Odds BodkinDuring rush hour this morning (8:30) I was driving toward downtown on Anacapa Street. Both one-way lanes were filled with traffic. A bicyclist was also riding in the same direction.
With no bike lane available, the cyclist was riding in the right traffic lane close to parked cars. Cars were then forced to slow behind the bicyclist and merge into the left lane to go around the bicyclist, creating a small traffic jam.
Forum question: Since a bike lane exists in the same direction of travel (State St.) should bicyclists be obligated to use streets where a bike lane is available in their direction of travel?
“…should bicyclists be obligated to use streets where a bike lane is available in their direction of travel?”……………………….I don’t think they should be legally obligated to use a street with a bike lane, but I think they’re morally obligated to. Back in the not-so-distant past when I commuted via bicycle to work downtown from my home on the upper Westside, I would NEVER ride on streets such as De la Vina, Anacapa, Chapala, and the like because just one street over was a dedicated bike lane. That said, nothing is more annoying than being on a street with a bike lane, such as Castillo, and coming across a group of two or three riders riding abreast and taking up the whole traffic lane. And as far as the entire westbound side of East Cota now a bike lane, with no motor vehicle parking whatsoever, I drive that route several times a week and I have never—EVER—seen a single bicyclist there. Thanks so much, City of SB.
Would you rather ride down Anacapa with the timed light signals or on State Street that could take a 1/2 day to go from top to bottom if you hit every light? That is also an option for cars if you think it is such a great transportation corridor. Maybe it is safer for bikes but with pedestrians and cars doing erratic things, maybe it isn’t. There should be a bike lane on a street that would allow bike traffic to travel efficiently to their destination. The one bike lane on Castillo is not enough. I’ve biked down Anacapa many times and am usually moving at car speed to hit the lights.
ive biked and skateboarded and drove downtown most of my 40something years here. I live in the heart of this mess we call downtown. I watch so many cyclists (you know who you are) that are brazen and over entitled and blow through stop signs, lights, crosswalks, refusing to yield to right of way, impeding traffic and doing seriously bone headed moves like riding on DLV or Anacapa. Or many of the other streets downtown. Let’s be real here. Groups of cyclists with fancy over priced road bikes tend to be obnoxious and take up way more space than they should. They taunt and challenge drivers (dumb move IMO) and cause collisions. Small narrow city streets and too many cars parking on the streets and too many LARGE vehicles. These streets were not made with this in mind. I bike on roads with bike lanes 75% of the time and use safer routes to connect. Why? Because i’m not an idiot and will never challenge a 7500lb vehicle in a game of chicken. The 3ft ‘law’ isn’t applicable when you do the math, 3ft from either side of the road = 6ft, that’s more or less one full lane on DLV. Another topic, are the over entitled dog owners, but we’ll save that for another post 😉
Let’s see if I have this right… a bicyclist has to go out of his/her way for several minutes to prevent an inconvenience to strangers in cars that only costs them less than a minute off their routine. No wonder civility is breaking down as we demand more of others than we do of ourselves.
This post reminds me of the time I was riding my bike on Hollister Ave, Old Town Goleta and some woman made a zippy right turn into the bank parking lot, cutting me off and missing the front tire of my bike (I slammed on my brakes) by mere inches. When I followed her into the parking lot and asked why she felt the need to nearly run me over, she called me a “choice name” and told me I should ” . . . be on the bike path. That’s where you belong.” Hahahahaha. Now that’s RICH. So . . . I am supposed to WALK MY BIKE on the sidewalks of Old Town Goleta if I’m running errands or just out for a ride because bicyclists “belong” on the bike path? I, too, ride my bike in Santa Barbara, mostly downtown and now mainly on bike paths. After nearly 50 years of riding my bike around here, I sure as heck don’t feel AT ALL SAFE on the streets. Never been hit and don’t want to ruin my record (or my body). Drivers are angry. They are distracted. They are impatient. They are easily offended and annoyed. Not all of them. Some are polite. I have drivers waving me through a four-way stop, when it’s not my turn. Some people are nice. I yell at guys (it’s 95% guys) when they are riding their bicycles on the sidewalks. Those idiots endanger pedestrians and will cause heartache when they get “cleaned up” by some driver not expecting a moron riding along on the sidewalk at 15-20mph and through crosswalks—–often against traffic on a one-way street. My answer to the OP is this: Bicyclists are legally considered to be operators of vehicles. They are on a par legally with car/SUV/truck drivers. Bicyclists have the RIGHT to ride where they CAN, legally. That said, this mega-traffic, “over-entitled” (that’s redundancy at its best, ZEROHAWK) seething mess of car/SUV/truck drivers has taken all the fun out of riding a bike anywhere on City streets and roads/County streets and roads. Not only because I don’t want to become a collision victim, but also because I love my lungs—–I don’t ride where there’s traffic if I can help it. Who needs to breathe in all that particulate matter? Who needs to deal with any (haha) “over-entitled” drivers?
…and then, you woke up.
Cyclists shouldn’t be forced to drive on a certain road, but they should take it into consideration for their own safety. Then again, their own safety doesn’t seem to matter to many cyclists I see racing through stop signs, riding without lights at night, and other dangerous maneuvers.
@LUVADUCK Your comment makes it sound like riding against traffic or on the sidewalk is a common practice for cyclists. It’s not, your everyday commuter knows it’s illegal and dangerous and is not going to do these things.
The main problem is the attitude of bikers, especially the ones that get all dressed up in their “uniforms” to simply peddle a bike. They believe they own the road and I’ve heard them say rude comments to cars, runners, walkers, etc.. They really need to get back off and use the bike paths when available. But at least they look like professional “lance armstrong” bikers while they’re busy complaining 🙂