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drgnwr1 posted:While looking for an article on a story a heard a few months ago about an elderly person who came to a roundabout that had been recently built in their normal driving area, didn't know what to do, so they drove straight across it. Yes, over the grass in the middle as if it wasn't there. I stumbled upon this article. Most of them I found interesting, a few of them I knew. Most of those rules are different in countries that aren't Australia.
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Jul 29, 2015 17:44
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Carbon dioxide posted:Most of those rules are different in countries that aren't Australia. I followed those rules today and ended up killing my self in a head-on collision!
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Jul 29, 2015 17:50
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Kaal posted:Lots of good signs and slides. Even more patience. This, this, this. Most of the time, you can convince people that your project is worthwhile by giving them clear and concise information. The other half of the time, you just have to listen.
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Jul 29, 2015 18:57
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It's really heart breaking though when you've got some great project, you've done a million public info sessions, you have great signs telling people everything about it. Then some big council meeting come up, and you've once again got handouts and a big foam core info sheet giving the basics of the project. You get up there and talk about it, Council asks some questions, and then it's over to the public. Right out of the gate people are complaining about poo poo that isn't true or way off base as if they never read anything, as if their only info on the project is something they heard their neighbour say and they've ignored everything else for the last 4 months and your entire presentation 
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Jul 29, 2015 19:07
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Baronjutter posted:It's really heart breaking though when you've got some great project, you've done a million public info sessions, you have great signs telling people everything about it. Then some big council meeting come up, and you've once again got handouts and a big foam core info sheet giving the basics of the project. It is part of the general human condition, "I don't care about your technical mumbo-jumbo science speech, I'm here to get my question answered and that is all I care about"
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Jul 29, 2015 20:06
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Cichlidae posted:People asked ConnDOT to install "TRUCKS NO JAKING" signs like they have in Rhode Island. We had a canned response, basically a press release from the company that makes Jake Brakes saying that they only make that noise when they're installed incorrectly, and that the plaintiff should be pushing for stronger inspection standards. Has nothing to do with Jacobs Vehicle Systems being based out of Bloomfield, CT, right? I do love the sound of an incorrectly installed Jake though
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Jul 30, 2015 00:57
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I think I turned some middle school kids into engineers today! They really loved what I do for a living and wanted to be like me. I also found a combat knife in the parking lot of an elementary school. Hartford. v689fbird posted:Has nothing to do with Jacobs Vehicle Systems being based out of Bloomfield, CT, right? I do love the sound of an incorrectly installed Jake though That maaaaaay have been part of ConnDOT's motivation.
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Jul 30, 2015 01:26
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Is a jake an engine break? Out in the country I see "do not use engine breaks in residential areas" and I never quite knew what they meant until one day I heard a truck making this awful loud gear thrashing sound as it slowed to a stop. Also wow, is all of Boston this hosed up? I've never seen a marked crosswalk at a light that didn't have signals. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KASlw0atPiQ Baronjutter fucked around with this message at 03:54 on Jul 30, 2015 |
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Jul 30, 2015 03:46
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A jake is an engine brake, and a perfect example of people caring more about quiet than safety.
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Jul 30, 2015 03:56
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Baronjutter posted:Is a jake an engine break? Out in the country I see "do not use engine breaks in residential areas" and I never quite knew what they meant until one day I heard a truck making this awful loud gear thrashing sound as it slowed to a stop. I'm not seeing what's unsafe about them. There are tons of intersections without the walk lights because being able to look at the cars suffices.
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Jul 30, 2015 04:07
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Baronjutter posted:It's really heart breaking though when you've got some great project, you've done a million public info sessions, you have great signs telling people everything about it. Then some big council meeting come up, and you've once again got handouts and a big foam core info sheet giving the basics of the project. "Yeah, but what are you going to do about *insert something waaaay outside project scope*?"
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Jul 30, 2015 08:02
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Baronjutter posted:Is a jake an engine break? Out in the country I see "do not use engine breaks in residential areas" and I never quite knew what they meant until one day I heard a truck making this awful loud gear thrashing sound as it slowed to a stop. Holy poo poo, is that guy on a recumbent bike? Those low things are really hard to see from cars. Riding one of those in the USA... Does he have a death wish?
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Jul 30, 2015 10:06
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Baronjutter posted:
In some places along the Charles, yes it is like that and outside of the major neighborhood streets of Boston (State St in the North End has fine crossings, though pedestrians will continue crossing on a green light until a vehicle starts to slowly nose them out of the way, I've had to do this a few times or I would never have moved). The towns surrounding Boston, like Brighton, don't have as well lit intersections for pedestrians. In general a lot of the intersections in downtown Boston are a headache, and the majority of pedestrians just don't care about the cares and think "I have the right of way, they will stop".
