MORE ON THOSE TWO-WHEELED COMMUTERS: Readers’ wheels are turning over recent columns involving bicyclists.
BIKE ‘STUDY’ NOT VALID: Driver and cyclist Peter Ives called to question the methodology of a recent Rio Grande Foundation study that counted bike commutes on the new Gail Ryba Bridge over the river.
First, he says, bike commuters leave earlier than rush-hour traffic because it takes them longer to get where they’re going. Placing someone on the bridge for 50 minutes during rush-hour is simply too late. Second, bike commuters wouldn’t be dressed in work clothes, unless they work in bright/reflective clothing designed not to get caught in a bike chain. Bike commuters change into work clothes after they arrive.
Mark Justice Hinton seconds that emotion, emailing that “most regular bicycle commuters dress for safety, warmth and comfort. Does (foundation president) Paul Gessing expect top hats, monocles and loafers with briefcases dangling from the handlebars? Not everyone who commutes by bike does so every day; some ride once a week. Let’s see Gessing station observers on the bridge seven days a week for one full month, 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. every day. Then he will start to have some data, although (fall/winter) probably isn’t the peak of usage for that bridge.”
WHAT $5 MILLION DIDN’T GET CYCLISTS: David Duganne says in an email that as an avid cyclist with more than 200,000 two-wheeled miles, he’s noticed “a lot of details that didn’t get proper attention” on the multimillion-dollar project.
Namely, “no effort was made to make the surface smooth enough to safely use while riding on narrow/high pressure road bike tires. The ride is jarring, and I know most serious cyclists avoid the crossing because it is literally a ‘mile of bad road.’ It is easier, safer and quicker for an eastbound cyclist to cross over I-40 and use the bike lanes on Atrisco and connect to the Bosque Trail via Central Avenue.”
The city has said the trail is grooved to limit hazardous water and ice buildup.
David also says “soon after the bridge opened, most of the lighting along the approaches … got presumably shot out. Consequently, there is no lighting along the tortuous path to get on the bridge. A call to 311 yielded a flip reply that ‘the lights are not the city’s responsibility.’ ”
NYC HEARTS THE BRIDGE: Jeff Hartzer emails that “the 5-million-dollar beautiful bike bridge may be partially a reason Albuquerque (was) in the New York Times! Bike trails/bikers are big these days in the yuppie fun-city scales.”
ON FOLLOWING THOSE RULES: John Seaver emails that “if more of us would train our children to safely ride bikes, I think the community would settle down a little more about cyclists. There is plenty of blame to go around.”
John recounts nearly being run off Osuna at San Pedro by a random angry driver and putting himself in danger by trying to squeeze by a car he thought was going to go straight through an intersection but turned right. He says he understands the temptation for drivers and riders to roll through an empty intersection. And he says cyclists ride close to the white shoulder line because “there is a debris field just to the right of the white line. All kinds of debris. Most of which is harmless but contains those nasty things that cause flat tires. … We are creatures of the ‘path of least resistance’. I don’t see this changing, so I would just ask … drivers … to understand this and give us just a little room and patience.”
HIGH PENALTIES ENFORCE SAFETY: Another reader called to say that New Mexico needs to actually get serious about penalizing drivers who violate the law and endanger pedestrians and cyclists.
WHY DON’T THEY PAY THEIR WAY? Finally, Betty called with the often-asked question “how come (bicyclists) don’t contribute to the upkeep of roads, signals, etc? If they want all the rights and privileges of traffic, they need to be included in the expense of running our roads.”
The often-repeated answer is most bicyclists also drive vehicles and thus contribute to the upkeep of roads through taxes on gas, etc., and when on their bikes are helping everyone by not contributing to the wear-and-tear on roads and air. Meanwhile, state law gives them all the rights and privileges — and most important no matter how many wheels you have, the responsibilities — of traffic because they are considered vehicles.
Assistant editorial page editor D’Val Westphal tackles commuter issues for the Metro area on Mondays and West Siders and Rio Ranchoans on Thursdays. Reach her at 823-3858; road@abqjournal.com; P.O. Drawer J, Albuquerque, NM 87103; or go to ABQjournal.com/traffic to read previous columns and join in the conversation.
— This article appeared on page D1 of the Albuquerque Journal
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