BIKEPGH MESSAGE BOARD ARCHIVE

A few weeks ago I crossed Birmingham bridge and five people were walking side by side taking up the entire bike lane. Dinging my bell didn't get them to move. I'd be a little more understanding had they moved a little so I didn't have to move into the traffic lane to pass, or had there not been a nice separated sidewalk right next to them.

don't even get me started on this. one of my biggest pet peeves ever.

Sometimes after ringing and ringing, I scream BIKE. That often does the trick.

I have an Airzoud, but lack the handlebar real estate to mount both my bell and a horn. Maybe a horn would be more useful.

don't they have trails for that?

Yeah! Those slow people should get out of *my* road so I can get by faster!

Wait, are we talking about bikes or pedestrians?

I admit, I felt a bit like an asshole driver bitching about bikes in my way when writing that, but really, it is a dedicated lane for bicycles. They have a dedicated, separated sidewalk for walking. I don't get all uppity about people walking on a mixed use path, but the bike lane on Birmingham bridge isn't mixed use.

call me an asshole, i just like walking in the streets

I prefer dancing in the streets.

edit: it doesn't matter what you wear, just as long as you are there.

I recently discovered that Kmart sells mini 1.4 oz air horn the fit very nicely in my coat pocket. They are very effective for a multitude of purposes. I should try & figure out how to attach it to my handlebars.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000XQ5B1Y/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=1278548962&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B001Q8BHNY&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0HY788FRCCVWSZ9AE6T3

nah. i'm with you dan. not to mention,

cycling in the street = legal

walking in the street = illegal

Shadyside has these awful-smelling shitberry trees, have you seen them? The sidewalks are covered with these little turd nuggets.

female ginkgo trees drop those things. they're all over the city. i often cross the street to avoid them, and i am a lazy son of a gun.

stinko berries. they make me strangely nostalgic for my hometown which has them as well. smell is a very evocative sense.

The male ginko tree does not bear fruit, so whoever planted them was not fully paying attention. The seeds are edible- I sometimes see asian women collecting them by the bucketful, wearing gloves.

I often run in the street because the sidewalks are tripping hazards, especially at night, and people don't shovel in the winter.

sorry, i don't mean to sound like an ass, but i am also very annoyed with people walking/running in the street for any reason. i don't ride my bike on the sidewalk just because the roads are shitty. in that case, i would be riding my bike on the sidewalk a lot.

Are busted sidewalks a 311'able item? Or is that on the homeowner?

Paging caitlin: I recall from the FPUF ride in Oct '09 that you said there's a predictable and avoidable reason for tree roots to bust up sidewalks. Short of pulling the tree down, do you know of remedial actions for sidewalk repairs now? And what should tree planters and sidewalk builders be doing now to avoid having busted sidewalks in 2040?

Just an idea, I don't know who in the public realm should actually get this, but,

In the vicinity of trees, say within 10 feet, dry laid pavers were used instead of concrete slab, they can be lifted, the base re-graded, and re-laid every 5 or 10 years, or as needed. The pavers themselves should last 50 years, as long as there is good drainage.

The best possible concrete slab that can be built starts to ugly out in 10 or 15 years at most.

Stu: the sidewalk thing is tricky. In a lot of municipalities the walks are owned by the town, but it is the responsibility of the homeowner to clear snow or repair cracks, etc. It's a pretty muddy deal when tree roots from trees growing in the municipal right of way strip of grass are clearly lifting sidewalks.

And edmonds is correct, and so many of those 100 year old pavers are in great condition. However, in a lot of the instances where the sidewalk is lifting, it is because of a large root beneath, and that's a little different deal than regrading.

two things about this incident:

1. the lady was able-bodied

2. there was no snowpack on the sidewalk

and as a post script, its one thing to walk/run in the street, but at least be aware of your surroundings and keep track of your darn dog. i mean, if i was a car i could have squashed the dog before the owner had a chance to react.

i like to walk where all the action is.

this is the lamest thread ever.

If a city-owned tree damages a homeowner-owned sidewalk, the city will reimburse for sidewalk repairs. The homeowner just needs to call the city first to have them confirm the cause of the damage. Or that's how it worked maybe 10-15 years ago.

I think it's appropriate to 311 bad sidewalks. At worst, the city would figure out who's responsible and remind them that they're required to keep their sidewalk in good repair. Otherwise many people might fall and break their legs, thereby making this thread even lamer.

Ha ha. Yeah, the city reimburses. Sort-of.

The sidewalk in front of my house was ripped up by a city tree. What they paid for reimbursement was ~10% of the cost for repair.

It's my understanding that when a pedestrian is on a roadway, you walk against traffic, not with it. Am I correct? It reads as if this woman and her dog didn't understand what they should be doing.

In the neighborhood in question, a lot of the walking-in-the-street is for short stretches to skirt around damaged sections of sidewalk, narrow sidewalks, etc. I frequently walk in the street there. To be honest, I'm not going to cross the street twice just to avoid ten feet of broken sidewalk. These are narrow neighborhood streets, with lots of kids and pets - IMO, no one should be going at racecar speed in any vehicle (car, truck, bicycle, motorized wheelchair, etc).