeps their head out of their ass, and worries less about suffering the indignity of being witness to a traffic misdemeanor, I think they'll get to where they're going in a much more pleasant fashion.
If everyone keeps their head out of their ass, and worries less about suffering the indignity of being witness to a traffic misdemeanor, I think they'll get to where they're going in a much more pleasant fashion.
15
@12 I'm also sick of drivers going 5 mph until the light turns yellow, then speeding up to race through it, even though they're two car lengths away.
Jaywalkers at least don't dart in front of cars. Bikes do...and without lights. I've almost hit a biker on several occasions because they ignore the lights and stop signs.
Jaywalkers at least don't dart in front of cars. Bikes do...and without lights. I've almost hit a biker on several occasions because they ignore the lights and stop signs.
19
At last night's Kent Bicycle Advisory Board, we had a presentation on Vehicular Cycling safety.
Interesting stats:
Only 17% of all bicycle accidents are car-bicycle.
50% are things like falling of your bike, or hitting a train track cut.
Also, 90% of all bicycle accidents happen at night.
Interesting stats:
Only 17% of all bicycle accidents are car-bicycle.
50% are things like falling of your bike, or hitting a train track cut.
Also, 90% of all bicycle accidents happen at night.
20
they probably happen at night because all us cyclists are drunk.
god bless the no dui on a bicycle clauses here in wa state :)
god bless the no dui on a bicycle clauses here in wa state :)
21
Wait, what does this have to do with drunk drivers like the golf course judge who smashed into multiple cars and would have killed any cyclist who crossed his path?
... oh, nothing.
Guess the pro-car subsidies are ok, then.
Even if it means cyclists die while judges drink and drive ...
... oh, nothing.
Guess the pro-car subsidies are ok, then.
Even if it means cyclists die while judges drink and drive ...
22
Why do people care if cyclists run lights/stop signs? I've never understood this. If you are behind them, then they are putting space between you and them—isn't that a good thing? And if you're not behind them, well, then what do you care?
I've never had a cyclist do anything that was any more annoying than what people driving cars do (drive slow, not signal, cut me off, not follow laws/rules, take up 2 lanes, etc, etc, etc) except there's, like, 1,000 times more cars than bikes, therefore I'm annoyed by cars 1000x more.
Plus, cyclists are super easy to drive around and eat my dust! I'd love to see more bikes on the road if it means less cars in my way!
I've never had a cyclist do anything that was any more annoying than what people driving cars do (drive slow, not signal, cut me off, not follow laws/rules, take up 2 lanes, etc, etc, etc) except there's, like, 1,000 times more cars than bikes, therefore I'm annoyed by cars 1000x more.
Plus, cyclists are super easy to drive around and eat my dust! I'd love to see more bikes on the road if it means less cars in my way!
23
@22 Because, asshole, when I'm trying to go through a green light and I don't see your poorly lit bicycle running a red light I'm going to run the fuck over you. Or worse, I lay my motorcycle down and maim myself to avoid hitting your retarded non-rule-following ass.
24
Yay, we get to yell and scream on the internet! Yay blogging!
Actually, bike boxes are awesome. They put the cyclists out in front where they can be seen (instead of in the passenger-side blind spot between the parked cars and traffic), and give them an extra few seconds to get started at a light.
Baconcat @8 is right as usual. *high five*
Actually, bike boxes are awesome. They put the cyclists out in front where they can be seen (instead of in the passenger-side blind spot between the parked cars and traffic), and give them an extra few seconds to get started at a light.
Baconcat @8 is right as usual. *high five*
25
So is it legal for bicyclists to bike through a red light or not? Not asking whether or not it's a good idea - but what's the law say?
26
@25 it's against the law. I've had cops yell at me twice for doing it. And I will continue to do it, looking both ways beforehand of course, because it's stupid not to. Same with jaywalking.
29
Bike boxes are great! It allows a cyclist to "take the lane" w/o drivers getting all bent out of shape and trying to maneuver their 2 ton vehicle around a >200lb cyclist. Only 17% of cycling accidents may be between car and bike, but 85% of cycling related deaths are a car driver's fault.
31
@1 This whole "running red lights" thing is such bs. Cyclists slow down, look, and then proceed, just like jaywalkers. I have been cycling for many years and I can count on one hand the times I have seen a crazy cyclist simply plow through a red light at full speed. There are far less than 1000 cycling deaths nationwide per year -- if cyclists were "running red lights" they'd be dying by the hundreds every day. What I do have to watch out for when riding are absent-minded pedestrians crossing against the light without looking -- for some reason, that seems epidemic.
33
Well I hope to god when you do run a red light or stop sign that you see me coming - because you're going to feel awfully stupid if you don't. I really really really don't want to hit you but don't put me in the position where I can't avoid you. And @31, if you spent an hour on the Ave in the udistrict you'd easily see 10 bicyclists do it because they don't want to slow down while they're on a hill.
I think it's great that people ride bikes but holy hell people. Just because you're on a bike doesn't give you permission to ride like the most asshole driver you've ever met.
I think it's great that people ride bikes but holy hell people. Just because you're on a bike doesn't give you permission to ride like the most asshole driver you've ever met.
34
@33
wait, in your last sentence, did you just compare cyclists to drivers? doesn't that counter your entire argument?
so many lolz
wait, in your last sentence, did you just compare cyclists to drivers? doesn't that counter your entire argument?
so many lolz
35
Soon the front half of the new "bike boxes" will be replaced with "ped boxes" for pedestrians, so they can stand in front of the bicyclists, who are in front of vehicles to further the cause of slowing movement in Seattle to even more of a crawl.
Seattle used to be cool. The idiots in charge continue to work hard at one-upping each other as they compete to see who can ruin it the most.
Seattle used to be cool. The idiots in charge continue to work hard at one-upping each other as they compete to see who can ruin it the most.
36
I am worried about all that green paint. I heard they are chopping up the forests to make that stuff.
Also, if they move that cop car and put in a cycle up gin & tonic bar, it would be much better.
Also, if they move that cop car and put in a cycle up gin & tonic bar, it would be much better.
37
@9: I presume your willful stupidity is due to the abundance of other stupid people in this country, then.
38
#31
Bullshit
I was a delivery driver until just recently. The one thing you can count on is cyclists having no self-preservation instinct.
I'm rolling down Boren, 30 MPH, coming up on Pine/Pike, I have all the lights.
Bicycle comes shooting across the street, I nail the brakes, cars behind honk, my packages go all over the floor.
EVERY. FUCKING. TIME.
Bullshit
I was a delivery driver until just recently. The one thing you can count on is cyclists having no self-preservation instinct.
I'm rolling down Boren, 30 MPH, coming up on Pine/Pike, I have all the lights.
Bicycle comes shooting across the street, I nail the brakes, cars behind honk, my packages go all over the floor.
EVERY. FUCKING. TIME.
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