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Jul 30, 2015 11:57
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Nintendo Kid posted:I'm not seeing what's unsafe about them. There are tons of intersections without the walk lights because being able to look at the cars suffices. In general it might suffice, however the Western Ave intersection in particular is a huge pain in the rear end because it's pretty complicated and there is no phase where there aren't a ton of cars trying to get through that crosswalk (especially during rush hour). Baronjutter posted:Also wow, is all of Boston this hosed up? Nope, mainly just roads like this that are "parkways" and thus run by the Department of Conservation and Recreation. Despite its name, the DCR really doesn't give a flying gently caress about anything except squeezing as many cars down Storrow Drive as possible, hence the horrible conditions for pedestrians and bikes along all its roads. They even tried to ban bikes on the Mystic Valley Parkway last year, which was not well-received. Luckily it turned out they're not allowed to do that by state law. Echo 3 fucked around with this message at 12:10 on Jul 30, 2015 |
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Jul 30, 2015 12:00
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v689fbird posted:Has nothing to do with Jacobs Vehicle Systems being based out of Bloomfield, CT, right? I do love the sound of an incorrectly installed Jake though It's also a trademark violation for them to write the sign that way; watch for it to get changed to "no engine braking" real quick. But if you install a Jake Brake or other truck engine brake correctly or do not modify it, they do not make any more noise than usual.
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Jul 30, 2015 13:31
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Lobsterpillar posted:"Yeah, but what are you going to do about *insert something waaaay outside project scope*?" "How can the DOT spend money on this boondoggle when they can't even find the time to fix our potholes?" was a question I legit heard during the meeting.
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Jul 30, 2015 13:34
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Echo 3 posted:In general it might suffice, however the Western Ave intersection in particular is a huge pain in the rear end because it's pretty complicated and there is no phase where there aren't a ton of cars trying to get through that crosswalk (especially during rush hour). Yea, Storrow Drive is a nightmare to get on when driving. Main cause of backups on 93 south at the bridge.
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Jul 30, 2015 14:18
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drgnwr1 posted:In some places along the Charles, yes it is like that and outside of the major neighborhood streets of Boston (State St in the North End has fine crossings, though pedestrians will continue crossing on a green light until a vehicle starts to slowly nose them out of the way, I've had to do this a few times or I would never have moved). The towns surrounding Boston, like Brighton, don't have as well lit intersections for pedestrians. In general a lot of the intersections in downtown Boston are a headache, and the majority of pedestrians just don't care about the cares and think "I have the right of way, they will stop". Brighton isn't a town surrounding Boston, it's an integral part.  But anyway yeah that's just what you do in cities, at least most I've spent significant time in (DC, Baltimore, Philly, NYC). Living at the edge of Allston now, I think nothing of just walking across Comm Ave so long as it's clear, regardless of what the crossing sign says.
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Jul 30, 2015 14:49
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Nintendo Kid posted:Brighton isn't a town surrounding Boston, it's an integral part. I grew up in the Metro-Detroit area, so that is the mindset I am in when thinking about Boston. Nintendo Kid posted:But anyway yeah that's just what you do in cities, at least most I've spent significant time in (DC, Baltimore, Philly, NYC). Living at the edge of Allston now, I think nothing of just walking across Comm Ave so long as it's clear, regardless of what the crossing sign says. That is exactly what was happening, until I came up to the intersection with a green light and the mass of people continued to cross in front of me. I waited maybe 3 seconds to see if people would stop cross. They didn't so I slowly started nosing my way towards them. They stopped.
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Jul 30, 2015 15:28
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Carbon dioxide posted:Holy poo poo, is that guy on a recumbent bike? Those low things are really hard to see from cars. Riding one of those in the USA... Does he have a death wish? Recumbents are actually pretty popular here in Oregon. They just have flags to make them easier to see. It helps that drivers are pretty much blind to bicycles either way.
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Jul 30, 2015 17:12
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Just wanted to join this thread as I do land surveying in southwest CT (Darien, Stamford, New Canaan, Norwalk, Greenwich, etc.), and I live near Danbury. We do lots of stuff for the towns and state, including roads. I'm definitely against tolls here, I reaaaaally don't want to hit multiple ones on my way to and from work everyday, and it'll push all the avoiders to the (currently empty) back roads I can take home. But it may mean we get to survey for them, which would be interesting to see. I have to say pulling manholes to get inverts on roads like Water St or South Main in Norwalk is terrifying. People straight up ignore the multiple signs and the guy with a yellow vest directing traffic, and I had people each day nearly hit us. Mostly old guys who'd give the dirtiest look when I'd ask them what the gently caress they're thinking - one guy just rolled down his window partway and yelled "Get out of the road!" Sure thing buddy, your Metamucil might go bad if you can't get home in time! The Gasmask fucked around with this message at 17:41 on Jul 30, 2015 |
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Jul 30, 2015 17:36
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Kaal posted:Recumbents are actually pretty popular here in Oregon. They just have flags to make them easier to see. It helps that drivers are pretty much blind to bicycles either way. Is there any actual point to recumbent bikes or is it just for people who think bikes are too mainstream and they need even more dangerous special snowflake vehicles?
