Tuesday, February 21, 2012

The genteel people of Woodside Ca

Per various mailing lists, someone in Woodside is laying tacks on Kings Mountain Road, clearly to cause flats for cyclists. Flatting on that descent at speed would be "not good" Visible - 40 of the 43 tacks we encountered on the post-ride ride up King's Mtn Rd today - all in groups of 6-8 tacks, in the uphill bike lane. 1/4 - 1/3 mi apart, from 1/2 mi past Huddart Park Entrance up to 1/2 mi from Skyline Blvd - 7 groups of tacks total. Someone is sending bikers a "message" ... so let's be careful on that road. The 3 tacks that caused flats (me, and 2 other noon-Meetup riders) were tossed before we started collecting them for safety and evidence.

Monday, February 20, 2012

Fell/Oak bike lane - inside the minds

There is a "Petition" of sorts regarding the potential changes to Fell/Oak to provide separated bike lanes. I consider the project to be very important - this short stretch of pavement from Scott to Baker links the very bike friendly Wiggle route with the off road path down the panhandle to JFK drive in the park which was always pretty sedate but will now have a separated bike lane. It's always amusing to check out internet comments, but this petition has some pure gold.
I live in the neighborhood and the problem is the gas station and people who drive down Fell street with total disregard for the residents of the area. Fell Street traffic moves at a fast pace, what needs to be address is the speed limit and bike and pedestrian safety. There should be no right hand turns on a red at Fell and Divisadero. Penalizing the residents of the area whom do happen to drive and park in their neighborhood is wrong.
Translation: I live on Fell and want the people driving through here to slow down, but I want parking for myself. I want a lowered speed limit on this street that people will magically obey, but when the original plan called for removing a lane - which would actually lower the speeds on Fell, I protested it.
I've lived in the neighborhood for 22 years and eliminating my parking spaces would greatly affect me since my house does not have garage and I can not afford $250/month rental for a parking space.
It would be a huge hardship for me to have to pay $250 a month to rent a space for my car given my 2 Bedroom rent controlled apartment is $245 a month.
I do agree that Fell and Oak have become dangerous with people driving too fast and Ted & Al's towing constantly double parking AT RUSH HOUR causing massive frustration, confusion and back ups. I don't see how removing the parking spaces will solve this problem.
I don't care if removing the parking spaces will solve this problem. Fixed.
My car is part of my family and i already spend hours each week looking for parking.
In this stress filled world, most people do not get the chance to spend hours each week with their family. Fortunately for this person, a lack of parking has solved this problem - hours weekly with "part of my family".
I think the current Fell St bike lane is perfectly fine.. The same kind of bicycle lane should be placed on Oak street. I don't believe that the current bike lane is hazardous for cyclists. A more serious problem in this neighborhood is the large number of cyclists on the sidewalk. In both directions and on both sides of the street. I have almost been run down several times coming out of my front door or going around a corner.
Please remove parking on someone else's street for a bike lane but not mine. I think the bike lane on my street is perfectly safe for cyclists, despite the fact they are so scared shitless riding on my street that they ride on the sidewalk. Come to think of it, that makes it safe for cyclists, but it's hell on pedestrians. Wait...