NYTimes Bay Area Blog - The Backlash Against Cyclists and accompanying
video
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Bob Shanteau
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Nov 06, 2009 15:27 PST
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This video is poorly composed. It shows only one stop line out of four
at this offset 4-way intersection, so you cannot see whether drivers
and bicyclists stop at three of the four approaches.
People posting on the SFBike mailing list
<https://lists.riseup.net/www/arc/sfbike> are up in arms over
these articles (see the thread entitled, "NYT "The Backlash Against
Cyclists"). Here is one comment:
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Almost anyone that gets on a bike in the city will almost instantly
realize how unnatural, inefficient, and foolish it is to follow the
traffic laws exactly as written.
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Bob Shanteau
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<http://bayarea.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/06/the-backlash-against-cyclists>;
November 6, 2009, 1:29 am
The Backlash Against Cyclists
By Scott James
Update 9:03 a.m.
<a
href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BV_oiLRNR2I&;feature=player_embedded"><img
src="cid:part1.080108-@gmail.com" alt="" border="0"
height="319" width="425">Click image to see video
At the four-way stop videotaped above, 7 cyclists come to a complete
stop, 15 cyclists pause at a stop sign before continuing and 91
cyclists blow through the intersection.
Preparing to write this week’s “Barbary Coast” column on the emerging
backlash against cyclists who don’t obey the rules of the road, I spoke
to several friends who are avid bike riders.
“Dude, don’t make everyone look bad just because of a few jerks,” said
the writer Joshua Citrak. Yes, he does use the word “dude,” and has
tattoos, visible piercings and a mop of ever-changing colors. As much
as I admire Josh, I had my doubts that only a handful of cyclists run
stop signs.
So I set up a little experiment and videotaped an intersection during
morning rush hour.
Duboce and Steiner in San Francisco isn’t the busiest or most dangerous
crossroads in the Bay Area, but it’s complex. Cars, pedestrians,
cyclists and the MUNI N-Line all converge here. And Sanchez Street
comes in too, off center. That’s where I set up my camera.
The video is sped up so 40 minutes shrinks to about 8. At this speed it
looks like a ballet of traffic, and you’ll be able to pass your own
judgments—and not just about cyclists. You can see a few cars use the
infamous “California Stop” technique, instead of coming to a complete
halt. (Also note the driver who forgets his coffee on the roof of his
car!)
I refer to two blogs in the column: God of Biscuits by Jeff Barbose and
Critical Mass, the group bike ride through the city held the last
Friday night of each month.
It’s worth noting that the Critical Mass blog allows comments. It’s
admirable that the group is giving its opponents a platform. Maybe this
is the beginning of an actual dialog.
Dude.
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