[i love cars] I don't need a Tesla to take big loads

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > C-SPAM > [i love cars] I don't need a Tesla to take big loads

BonHair: Apr 28, 2007

I am okay with ambulances using the bike lane, and cyclists should move over to allow this. Provided there is no car road available, which, lmao, there is.

I also firmly believe that fire trucks should have train style fenders to literally push cars out of the way.

# ? Feb 15, 2023 19:18

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# ? May 26, 2024 18:30

Electro-Boogie Jack: Nov 22, 2006; bagger mcguirk sent me.

Pittsburgh Fentanyl Cloud posted:

Some kid got fuckin murdered here a year back or so, so they stuck this speed hump here. All it does is slow down Civics or Fits, the modern sort of truck everyone loves to drive just glides over it at 40mph.

i am begging pittsburgh to get one single ordinary sidewalk that isn't covered with cars or like, made of gravel or some poo poo

# ? Feb 15, 2023 19:30

Clark Nova: Jul 18, 2004

plenty of truck-brained idiots will slow way the hell down, sometimes even slamming on the brakes dangerously, to baby their enormous lifted shitbox over moderate speed bumps

# ? Feb 15, 2023 19:51

Blackhawk: Nov 15, 2004

Don't have a picture because the google maps data is too old to show it, but on a fairly main road around here they recently added some mind-boggling anti-bike infrastructure.

Basically there's a side road that joins to the main road and I guess it could be difficult to turn from the side road onto the main road sometimes so the council put a set of traffic lights there. The main road is also a pretty common cycling route although at this point it doesn't have any kind of cycleway painted on it (there are some painted cycleways further along).

For whatever reason just for the 10m before and after the intersection they decided to add a separated cycleway (on road, but with concrete lumps to separate it from the cars) and then add a special bicycle light to the set of traffic lights. The end result is that if you're riding down the main road and want to continue straight as a bicycle the bicycle traffic light is always red because the traffic light by default is set to allow cars driving on the main road to turn across the 'bicycle lane'. If you want to go straight as a bicycle but also use the 10m stretch of bicycle lane you'd always have to stop and wait for the lights to change so you could continue, while the car lane is always set to allow cars to continue through or turn as they please.

So of course every time I ride through this section I just keep riding in the car lane because then I just ride straight through the lights like everything else on the road, instead of pulling into a 10m long section of 'cycleway' with a permanently red light, only to get spat back out into the main flow of traffic 10m after the traffic lights anyway.

It's like road infrastructure designed to enforce bicycles as second-class road users, and it actually makes it more dangerous to ride there as rather than remaining in the flow of traffic you're supposed to briefly pull off onto a separated cycleway and then immediately merge back into traffic again after having come to a complete stop and therefore carrying no speed (while the traffic never had to stop in the first place and is already moving at full speed).

# ? Feb 15, 2023 20:13

Pittsburgh Fentanyl Cloud: Apr 7, 2003; Can't post for 6 hours!

Electro-Boogie Jack posted:

i am begging pittsburgh to get one single ordinary sidewalk that isn't covered with cars or like, made of gravel or some poo poo

# ? Feb 15, 2023 20:16

hailthefish: Oct 24, 2010

Blackhawk posted:

Don't have a picture because the google maps data is too old to show it, but on a fairly main road around here they recently added some mind-boggling anti-bike infrastructure.

Basically there's a side road that joins to the main road and I guess it could be difficult to turn from the side road onto the main road sometimes so the council put a set of traffic lights there. The main road is also a pretty common cycling route although at this point it doesn't have any kind of cycleway painted on it (there are some painted cycleways further along).

For whatever reason just for the 10m before and after the intersection they decided to add a separated cycleway (on road, but with concrete lumps to separate it from the cars) and then add a special bicycle light to the set of traffic lights. The end result is that if you're riding down the main road and want to continue straight as a bicycle the bicycle traffic light is always red because the traffic light by default is set to allow cars driving on the main road to turn across the 'bicycle lane'. If you want to go straight as a bicycle but also use the 10m stretch of bicycle lane you'd always have to stop and wait for the lights to change so you could continue, while the car lane is always set to allow cars to continue through or turn as they please.