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Jul 30, 2015 17:36
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Baronjutter posted:Is there any actual point to recumbent bikes or is it just for people who think bikes are too mainstream and they need even more dangerous special snowflake vehicles? Yes. They go really loving fast (less air resistance is the main reason, maybe the way you ride it allows you to push the pedals with more power). A year or two after they were invented they were banned from bicycle races because an amateur on a recumbent can easily go faster than a pro on a normal bike. A pro on a recumbent gets world record human powered speeds. The world record on a recumbent is 133 km/h ( 83 mph), don't be surprised to see regular cyclists hit 30 mph speeds on those things. Carbon dioxide fucked around with this message at 18:07 on Jul 30, 2015 |
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Jul 30, 2015 18:03
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Carbon dioxide posted:Yes. They go really loving fast (less air resistance is the main reason, maybe the way you ride it allows you to push the pedals with more power). That's pretty cool then, they look comfortable too. I'm just not sure I'd feel safe using one in mixed traffic, even with a little flag. \/ Well then, recumbent bikes for everyone! I guess they aren't very popular because they're different and you look like a dork on them? Of course looking like a dork is fairly culturally relative so if they ever became more popular people would get used to them and end up looking at normal bikes the way we look at penny-farthings today. Baronjutter fucked around with this message at 18:27 on Jul 30, 2015 |
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Jul 30, 2015 18:05
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Baronjutter posted:That's pretty cool then, they look comfortable too. I'm just not sure I'd feel safe using one in mixed traffic, even with a little flag. drat, you didn't even let me ninja-edit my post. Wikipedia claims they're safer, because in a collision, they won't somersault, and you're already closer to the ground so a fall won't be as bad. Also, in a frontal collision your legs will take the hit, instead of your head.
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Jul 30, 2015 18:10
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It seems like stopping would be harder, as it doesn't look as easy to just take your foot off the pedal and put it on the ground to balance yourself like a normal (normal? safety?) bike.
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Jul 30, 2015 18:30
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Ofaloaf posted:"I understand the state police set the speed limit, but will you guys set the speed limit leading to this intersection?" He's not wrong about the state police, though.
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Jul 30, 2015 21:07
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FISHMANPET posted:It seems like stopping would be harder, as it doesn't look as easy to just take your foot off the pedal and put it on the ground to balance yourself like a normal (normal? safety?) bike. Nope they're just as easy to stop. In fact in some ways they are easier, since you can just set your foot down while a properly sized upright bicycle should have your feet out of reach of the ground unless you're leaning your bike. Recumbent bikes are rare, particularly in areas that don't have bicycle shops that sell them, but they aren't more dangerous (indeed in many ways they are safer to use). My hometown kind of lucked out in that we've got a bunch of bike shops, and in fact was home to a major recumbent bicycle production shop, and so they aren't so rare around here. I don't have one myself, but they're particularly popular among the older set who want a more comfortable ride. http://www.corvallisadvocate.com/2014/how-corvallis-got-so-bent/
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Jul 30, 2015 21:21
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In the Netherlands I would say they are less popular because they take more space to store, and cannot go in standard bike racks. And just because they are different, I guess. People use them only recreationally, which is not a big part of the market. You still do see them zipping around from time to time in the countryside. I can only remember seeing them a few times in Amsterdam.
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Jul 30, 2015 21:49
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Entropist posted:In the Netherlands I would say they are less popular because they take more space to store, and cannot go in standard bike racks. And just because they are different, I guess. People use them only recreationally, which is not a big part of the market. You still do see them zipping around from time to time in the countryside. I can only remember seeing them a few times in Amsterdam. The actual reason is that these things cost like 1000$ a piece, and most regular bike shops can't fix them. Either you fix them yourself or bring them to a very expensive specialized shop. Regular bikes cost 10$ if you just buy them off a bike thief, 50-100$ for a legal 2nd hand, and somewhat more for a new bike.
