Re: [Ebbc-Talk] One-Way Streets: Do Humans Really Think?!

At last night's Oakland BPAC meeting, the consensus was that a right-side
bike lane, on a one-way street, does not preclude you from riding on the far
left. RideOn.

-----Original Message-----
From: [email protected]
[mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Mike Vandeman
Sent: 18 October 2012 07:34
To: Emily Thurston; [email protected]
Subject: Re: [Ebbc-Talk] One-Way Streets: Do Humans Really Think?!

At 08:54 AM 10/15/2012, Emily Thurston wrote:
>My experience with all the one way streets in downtown Portland, 
>Oregon, is that they were GREAT for bicycles. They simplify traffic a 
>great deal and make it easier for bicycles, which move slower and steer 
>differently than the cars, to navigate intersections safely.
>In particular, turning left off a busy street works much better.

One-way streets probably increase the speed of motor vehicles, making them
more dangerous for bicyclists. In general, it's vastly more pleasant to ride
side streets where there's minimal traffic.

>I lived in Portland, OR for 9 years as the bicycle traffic tripled from 
>1% of transportation trips to 3% of transportation trips.
>Bicycling has tripled again since I moved to the bay area. The one way 
>streets in and around Downtown remain.
>
>One added benefit of one-way streets is that it's easier to get the 
>lights timed. In downtown Portland they were timed at 15 mph, which is 
>a great speed for cycling.

There's no way to time lights to please everyone. Instead, we should program
lights to respond, first of all, to the presence of bicyclists, buses, and
emergency vehicles, and only respond to other vehicles when none of the
former are present.

But, as I said, side streets (preferably without lights) are far better. And
the air is cleaner. And whenever you meet cross traffic, you can hop off and
become a pedestrian, with the right of way.

>On Oct 10, 2012, at 6:40 PM, [email protected] wrote:
>
> > Message: 1
> > Date: Sun, 07 Oct 2012 10:15:54 -0700
> > From: Mike Vandeman <mjvande-yBeKhBN/[email protected]>
> > To: Recipient list suppressed:;
> > Subject: [Ebbc-Talk] One-Way Streets: Do Humans Really Think?!
> > Message-ID: <810347.49699.bm-lZTCTkxaLTf8AbloPCyspULUdxTIq2jXG6kzb5Gsg2M@public.gmane.org>
> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed
> >
> > It's really not rocket science. If there are no one-way streets, one 
> > can always get where one wants to go via the shortest route, saving 
> > gas and reducing accidents and global warming (assuming that you are 
> > one of those dinosaurs still using motor vehicles). Once you 
> > introduce one-way streets, you will often have to drive farther than 
> > the shortest route. For a simple example, say you are at one end of 
> > a one-way street and want to get to somewhere else on that street.
> >
> > While we are on the subject of traffic, have you noticed how many 
> > residents have eliminated their off-street parking space, and forced 
> > the city to provide them on-street parking at a ridiculously low 
> > below-market price? On-street parking -- at least on arterials -- 
> > should be eliminated. Instead, those lanes should be for the 
> > exclusive use of bicyclists and emergency vehicles. That would 
> > provide bicyclists a safe place to ride, and provide ambulances a 
> > way to get through when the traffic lanes are full of cars.
> >
> > Then we could solve the homelessness problem by using the parking 
> > lane on non-arterials for old cars that no longer run, to be used as 
> > housing for the homeless. They could have a safe, dry place to sleep 
> > and lock up their belongings.
> >
> > There! The world's major problems solved in only three paragraphs!
> > Now get to work!
>
>_______________________________________________
>Ebbc-Talk mailing list
>[email protected]
>http://lists.ebbc.org/listinfo.cgi/ebbc-talk-ebbc.org


-- 

I am working on creating wildlife habitat that is off-limits to humans
("pure habitat").
Want to help? (I spent the previous 8 years fighting auto dependence and
road construction.)

Please don't put a cell phone next to any part of your body that you are
fond of!

http://mjvande.nfshost.com

_______________________________________________
Ebbc-Talk mailing list
[email protected]
http://lists.ebbc.org/listinfo.cgi/ebbc-talk-ebbc.org

_______________________________________________
Ebbc-Talk mailing list
[email protected]
http://lists.ebbc.org/listinfo.cgi/ebbc-talk-ebbc.org