So of course every time I ride through this section I just keep riding in the car lane because then I just ride straight through the lights like everything else on the road, instead of pulling into a 10m long section of 'cycleway' with a permanently red light, only to get spat back out into the main flow of traffic 10m after the traffic lights anyway.

It's like road infrastructure designed to enforce bicycles as second-class road users, and it actually makes it more dangerous to ride there as rather than remaining in the flow of traffic you're supposed to briefly pull off onto a separated cycleway and then immediately merge back into traffic again after having come to a complete stop and therefore carrying no speed (while the traffic never had to stop in the first place and is already moving at full speed).

the conspiratorial thinking part of my brain can't help but feel like this is deliberate to then point to how the cyclists who take that route don't use the terrible counterproductive bike pitstop they added and then go "therefore, building bike infrastructure is bad"

# ? Feb 15, 2023 20:18

Pittsburgh Fentanyl Cloud: Apr 7, 2003; Can't post for 6 hours!

Also Pennsylvania law means that the person who's property fronts the sidewalk in question is responsible for maintenance even though they don't own that sidewalk

https://www.rostocki.com/pa-private-property-and-public-sidewalks

That's why sidewalks are such a loving mess all over the state, property owners ignore them and the municipality ain't responsible for them.

# ? Feb 15, 2023 20:24

Cup Runneth Over: Aug 8, 2009; She said life's
Too short to worry
Life's too long to wait
It's too short
Not to love everybody
Life's too long to hate

eXXon posted:

Do you have stairs in your pants?

I am protected

# ? Feb 15, 2023 20:26

Ham Equity: Apr 16, 2013; The first thing we do, let's kill all the cars.; Grimey Drawer

Pittsburgh Fentanyl Cloud posted:

Also Pennsylvania law means that the person who's property fronts the sidewalk in question is responsible for maintenance even though they don't own that sidewalk

https://www.rostocki.com/pa-private-property-and-public-sidewalks

That's why sidewalks are such a loving mess all over the state, property owners ignore them and the municipality ain't responsible for them.

It is the same in Seattle.

# ? Feb 15, 2023 21:13

Mr. Sharps: Jul 30, 2006; The only true law is that which leads to freedom. There is no other.

Ham Equity posted:

It is the same in Seattle.

is it really? explains a lot lol

# ? Feb 15, 2023 21:52

Nitevision: Oct 5, 2004; Your Friendly FYAD Helper
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Blackhawk posted:

Don't have a picture because the google maps data is too old to show it, but on a fairly main road around here they recently added some mind-boggling anti-bike infrastructure.

Speaking of things being the same in Seattle. Our version of this is having bike lanes that, in a few different places, switch sides of the street at an intersection.

I think I've posted this first one before, which, as you can see, asks cyclists to wait at a red while the car lane in the same direction is green:

And that was such a hit that we added another one at a four-way stop:

Seems like a design that every road user will hate :bravo:

but I guess each of these saved about 10 on-street parking places so who's to say if it's bad or not.

# ? Feb 15, 2023 21:57

Nitevision: Oct 5, 2004; Your Friendly FYAD Helper
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And it should go without saying but the right thing to do at either of these spots but especially the second one is to take the lane. Going diagonal at a four-way stop with drivers present is putting your loving life in their hands lmao

# ? Feb 15, 2023 22:04

Sphyre: Jun 14, 2001

Blackhawk posted:

Don't have a picture because the google maps data is too old to show it, but on a fairly main road around here they recently added some mind-boggling anti-bike infrastructure.

Basically there's a side road that joins to the main road and I guess it could be difficult to turn from the side road onto the main road sometimes so the council put a set of traffic lights there. The main road is also a pretty common cycling route although at this point it doesn't have any kind of cycleway painted on it (there are some painted cycleways further along).

For whatever reason just for the 10m before and after the intersection they decided to add a separated cycleway (on road, but with concrete lumps to separate it from the cars) and then add a special bicycle light to the set of traffic lights. The end result is that if you're riding down the main road and want to continue straight as a bicycle the bicycle traffic light is always red because the traffic light by default is set to allow cars driving on the main road to turn across the 'bicycle lane'. If you want to go straight as a bicycle but also use the 10m stretch of bicycle lane you'd always have to stop and wait for the lights to change so you could continue, while the car lane is always set to allow cars to continue through or turn as they please.

