Bicyclists are too impatient/Reader Response
A biker may have to wait a full 10 to 20 seconds before the traffic clears enough so they can go around from behind.
Stu Bykofsky, I just loved the way you so clearly laid out the issues on bicycle lanes, especially the city not being forthright about its plans.
My husband and I attended a community meeting a couple of months ago about the bike coalition's petitioning to turn Pine Street in my neighborhood (Washington Square West) into a one-lane road so that what is now the bike lane there will have protective bollards or something – thereby eliminating the parking, plus preventing anyone from being able to pull over and make a delivery (of a person OR goods).
The bike people cited their lack of safety, due to actual cars on the road, and the car people cited statistics about pedestrians being much more likely to be hit by cars.
The interesting thing is that for the last two months, I have purposely walked my dog along Pine (the 1200 block to 900 block) at all times of day, just to see how much hassle the present bike lane presents to the bikers. Here is what I've noticed: Businesses do have trucks making occasional deliveries, and because of doctors' offices in the 800 block, lots of old and infirm folks are being dropped off. What this actually means is that a biker may have to wait a full 10 to 20 seconds before the traffic clears enough so they can go around from behind. We all know that they are so impatient, they can't bear to wait for the traffic lights to turn green, and just buzz through the red.
— Mur Sherman Hayman, Philadelphia