Writer defends 'bastard children of transportation family'- cyclists
The roads belong to the cars and the sidewalks belong to the pedestrians, right? This leaves bicycles in limbo, the bastard children of the transportation family that everyone wants to push off onto someone else. People in cars yell, "Get on the sidewalk!" and people on the sidewalk shout "Get in the street!" and usually these are the same exact people at different points in their daily routine. Basically, everyone just wants the bicycles to be where ever they aren't. So where do we, the "bicycle terrorists" belong in this whole scheme?
Legally, the streets are the domain of bicycles. However, behaving as "good law abiding citizens" and abiding by these rules puts bicyclists at great physical risk. While most bicyclists, of course, don't set out to intentionally "threaten" pedestrians, it is a far better option than the alternative. Baton Rouge is not a bicycle friendly city, and this isn't simply because of lack of bicycle lanes. A large part of this problem stems from the mentality of people in their cars who believe they are the only people with a right to use the road. This has been brought up before in the pages of the Reveille in regards to pedestrian safety in cross walks. By riding in the streets, bicyclists place themselves at the mercy of hundreds of drivers wielding multi-ton weapons who are oblivious to the bikers existence and the danger cars pose. In addition, those drivers who aren't passively ignorant of them are actively hostile towards bikers.
I have fallen victim to both such drivers, having been car-doored (when someone opens their door without noticing you coming up behind them, successfully creating a wall of metal and glass that is very uncomfortable to run into), having had bottles thrown at me from cars, and having been run off the road. These are dangers everyone on a bicycle faces every time they ride through Baton Rouge, especially the campus area. Ask anyone you see on a bicycle and I'm sure they will have similar stories for you.
So what is the answer for our bicycle problem? How can everyone coexist happily? We could of course take part in transportation segregation, and give cars, bikes, and walkers each their own separate world to exist in, free of threats from each other. This could be done by creating bike lanes. However, bike lanes would require widening roads and would probably take lots of money and time. In addition, many of the people who call for bike lanes in order to rid themselves of the "two-wheeled menace" would be strongly opposed to actually paying for the construction.
There are some bike lanes in existence already in Baton Rouge, those that wrap around the lakes, and guess what? Those are full of pedestrians! No. Bike lanes don't seem to be the easiest answer. There is an solution that takes no money or time. Instead, it takes tolerance and consideration. We all_bicyclists, pedestrians, and cars_must realize that we have to coexist in this paved paradise, and that in order to do so peacefully, we must think of each other. I know, it is hard to think about the problems of other people while we all have so many of our own, but maybe if we do, it will make everybody's lives a bit easier and safer. We all need to keep our eyes open while zipping around town on whatever our chosen form of transportation is, and try not to maul each other. Everyone has to fit somewhere, so realize that if the streets are made a hostile place for bikes, they will end up on sidewalks. In turn, bikers must realize that when they tear down sidewalks without concern for others safety, they are participating in the same behavior they curse when they see it in motorists.
P.S. Bicyclists have an opportunity to ride together safely through the streets of Baton Rouge and raise awareness of the dangers bicyclists face as well as the rights and advantages of bicycles as a form of transportation. The rides begin at the LSU Bell Tower at 5:30 p.m. on the last Friday of every month.
Arnie said at 4:25 PM 02-28-2002: I fear bus drivers and cabbies the most. They both seem to hate bicyclists
and in many cases have gone out of their way to try to make me wreck.
evan said at 12:14 PM 03-01-2002: yeah, skateboard, real practicle for traveling about 30 miles in a day. plus you saw what i did to your shit on market... also in NO the streets aren't all that conducive to skating... "lookout for that sinkhole!"