So of course every time I ride through this section I just keep riding in the car lane because then I just ride straight through the lights like everything else on the road, instead of pulling into a 10m long section of 'cycleway' with a permanently red light, only to get spat back out into the main flow of traffic 10m after the traffic lights anyway.

It's like road infrastructure designed to enforce bicycles as second-class road users, and it actually makes it more dangerous to ride there as rather than remaining in the flow of traffic you're supposed to briefly pull off onto a separated cycleway and then immediately merge back into traffic again after having come to a complete stop and therefore carrying no speed (while the traffic never had to stop in the first place and is already moving at full speed).

Where is this?

# ? Feb 15, 2023 22:21

e.pilot: Nov 20, 2011; sometimes maybe good
sometimes maybe shit

Nitevision posted:

And it should go without saying but the right thing to do at either of these spots but especially the second one is to take the lane. Going diagonal at a four-way stop with drivers present is putting your loving life in their hands lmao

same with running any kind of red light if it's safe and there's no cross traffic, the faster you can get away from an intersection as a pedestrian/bike, the faster you're away from people looking left when turning right

# ? Feb 15, 2023 22:21

SideEffectShit: Oct 10, 2022; by Pragmatica

Mr. Sharps posted:

theres a right lane must exit sign, then another sign indicating the right lane is exit only and also the street it deposits into, then a sign warning to slow to 30, then another sign warning of a hard right turn and to slow to 20, then another sign to slow to 20, then another sign indicating a right turn and to slow to 20, then a sign warning of the upcoming light, then another sign indicating a right turn and to slow to 20, a few arrows helpfully showing the way, and then youre there!

i';m talkin like so many yellow right turn signs that one gets a suntan from their headlights

# ? Feb 15, 2023 22:21

gradenko_2000: Oct 5, 2010; HELL SERPENT; Lipstick Apathy

https://twitter.com/JoshuaCAgar/status/1626092243869388800

it's no buried steel bollard, but this kind of protected bike lane is about as good as it gets here in the Phils, and look at how well it works! (no sarcasm)

# ? Feb 16, 2023 06:42

Blackhawk: Nov 15, 2004

Sphyre posted:

Where is this?

Corner of Mt Albert rd and Frost rd, Auckland. As I said it's too new to show on the aerial photography or street view though.

My partner and I decided to go for a walk to get dinner this afternoon given the weather was so nice and there are plenty of places to eat within a 1km or so walk. Nearly got hit by a lady blasting through a pedestrian crossing just as we were about to start walking lol, even while we were both making large rude hand gestures at her.

# ? Feb 16, 2023 08:00

Fitzy Fitz: May 14, 2005

The city just shelved a bike lane project that's been in the works for four years. Mind bogglingly stupid.

# ? Feb 16, 2023 13:37

BonHair: Apr 28, 2007

Nitevision posted:

Speaking of things being the same in Seattle. Our version of this is having bike lanes that, in a few different places, switch sides of the street at an intersection.

I think I've posted this first one before, which, as you can see, asks cyclists to wait at a red while the car lane in the same direction is green:

And that was such a hit that we added another one at a four-way stop:

Seems like a design that every road user will hate but I guess each of these saved about 10 on-street parking places so who's to say if it's bad or not.

Yeah, from a Copenhagen cycling extremist perspective, this is suicide. If you need to diagonally cross a street with any sort of car traffic, you do it by crossing first in one direction and then the other. Left turns involve stopping at the opposite corner and waiting for green. Whatever this is needs to fully stop all other traffic while bikes cross, which isn't happening I imagine.

# ? Feb 16, 2023 16:36

Pittsburgh Fentanyl Cloud: Apr 7, 2003; Can't post for 6 hours!

Just a whoopsie daisy

Wide open side street with a 25mph limit.

The "driver stayed at the scene" there is the keyword telling you no one's gonna be charged even if the lady dies.

# ? Feb 16, 2023 18:00

mystes: May 31, 2006

Pittsburgh Fentanyl Cloud posted:

The "driver stayed at the scene" there is the keyword telling you no one's gonna be charged even if the lady dies.

Actually "cyclist" is that keyword

# ? Feb 16, 2023 18:08

Pittsburgh Fentanyl Cloud: Apr 7, 2003; Can't post for 6 hours!

