April 16, 2009
by julie
Comments Off on The Beauty of Spring
There’s nothing quite like going for a ride on a lovely spring evening and having a guy in a child molester panel van yell at you for using the road appropriately.
He was apparently unaware that the Cervelos some of our group were riding definitely had higher value than his panel van, and that we bicycle riders are productive members of society who help pay for the roads we were using.
Spring in Minnesota! Hooray!
April 2, 2009
by julie
2 Comments
Last fall, when a cyclist was killed in a car-bicycle collision on Summit Avenue near Snelling Avenue, I observed that it was all but impossible for the crash to be the cyclist’s fault due to the street configuration.
Accident reconstruction agrees with me, per the Star-Tribune. The driver now has been charged with misdemeanors – failing to yield the right of way and disobeying a stop sign.
Now, misdemeanors are still pretty weak given the end result. Probably won’t even louse up the driver’s insurance record, save for whatever front fender work he needed post-crash. However, it’s at least an attempt at enforcement.
March 21, 2009
by julie
1 Comment
This can’t be a good idea.
March 21, 2009
by julie
Comments Off on March Madness
Two quick notes:
The TS101 course will be listed on the League web site shortly as well, although all registration will go via the above link.
Rev February 2010: Removed links to registrations.
February 23, 2009
by julie
1 Comment
Edina is back to squawking about potential improvements for bicycles, this time on W. 70th. Some readers may realize I’ve piled onto Edina at least twice previously – in one case, for focusing on bike lanes as magical, and in another case for a distracted driver complaining about kids being kids, which they are wont to do regardless of facility planning.
I really don’t have anything in for Edina. The articles covering their attempts to try to be bicycle-friendly just make it so easy.
Apparently, a bike lane is more detrimental to property values than a lot of on-street parking in front of a home:
“I just don’t know how anyone can justify having a bike trail in my front yard as an asset to my home,” she said.
Of course, as we might expect, there’s so much more to quibble about:
The street is so busy that residents sometimes have trouble backing out of their driveways.
In that case, on-street parking is likely to block the view when backing out more than a bike lane. Also, if the lane is supposed to be great encouragement to cyclists, the traffic flow of the street is likely to discourage that right back down.
The goal of most of the proposed improvements to W. 70th is to calm traffic and have it move at a more appropriate pace. Surely that helps beautify a street and improve living conditions?
As I’ve said in the past, I think the idea that bike lanes automagically create bicycle-friendliness is wrong. All you have to do is read some of the quotes of the Edina people in the articles to prove my point.
