Share the Carpath, I Mean Bikeroad
I know there’s nothing a blogger can say to change the minds and attitudes of those out there everyday on bikes and in cars, “sharing” the road. But I think my perspective is one yet to be represented in the recent mudslinging forum set in motion by a drunk biker’s belligerent actions a few weeks ago (i.e. the city transportation employee who threw his bike at a driver). I am someone who drives and bikes about equally. I commute to work 95% of the time by bike, yet I oftentimes drive my lemon around town for other things: errands, band practice/gigs, dates, etc. Because of this I feel I have a balanced view on this highly emotional and, at times, volatile debate.
First of all, I don’t think you can point the finger at one side or the other. Clearly there are just as many dangerous and stupid bikers out there as drivers. And when alcohol comes into play, you can throw all logic out the window. The anxious road climate as of late might have something to do with an increase of bikers of the streets. And it makes sense. Gas prices have pretty much forced people to find other ways of getting around town. And, though Portland is better equipped than most cities (maybe all) to accommodate these new bikers, it still falls short of a being a truly “bike friendly” city. The bike lane system is ok for the short term, but is not going to cut it as the years go on and the number of bikers continues to grow. And commuters on both side clearly need to be trained better on the rules of the road in respect to the relationship between bikes and cars.
I’m not saying that I have a solution to all this per se, but training the public seems to be the first, and most crucial, step we need to take. Most bikers out there are confident riders who know what they’re doing and follow the laws, but there are plenty of bikers who either don’t know the laws or simply don’t choose to follow them. These are the bikers that confuse, anger and stress out drivers trying to navigate through the often unpredictable clusters of bikes. On the other side of the picture, there are drivers out there who are way too timid around bikers and, though their intentions may be good, ultimately make things worse by stopping at intersections in which they have the right of way or swerving into the next lane in order to give bikers more space. There are also plenty of drivers that simply aren’t paying attention and are too busy talking on their phones to notice a biker riding along next to them. Anyone who’s ever ridden their bike in the city has been cut off by a car at some point. It happens to me at least two or three times a week, and never gets less terrifying. Everyone needs to be more aware of what’s really happening and always be conscious of the fact that, like it or not, there are human lives all around you that you are in some way responsible for.
So whether it’s going to take mandatory bike licenses (which has been proposed but I don’t think will work), more bike cops outside the downtown area, more (and wider) bike lanes, bike-only streets and byways, or a ban on cars altogether (just kidding), something has to happen to improve the conditions and attitudes of our cities commuters. It’s pretty ugly out there. I see arguments between bikers and drivers almost everyday, and have almost been lured into a few myself, I must admit. But I also think that more bikes on the road is a very good thing for the city. If we can figure this all out and make Portland the first truly “bike friendly” city, then we could be paving the way for a revolution in America.
Alicia Selliken
Agency Info:
It’s certainly tense on the streets of Portland these days, a sure sign of this city’s inability to handle additional load and to scale appropriately to the increased number of bicyclists during the active months of summer. Disappointingly, just as more people are venturing out on their initial attempts to discover life on the bicycle, they are immediately frightened right back into their car.
Portland has done a ton to make bicycling an accessible and safe commuting option for anyone willing to brave the two (or more) wheels. The city’s support is the first step toward overall change, but it’s a slow and painful growing experience. This city has been designed to accommodate and enable cars, not bikes, to travel easily from start to destination. All the add-ons for bicycles are mere afterthoughts, and will only serve to encroach on drivers’ perceived entitled space in the form of streets and avenues everywhere. Driving is already stressful – and then to have to share the road as well – it’s maddening! There are too many drivers who are waiting for the opportunity to let it out on a bicyclist, and they feel all the more bold behind their thick shield of glass and metal. How much of their aggression has anything to do with bicycles at all, let alone whether a bike dares to ride in front of them on a one lane street with no bike lane?
Bicyclists are unpredictable, and will likely remain so forever. They will always feel somewhere in between motorist and pedestrian, and will consider their basic rights to remain in the pedestrian category. Because bicyclists have no protection, just like a person walking down the street, they expect to be given the same respect. In so doing, some bicyclists feel they are only required to follow the laws pertaining to pedestrians, thus running stop signs and red lights, etc. I don’t believe that any amount of education will stop bicyclists from refusing to wait at a red light in the middle of the night with no traffic for miles in any direction.
I’m a driver and a bicyclist. When I’m in my car, I respect bike lanes (it would be nice if everybody did this), follow the rules of the road, and be careful around bikes. I’m in a huge machine and they are vulnerable, just like people, just like children. Maybe if everybody could just chill out and respect each other, bicyclists and motorists wouldn’t be at such odds with one another. It would also help if the city transportation layout was designed for bikes and tweaked so that cars could use the roads too.