This is so loving infuriating

# ? Feb 16, 2023 18:38

Cup Runneth Over: Aug 8, 2009; She said life's
Too short to worry
Life's too long to wait
It's too short
Not to love everybody
Life's too long to hate

mystes posted:

Actually "cyclist" is that keyword

Power Word: Innocence

# ? Feb 16, 2023 18:56

e.pilot: Nov 20, 2011; sometimes maybe good
sometimes maybe shit

Pittsburgh Fentanyl Cloud posted:

Wide open side street with a 25mph limit.

whew problem solved, don�t make me tap the sign

# ? Feb 16, 2023 19:04

Nitevision: Oct 5, 2004; Your Friendly FYAD Helper
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Why didn't this infrastructure keep the cyclist safe :confused:

# ? Feb 16, 2023 19:57

BonHair: Apr 28, 2007

Nitevision posted:

Why didn't this infrastructure keep the cyclist safe

It's impossible, better give up and add 5 extra car lanes

# ? Feb 16, 2023 20:10

Blackhawk: Nov 15, 2004

BonHair posted:

It's impossible, better give up and add 5 extra car lanes

If somebody invented the concept of a 'bicycle' today and there was no existing legislation covering its use on roads no government in the world would ever allow them. They don't meet any kind of crash safety or road worthiness standards and realistically never could if they had to move purely under human power.

I do wonder if/when governments decide that banning bicycles from public roads is the cheapest, easiest and most effective way they can make progress towards 'vision zero'. If you ignore the fact they've been around for longer than cars it would be easy to make a strong case for not allowing them on safety grounds!

# ? Feb 16, 2023 20:32

hailthefish: Oct 24, 2010

Blackhawk posted:

If somebody invented the concept of a 'bicycle' today and there was no existing legislation covering its use on roads no government in the world would ever allow them. They don't meet any kind of crash safety or road worthiness standards and realistically never could if they had to move purely under human power.

I do wonder if/when governments decide that banning bicycles from public roads is the cheapest, easiest and most effective way they can make progress towards 'vision zero'. If you ignore the fact they've been around for longer than cars it would be easy to make a strong case for not allowing them on safety grounds!

Sooner than you think, I'm starting to suspect.

Banning pedestrianism outright (instead of just making it unappealing and dangerous) with the same rationale and "goal" might be a little more difficult but with typical american grit we're well on our way. Though with all the frothing reactionary conspiracy nonsense in the UK lately about 15 minute cities being a new world order plot to lock everyone in tiny districts and require travel papers to leave it (instead of what it actually is, a feel-good city planning notion about 'what if every neighborhood was marginally more walkable') who knows, maybe they'll be the first.

Edited to clarify, twitter fashion, because this thread is unhinged sometimes: I think the premise of doing so is stupid and that it's a terminally carbrained thing to do, which is why I'm afraid that it might actually happen given how carbrained all our lawmakers typically are and the lobbying incentives being in the direction of simply replacing internal combustion engine cars with electric cars and those are even more terrifyingly dangerous for other road users, so I don't see a replication of the jaywalking thing as being out of the question. Obviously bikes themselves are incredibly safe and it takes some effort to seriously hurt yourself on one (outside of not wearing a helmet). Being mixed with other road users is what causes injury, and even when mixed with pedestrians they cause serious injury very rarely, and shouldn't need to be mixed with pedestrians in confined corridors ANYWAY but because our current infrastructural choices places the cyclist in the position of having to choose whether to risk their life taking the lane with car traffic and doing poo poo like diagonally crossing a 4 way stop surrounded by increasingly oblivious people in increasingly large and heavy death machines, or trying to ride on the lovely broken uneven narrow sidewalks (where they even exist) and becoming a menace to pedestrians, it happens more than it should.

hailthefish has issued a correction as of 20:56 on Feb 16, 2023

# ? Feb 16, 2023 20:38

BonHair: Apr 28, 2007

I mean, yeah, if you're being a disingenuous carbrain I guess? But if you're not, you gotta take into account that you have to make a serious effort to cause serious injuries with/on a bike.

# ? Feb 16, 2023 20:45

Blackhawk: Nov 15, 2004

hailthefish posted:

Sooner than you think, I'm starting to suspect.

