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PeaceTalks: Micah Posner Of People Power On Death of Bicyclist On Mission St. and Protest
George Cadman of Free Radio Santa Cruz 101.1 FM interviews Micah Posner of People Power. On Tuesday, April 8, 2008, around noon, another cyclist was killed at the intersection of Mission and Bay Streets. That is two deaths and one major injury within the last 12 months. People Power has a protest planned for Wednesday April 9th at 5pm, meeting at the town clock and riding bikes up the right lane of Mission Street.
Listen now:
After John Myslin's death last summer, People Power worked with the City Council to put up signs on Mission that advise cyclists and drivers that cyclists are encouraged to use the full right lane. This is perfectly legal according to California Vehicle Code (which states that bicyclists can use the full right-hand lane when a lane is too narrow for "a bicycle and vehicle to travel safely side by side within the lane") and was approved by the City Council.
Caltrans has refused to put up the signs, stating that they don't think it is safe for cyclists to ride in the lane, even after the Santa Cruz Police, the Traffic Safety Coalition, and others have pointed out that it is not safe to ride to the right of cars and trucks. Caltrans is basically telling us that cyclists have no right to use the street. Mission Street has 3 bike shops and numerous homes and businesses frequented by cyclists. Though cyclists should, and do, avoid Mission whenever possible, riding Mission for short stretches is a often necessary. The only safe way to do so is in the middle of the right lane. Bicyclists right to exist is not being recognized by Caltrans.
Please join People Power and other Santa Cruz cyclists Wednesday, April 9th, as they honor another cyclist killed in a tragic accident and assert our rights by riding Mission Street. Folks will meet at the downtown Santa Cruz clock tower (at Mission and Pacific) at 5:00 PM, then ride along Mission Street together, to the intersection at Bay Street. Wear black if possible.
Caltrans has refused to put up the signs, stating that they don't think it is safe for cyclists to ride in the lane, even after the Santa Cruz Police, the Traffic Safety Coalition, and others have pointed out that it is not safe to ride to the right of cars and trucks. Caltrans is basically telling us that cyclists have no right to use the street. Mission Street has 3 bike shops and numerous homes and businesses frequented by cyclists. Though cyclists should, and do, avoid Mission whenever possible, riding Mission for short stretches is a often necessary. The only safe way to do so is in the middle of the right lane. Bicyclists right to exist is not being recognized by Caltrans.
Please join People Power and other Santa Cruz cyclists Wednesday, April 9th, as they honor another cyclist killed in a tragic accident and assert our rights by riding Mission Street. Folks will meet at the downtown Santa Cruz clock tower (at Mission and Pacific) at 5:00 PM, then ride along Mission Street together, to the intersection at Bay Street. Wear black if possible.
For more information:
http://www.peoplepowersc.org
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...and I have to agree with them. Bicyclists rights to exist are being recognized by Caltrans, imo. Caltrans is recognizing the reality vs. the legality. Because the legality is not going to stop a biker from getting hit if he/she is riding down the middle of a lane. It's the same as a crosswalk; while its legal for me to step out and claim my legal right, it's not going to stop a mack truck from killing me if it's not expecting me, doesn't see me, etc. In either case, I'm legally entitled but still dead.
I'm a biker and a car driver both, and I don't use my bike on mission. It's too busy, too many trucks, too many speeders, and too many people from out of town who aren't going to understand that its legal for a bike to ride down the middle of the lane. The result would be confusion, anger at bikers for clogging a major thoroughfare, altercations, etc.
I choose to use King or California. I'ts safer, and never more than a block off of Mission when I need to get to a shop on that street.
I'm a biker and a car driver both, and I don't use my bike on mission. It's too busy, too many trucks, too many speeders, and too many people from out of town who aren't going to understand that its legal for a bike to ride down the middle of the lane. The result would be confusion, anger at bikers for clogging a major thoroughfare, altercations, etc.
I choose to use King or California. I'ts safer, and never more than a block off of Mission when I need to get to a shop on that street.
replacing the millions of miles of roads - or at the very least, closing less used roads to non-residential cars or narrowing roads w/ with buffer zones for bike paths...
we'd have a bike lift up to campus, like in Norway: http://www.trampe.no/english/
we'd have street calming art on bike blvd's like Delaware Ave: http://www.streetfilms.org/archives/sometimes-we-get-silly/
cars would be banned on Pacific Ave (except for deliveries).
and Hummers would be banned or taxed the shit out of.
in an ideal world...
we'd have a bike lift up to campus, like in Norway: http://www.trampe.no/english/
we'd have street calming art on bike blvd's like Delaware Ave: http://www.streetfilms.org/archives/sometimes-we-get-silly/
cars would be banned on Pacific Ave (except for deliveries).
and Hummers would be banned or taxed the shit out of.
in an ideal world...
stepping out into the crosswalk on a street is very different from riding in the middle of the lane. stepping out onto a crosswalk is the right of a pedestrian but doing so unexpectedly would not allow for enough time for a driver to see you and react. but when riding in the middle of a lane cars would approach you from behind therefore making you visible for an extended period of time, drastically reducing the risk of a car being surprised by your presence. when riding in the middle of a lane cars would also need to change lanes in order to pass a cyclist. whereas if cyclists' right to ride in the lane is not recognized and they are pushed off to the side, cars are more likely to try and squeeze by while using the same lane creating a much more dangerous situation.
Lane sharing or splitting is legal in California. So if two vehicles are in the same lane it is legal. If a car can be in the same lane as a bicycle they are legal. IMHO cars need to watch better but the reality is the vehicles that have been involved in the recent deaths have horrible blind spots. A bicyclist needs to recognize this and act accordingly. You may be right in a situation but yeilding to the laws of physics and being alive is better than being DEAD RIGHT.
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