BIKEPGH MESSAGE BOARD ARCHIVE

See also: http://localhost/mb/topic/cyclist-killed-in-oakland/

It had no title to indicate what it is. Thanks though.

Our thoughts are with the unfortunate victim. It's too early to talk about the details of the incident, but in my experience that stretch of Forbes encourages speeding and otherwise unsafe driving. How can that be? I can only hope that this incident leads to a serious rethinking of the traffic design (actually, between Bouquet and Craig, and beyond). Or how about just enforcement? And a livable city speed limit: 20mph. This should never have happened.

This is terrifying. It seems like there have been so many deaths around Pittsburgh this year... and I just don't know if continuing to bike on roads is logical. Maybe I should just give up. And so many drivers are just so incredibly ignorant about it. How do you continue going out on the road every day when these tragedies keep happening? Why do you continue?

Candlelight vigil Saturday, 5pm at Carnegie Music Hall: https://www.facebook.com/events/417465728456421/ A few of us may also be out there for a time tonight.

Road width induces speed. It's four lanes wide there. That must mean I can go 45 mph through there, right? We need speed cameras in this state. If we're lucky, we might get them by 2025. I posted a link just yesterday about a single set of them in the UK which nabs 73 of them a day, at about $100 a pop.

Another needless death. Fifth and forbes are treated like highways because there is no speed enforcement and it is way too wide. The number of lanes needs to be decreased by putting in protected bike lanes and bus lanes. With fewer lanes, speed should naturally decrease with some congestion. Does anyone at BikePgh know if there is any chance of the city putting in some protection for cyclists before the BRT feasability studies/funding/planning is complete, which could still be a decade away? With the large pedestrian presence along both of these roads and an increasing number of cyclists, this setup is not acceptable going forward.

My heart is heavy tonight.

The PG is suggesting it was a rear-end collision:

A vehicle in the center lane attempted to cross over into the turning lane but struck a vehicle behind the cyclist. That car then struck the bicycle, pushing it into the car in front of it and sandwiching the cyclist between the two vehicles.

I eat lunch across from this spot every day and it's one of those spots where it's less about speed and more dangerous lane changes and poor lane discipline, especially people trying to go left. I wish lane filtering were both legal and encouraged - it at least encourages a cyclist to be where they've got escape routes. Being rear-ended is one of my biggest fears, especially on my motorbike.

http://pitt.academia.edu/SusanHicks I don't know what to say really. A young bright person just trying to get home from work, Very sad.

Someone started a petition to get bike lanes added to Pitt's campus found here.

This is terrifying. It seems like there have been so many deaths around Pittsburgh this year… and I just don’t know if continuing to bike on roads is logical. Maybe I should just give up. And so many drivers are just so incredibly ignorant about it. How do you continue going out on the road every day when these tragedies keep happening? Why do you continue?

Don't give up cycling! Cycling is no more dangerous than driving a car! There are many reasons to continue using a bike to get around!

Is it really no more dangerous than driving a car in Pittsburgh? It seems we have a lot of cyclist deaths. And I would never give up cycling... Just cycling on roads with traffic. I ride 20+ miles each way 3x a week to a from work but I take almost entirely rail trail. I am an avid mountain biker and am just getting into cyclocross. But road riding? For recreation and commuting it just seems so dangerous in pittsburgh. There are so many terrible/distracted/impatient drivers and not enough enforcement of the laws. And then I read these stories (there seems to be one every month now) and they scare me even more. Why continue doing something seemingly so dangerous?

I was told today forbes is a state road and the city can only put in a bike lane with penndots permision.maybe a petition to harrisburg will help state wide not just here.

How many deaths have there been within city limits this year? Is this the first one? I follow this board off and on depending on my schedule and how bored I am at work and this is the only person within city limits I remember this year reading about.

Bicycles are traffic... Yes, i believe being on a bike and being in a car are equally dangerous. Considering the number of collisions and the number of bike trips made over a period of time. I don't know about Pittsburgh specifically but for US numbers crunching on this page is interesting: http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2013/06/13/bicycling-the-safest-form-of-transportation/ There is a difference between the perception of danger and actual danger. I ride a bicycle because I want to and we are guaranteed, by law, access to all roads in Pennsylvania with the exclusion of closed access highways. Plus, nothing in Pittsburgh is worse than roads like McKnight (which is not in Pgh). But, I do agree Forbes and Fifth are unnecessarily dangerous for all traffic, motored or self powered. Those wide, one-way streets mean people go fast on them. Any changes should make it safer for all traffic.

Sixfist is right. As I asked above and of course never received an answer but I think this is the first death within city limits. If you figure how many people cycle and took stats 101 one can then figure out the safety of cycling. I think A is trying to make road cycling be perceived as more dangerous as it is. Earlier in the year a pedestrian was killed on Carson by a driver who had a medical emergency. I still walk the streets.

I think biking is about as safe as driving but could be even safer. Roads like 51 are dangrous to drive. A bike lane on forbes and other wide streets. would slow trafic down making walking driving and biking safer