Banning pedestrianism outright (instead of just making it unappealing and dangerous) with the same rationale and "goal" might be a little more difficult but with typical american grit we're well on our way. Though with all the frothing reactionary conspiracy nonsense in the UK lately about 15 minute cities being a new world order plot to lock everyone in tiny districts and require travel papers to leave it (instead of what it actually is, a feel-good city planning notion about 'what if every neighborhood was marginally more walkable') who knows, maybe they'll be the first.

Edited to clarify, twitter fashion, because this thread is unhinged sometimes: I think the premise of doing so is stupid and that it's a terminally carbrained thing to do, which is why I'm afraid that it might actually happen given how carbrained all our lawmakers typically are and the lobbying incentives being in the direction of simply replacing internal combustion engine cars with electric cars and those are even more terrifyingly dangerous for other road users, so I don't see a replication of the jaywalking thing as being out of the question. Obviously bikes themselves are incredibly safe and it takes some effort to seriously hurt yourself on one (outside of not wearing a helmet). Being mixed with other road users is what causes injury, and even when mixed with pedestrians they cause serious injury very rarely, and shouldn't need to be mixed with pedestrians in confined corridors ANYWAY but because our current infrastructural choices places the cyclist in the position of having to choose whether to risk their life taking the lane with car traffic and doing poo poo like diagonally crossing a 4 way stop surrounded by increasingly oblivious people in increasingly large and heavy death machines, or trying to ride on the lovely broken uneven narrow sidewalks (where they even exist) and becoming a menace to pedestrians, it happens more than it should.

I mean where I live, and the country I used to live in, it's illegal for an adult to ride a bicycle on a footpath. So even if you wanted to avoid riding on the road you literally aren't allowed to unless there's a signposted off-road cycleway or shared-use path there (and police in Australia at least seem to love giving cyclists huge fines for insane BS).

# ? Feb 16, 2023 21:18

Hubbert: Mar 25, 2007; At a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.

all cars must be destroyed

# ? Feb 16, 2023 21:59

CopperHound: Feb 14, 2012

https://twitter.com/FreckleEars/status/1624137853872574475

This is just for your average 6' tall driver that doesn't sit way back.

# ? Feb 17, 2023 00:12

Epic High Five: Jun 5, 2004

https://twitter.com/mattyglesias/status/1626281968898908160

# ? Feb 17, 2023 00:39

Spergin Morlock: Aug 8, 2009

Epic High Five posted:

https://twitter.com/mattyglesias/status/1626281968898908160

lol when that guy gets a ticket and knows it was matty who narc'd

# ? Feb 17, 2023 00:43

Epic High Five: Jun 5, 2004

Spergin Morlock posted:

lol when that guy gets a ticket and knows it was matty who narc'd

The replies are incredible

# ? Feb 17, 2023 00:44

Celexi: Nov 25, 2006; Slava Ukraini!

People with license plates covers should have their car impounded instantly

# ? Feb 17, 2023 00:58

actionjackson: Jan 12, 2003

for reference, summit avenue is the wealthiest street in st paul, full of giant queen annes and poo poo. the street directly next to it running parallel is grand, a much busier street packed with every kind of small business imaginable

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# ? Feb 17, 2023 01:26

mystes: May 31, 2006

actionjackson posted:

for reference, summit avenue is the wealthiest street in st paul, full of giant queen annes and poo poo. the street directly next to it running parallel is grand, a much busier street packed with every kind of small business imaginable

I mean to be fair, making side streets safe for everyone (including kids) to bike on is actually a good idea, and there have been some good videos on youtube about how in reality making streets safe to bike in is a bigger part of the cycling infrastructure in the netherlands than the actual bike paths, but there's no way in hell anyone in the US is actually going to do what it takes to make streets legitimately safe, much less some rear end in a top hat writing into the newspaper to complain about bike paths

# ? Feb 17, 2023 01:30

gradenko_2000: Oct 5, 2010; HELL SERPENT; Lipstick Apathy

Critical support for Matt Yglesias fighting car culture

# ? Feb 17, 2023 01:36

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# ? May 26, 2024 18:30

Cup Runneth Over: Aug 8, 2009; She said life's
Too short to worry
Life's too long to wait
It's too short
Not to love everybody
Life's too long to hate

Epic High Five posted:

https://twitter.com/mattyglesias/status/1626281968898908160

Critically endangered Matty W

# ? Feb 17, 2023 01:45

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