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Jul 30, 2015 22:28
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So if anyone in here is a pavement person, I want to ask about this. Right now MassDOT is repaving US 3 from the NH border to 128. Its been proceeding at a decent pace given that they can only pave at night and it's one of the busiest commuter highways in the state. It was also completely rebuilt back around 2002-2004 era, when it was widened from two lanes to three lanes plus accomodations made for a fourth lane. The fourth lane probably won't be added until 2025 but the bridges and the roadway are already built for it. The pavement was not in particularly bad shape, which is remarkably good given our winters and maintenance. Usually when Mass repaves a freeway, they grind down the entire roadway surface including shoulders. But this time it only looked like they ground out the left lane and the right lane, with no grooving in the center lane. The shoulders were left completely alone. Is this a new technique, or is it because the road is literally new enough that they don't have to chew up everything? Admittedly I don't know much about pavement maintenance, so I'd like to learn a bit more about it. Any thoughts?
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Jul 30, 2015 22:47
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Well, I imagine the shoulders don't need repaving nearly as often, since regular traffic doesn't use it. The right lane tends to be used the most, and by the heaviest traffic, and so will degrade fastest. Not sure why the left lane is being repaved, and not the middle one. Probably the middle lane is simply still in good enough shape that it doesn't need to be repaved until the next maintenance cycle.
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Jul 30, 2015 22:54
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kefkafloyd posted:So if anyone in here is a pavement person, I want to ask about this. If they haven't started repaving, it's possible they haven't gotten to the middle yet with the grinding machine. The shoulders and outside lanes are the "easiest" to close down so that you can do road work. Closing the middle of 3 lanes means that you have to shut down 2 lanes (you don't have a work zone in between two active travel lanes without concrete barrier, which is expensive to set up).
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Jul 30, 2015 22:58
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Eskaton posted:He's not wrong about the state police, though. The local media's put up a story about it already, including a mirror of the presentation the DOT folks initially gave. e: clarifying who's surly to who Ofaloaf fucked around with this message at 23:44 on Jul 30, 2015 |
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Jul 30, 2015 23:11
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Just to briefly return to the bike chat, a major downside of recumbent bikes is that it's much more difficult to "lift" the front wheel over a curb than on a regular bike. For a touring bike that isn't a problem, because you're going to be running on smooth highway shoulders or bike paths, but in city traffic a recumbent bike is both hard to see and kind of uncomfortable.
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Jul 30, 2015 23:25
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Devor posted:If they haven't started repaving, it's possible they haven't gotten to the middle yet with the grinding machine. The shoulders and outside lanes are the "easiest" to close down so that you can do road work. Closing the middle of 3 lanes means that you have to shut down 2 lanes (you don't have a work zone in between two active travel lanes without concrete barrier, which is expensive to set up). They are indeed paving the middle lane, which is what is puzzling me that they didn't groove it out. They're already done with all three lanes on both carriageways from Nashua to 495, and this week they're moving south of 495. They're doing a lane mile or two a night.
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Jul 31, 2015 02:52
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Carbon dioxide posted:The actual reason is that these things cost like 1000$ a piece, and most regular bike shops can't fix them. Either you fix them yourself or bring them to a very expensive specialized shop. Also whenever you replace the chain you usually have to buy like 4 chains and put them together.
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Jul 31, 2015 06:14
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$1000 is the low end of the spectrum for a recumbent. Those things go all the way up to the price of a small car.
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Jul 31, 2015 08:04
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NihilismNow posted:$1000 is the low end of the spectrum for a recumbent. Those things go all the way up to the price of a small car. I mean to be honest most brand new premium bikes are going to cost at least a grand. And the top line uprights can cost many thousands of dollars. That is why very few people buy brand new premium road bikes, and instead most buy second-hand or lower quality commuters/mountain bikes. You can typically pick up a great condition used recumbent for about $300-$400. Not really understanding the weirdo hate for recumbents in this thread. A recumbent has a lot more in common with a high-quality touring/racing bike than some heavy Walmart junker, and the pricing reflects that. Kaal fucked around with this message at 16:28 on Jul 31, 2015 |
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Jul 31, 2015 15:04
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Kaal posted:I mean to be honest most brand new premium bikes are going to cost at least a grand. And the top line uprights can cost many thousands of dollars. That is why very few people buy brand new premium road bikes, and instead most buy second-hand or lower quality commuters/mountain bikes. You can typically pick up a great condition used recumbent for about $300-$400. Not really understanding the weirdo hate for recumbents in this thread. A recumbent has a lot more in common with a high-quality touring/racing bike than some heavy Walmart junker, and the pricing reflects that. I like them and the idea of zooming along at 70kph. Not going to pay €7850 pre options for one though. Might buy one if i can really find one with aero shell for $300-400 Upright bicycles that cost thousands are nonsense unless you are literally a pro cyclist in the tour de France. E: €14483 full option. NihilismNow fucked around with this message at 16:58 on Jul 31, 2015 |
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Jul 31, 2015 16:53
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