BIKEPGH MESSAGE BOARD ARCHIVE

That picture of Kramer in the comments: giddyup!

yeah, this story is wild. it goes back to the hasidic folks not wanting to see scantily clad hipsters

http://www.nypress.com/blog-5487-hipsters-literally-take-back-the-streets-of-williamsburg.html

Love this from the comments as a response to the Hasidic neighborhood watch who had the lane removed because they didn't like "scantily-clad woman" riding their bikes through their neighborhood.

"Who else want's a naked bike ride through their neighborhood every saturday until they let up???"

I'm at work right now and I almost lost it when I saw the Kramer picture.

Thanks.

Reminds me of the group that painted a lane on a bridge. One didn't exist before that. The city removed it or painted over it in black paint. The image of the lane was still there, and drivers treated it as a bike lane, even after removal of the illegal markings.

Was it these guys?

http://urbanrepairs.blogspot.com/

I love this stuff. It sort of reminds me of some of the homemade skateparks where people just pour concrete without permission.

i'll be interested to see how the city reacts... i'm guessing there will be some detective work in hopes of making some vandalism charges

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/brooklyn/cops_haul_in_burg_lane_painters_3ozCy3Q2TI2wUska9wvBnM

They were cited/arrested.

I love the bit at the end.. "Hasidic residents complain they are being portrayed as the enemy, when it is the cyclists who are breaking the law."

Yea, no worries, you're totally the good guys in this scenario. *rollseyes*

Using your political influence to manipulate the government into taking away a safety feature because you are horny little bastards and lack the willpower to follow your own religious dictates that demand that you not stare at lycra-clad female cyclists. Maybe you should just pass out burkas at the borders of your neighborhood. Oh, wait. Different faith. Same misogyny.

yeah, why do they have to hog the whole road? who squealed on the hipsters anyhow?

lack the willpower to follow your own religious dictates that demand that you not stare at lycra-clad female cyclists

I had to go read the article. Unbelievable.

here's a good op-ed on the subject: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2009/12/10/2009-12-10_one_lane_of_thought_can_be_deadly_political_pressure_jeopardizing_bikers.html

We have the right of free speech and free expression in this country. Not stated explicitly but just as important, we do not have the right not to be offended.

The Hasidim need to HTFU, too, IMHO.

I guess another way to put it is, as a trade-off for not having to think about concentration camps here, you have to put up with the occasional scantily clad woman cycling past.

the real point is not who or why they are being removed, its that removing them isn't going to solve any problems, people will use this route, i've biked this same area 50 times... this is the way to go even without the bike lane... they haven't solved the problem.

I have heard an argument that bike lanes represent the "ghettoization of the bicycle into the margins of society". What do you think of this.

i guess i'd need a bit more context to have an opinion on that

can someone explain what that means... i have no idea

Do bike lanes perhaps work against cyclist rights by segregating bicycles and cars in such a way to keep the two groups in an oppositional holding pattern?

Is there any opposition to bike lanes by pro bike cyclists?

Do bike lanes perhaps work against cyclist rights by segregating bicycles and cars in such a way to keep the two groups in an oppositional holding pattern?

There used to be abig school of thought that was liek that. Mostly followers of Forester, a bike activist in the 1950's to 80s.

I'm guessing there were some badly designed trails - mainly designed to keep bikes away from the car-driving OWNERS OF THE ROAD. Bike activists in the classic car years had to be a bit prickly.

Haven't seen anyone around here argue seriously about that point.

Mick

That's really interesting...is there any historical accounts or time lines of bike advocacy and how far it has come?

i think the proof is in the portland, mpls, amsterdam and copenhagen.

cities in "developed" countries that have made an effort to accommodate cyclists with on-street, convenient, and safe infrastructure have a high bicycle mode share.

cities that don't have that have low bicycle mode share.

from a driver's perspective, the more people that are riding, the higher the chance that your friend, boss, or grandma also rides, so you tend to be nicer to cyclists

I think that "Effective Cycling", which is the term for the anti-bike-lane position, goes wrong in two ways:

-it discounts that, even if it can be reasonably safe, it's kind of sketchy to ride in traffic at 30mph and pretty close to terrifying to ride in 40mph+ traffic, which means that a lot of people won't ride

-it assumes that other drivers follow the law

So: bring on the bike lanes! We just need to make sure we as cyclists are involved in the design and construction so the bike lanes installed are actually useful rather than an unrideable mess. Bike Pittsburgh has been doing a very good job of this.

Just to point out a flaw in your strawman, alankhg, I don't think that the anti-bike-lane position assumes that other drivers follow the law. Certainly not any more than the pro-bike-lane position does. It just assumes that drivers aren't homicidal maniacs who will intentionally run you down -- they're just inattentive and marginally competent, so in order to safely share the road with them, you have to understand how they think. And how, and why, they break the law, and how to protect yourself from that.

Update: Bikers plan topless ride to protest lane removal

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091218/ap_on_fe_st/us_odd_bikers_in_the_buff

Heh. For a second, I thought that headline was from the Onion.

I don't know about naked, but the 1992 Santorelli decision of the New York Court of Appeals made it entirely legal for females to walk around bare from the waist up, anywhere in NY State.

Is it really worth losing your schlong or funbags from frostbite just for the sake of a protest?

I remember being in high school in NY when the topless law went into effect. We were so excited, that is until we saw the women who actually started walking around topless... It made thumbing through the pages of National Geographic more stimulating let's just say!

Check out this article from our own Jason Kambitsis - Planner for Oakland, bike commuter and BikePGH member

http://www.wired.com/autopia/2009/12/nyc-bike-lane-brouhaha/