Buffalo Bike Business

Now if we could just get bikers to follow the rules of the road, we'd be all set!

Sidewalks, wrong way, blowing through stop signs...anything goes I guess. Seems dangerous to me.

the bike business seems to be very cyclical.

+1 on bikers doing whatever they please on the road. It seems none of them understand they are supposed to obey the rules of the road. Since when are there separate rules for them?

And can we educate drivers that bikes are allowed on the road. For those of us that follow the rules how about you give me 3 feet when you pass and stop clipping me with your mirror.
Or trying to t-bone me because I'm not going through the intersection fast enough for you to make a right.

Good and Bad on both sides so I had to put in a counterpoint.

ive gotta agree that ive only seen a couple of cyclists who signal, obey lights and signs, and generally disregard traffic rules.

i have personally witnessed cyclists (including a couple of children) ignore lights and blow through an intersection and get plowed by a car or near miss. in none of these occasions was the driver at fault.

now ive seen many many people in cars conduct themselves dangerously. perhaps even myself on occasion. however, a driver is only likely to get a few dents. a cyclist is likely to be injured quite severely.

perhaps it isnt fair. perhaps its because of inequitable allocation of transportation resources. maybe its because there are few legal repercussions for cyclists. who knows.

in any case, it only diminishes the cause and leads to injury when some cyclists represent themselves as careless or even aggressive.

It should be mandatory in NY State that if you want to ride on public streets on a bike you must be licensed by the State. As part of the licensing program NY would provide a written test that you must pass to make sure bicylists understand the rules of the road. This would also provide another revenue source for the state and should not present a problem for the majority of voters, Democrats, since they love taxes. Everyone wins, better safety for bicyclists and drivers, more revenue for the state, and more taxes for the Democrats.

I'll keep rolling red lights and stop signs for as long as cars refuse to give me more than 3 inches of space and constantly try to right hook and left cross me. The faster I'm out of an intersection, the less chance I have to get run over by someone yacking on a phone.

All my close calls are at intersections when the driver is not paying attention. And when I roll a stop sign I save you time because if I come to a full stop with a foot down then you are stuck while I get going again. You can thank me next time you almost sideswipe me.

I think bike boxes for major intersections would be a lifesaver (literally) but our car culture and impatient society would never let i fly.

Reg, you make me laugh.

I'm not a cyclist but I understand their plight. I have more of a problem with motorcyclists who scream for respect from drivers to share the road; then split lanes, cut you off, and ride like goons in packs like Escape From LA.

The roads however are poorly designed in much of the city. Take Delavan between Main and Delaware. It's one lane each direction, but there is room essentially for 2+ each direction. Which results in a "make-your-own-lane-a-thon". Not to mention there is no sidewalk on the north side of the street despite there being a bus stop.
Many streets are like this: Delaware in Kenmore, Colvin between Amherst and Kenmore Ave, Starin. It's 1+ lanes so you got the people on the left, the people in the middle, and the people on the right. How bout a turn lane, or a bike lane.

Section 1234. Riding on roadways, shoulders, bicycle or in-line skates lanes and bicycle or in-line skates paths.

(a) Upon all roadways, any bicycle or in-line skates shall be driven either on a usable bicycle or in-line skates lane or, if a usable bicycle or in-line skates lane has not been provided, near the right-hand curb or edge of the roadway or upon a usable right-hand shoulder in such a manner as to prevent undue interference with the flow of traffic except when preparing for a left turn or when reasonably necessary to avoid conditions that would make it unsafe to continue along near the right-hand curb or edge. Conditions to be taken into consideration include, but are not limited to, fixed or moving objects, vehicles, bicycles, in-line skates, pedestrians, animals, surface hazards or traffic lanes too narrow for a bicycle or person on in-line skates and a vehicle to travel safely side-by-side within the lane.

(b) Persons riding bicycles or skating or gliding on in-line skates upon a roadway shall not ride more than two abreast. Persons riding bicycles or skating or gliding on in-line skates upon a shoulder, bicycle or in-line skates lane, or bicycle or in-line skates path, intended for the use of bicycles or in-line skates may ride two or more abreast if sufficient space is available, except that when passing a vehicle, bicycle or person on in-line skates, or pedestrian, standing or proceeding along such shoulder, lane or path, persons riding bicycles or skating or gliding on in-line skates shall ride, skate, or glide single file. Persons riding bicycles or skating or gliding on in-line skates upon a roadway shall ride, skate, or glide single file when being overtaken by a vehicle.

(c) Any person operating a bicycle or skating or gliding on in-line skates who is entering the roadway from a private road, driveway, alley or over a curb shall come to a full stop before entering the roadway.

Everyone (driving and biking) needs to review this site so we can all learn what not to do.

http://bicyclesafe.com/

Here is a link to the entire Bike law in NYS

http://www.nysgtsc.state.ny.us/bike-vt.htm#sec1231

Maybe my commute is too short for me to notice all of the hostility between cars and bikes, because I have had a very positive experience biking to work. I'm respectful of traffic rules (I stop at lights, but if no one is coming, I get to go...I see it as one of my perks for biking), and have not had anybody yell or try to hit me, on the contrary people usually smile (my guess is they like the wicker basket) and on occasion chat with me at a red light. I wouldn't mind a bike lane tho...

quite apart from the quarrels about who is a bigger hazard on the road, i just wanted to remind people that the handsome blue u-racks pictured above are something buffalo is doing right. goodness knows we all pile on when we have a failure.

so, props to green options!

That's all well and good, but my bike was just stolen from my yard earlier this week. It was locked up, but someone cut through the chain. So much for the discussion we just had in another article recently about how rare theft is in our city.

Blacks and Whites,
Cars and Bikes,

an object in motion tends to stay in motion,
unless
acted on by an outside force,
like,
Rosa Parks
and the thousands that walked.

Cars and Bikes
are not so different.
yet we fight each other

the outside force.

is it you?