Cycling Thread 2

[habernac]

My wife wont ride because of the grief she has received when riding shared use paths or trails. You ring a bell, they're annoyed with the noise. Or they jump and they're pissed off at you. You can't win.

[Wormius]

Originally Posted by habernac

My wife wont ride because of the grief she has received when riding shared use paths or trails. You ring a bell, they're annoyed with the noise. Or they jump and they're pissed off at you. You can't win.

If you're getting the reaction of a person being startled, is it possible bell was a bit late? The times I have been startled is when the person rings their bell as they're basically passing by you.

[habernac]

No, they're usually people with ear buds in. If you don't like being surprised, maybe pay more attention to your surroundings.

[Fuzz]

There is really no winning with warnings. Later we were going past Edworthy, and a train was going by, so it was obviously super loud. My wife rang her bell several times, got no response, so said "passing on your right" We were going about 15km/h. The women turns and says "use your bell!" As if using her voice was some affront to humanity.


I try to ring from a distance then a middle range, then when I am close if I haven't noticed any indication that the person heard me. And that is if they are off to the side. If they have dogs, or are walking near the line I'm giving a vocal warning when I get close. Unless they look totally oblivious to the world around them, then they get the thunder horn. Not my fault if I startle you at that point.

[cracher]

yesterday, i iphone-speedometered my 7 year old on the pathway. 21 km/h. i am tempted to send my kid through the next radar trap to see what happens.

[Mass_nerder]

Originally Posted by cracher

yesterday, i iphone-speedometered my 7 year old on the pathway. 21 km/h. i am tempted to send my kid through the next radar trap to see what happens.

What do kids get for allowance these days? It might take a while to pay off the ticket.

[cracher]

It would be worth every penny. She'd become the poster-child for meaningful speed rule reform. I'm down with busy areas/blind corners being 10km/h zones, but 20 is too slow for the other 100+ kms of pathway in town. Like if I get pulled over on the bow river east section at 645am, I will go full freeman of the land on the bylaw officer.

[Shazam]

Biked to work today, what’s the deal with Bow Village Crescent? That road is like a DMZ.

[Mass_nerder]

Originally Posted by cracher

It would be worth every penny. She'd become the poster-child for meaningful speed rule reform. I'm down with busy areas/blind corners being 10km/h zones, but 20 is too slow for the other 100+ kms of pathway in town. Like if I get pulled over on the bow river east section at 645am, I will go full freeman of the land on the bylaw officer.

It seems like bylaw is probably a lot more likely to be out on weekends in busy areas (if, like they say, the goal is to make the paths safer).
Looking to ticket commuters early on weekdays would send a pretty clear message that they're just looking to cash in on the growing cyclist commuter community.

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by Mass_nerder

It seems like bylaw is probably a lot more likely to be out on weekends in busy areas (if, like they say, the goal is to make the paths safer).
Looking to ticket commuters early on weekdays would send a pretty clear message that they're just looking to cash in on the growing cyclist commuter community.

The only times I ever remember seeing them have been weekdays.

[Northendzone]

i would say of the handful of times i have seen the bylaw folks - 3/4 of them have been during the week and then one time on a weekend in sandy beach area.

i would agree if they are out doing enforcement before 8 they are looking to raise money as most folks would simply be trying to get to work 5 minutes sooner not looking to set strava times.

[Lubicon]

Originally Posted by Shazam

Biked to work today, what’s the deal with Bow Village Crescent? That road is like a DMZ.

That road has been that way for as long as I can remember (15+ years)

Originally Posted by Mass_nerder

It seems like bylaw is probably a lot more likely to be out on weekends in busy areas (if, like they say, the goal is to make the paths safer).
Looking to ticket commuters early on weekdays would send a pretty clear message that they're just looking to cash in on the growing cyclist commuter community.

Granted I don't typically frequent the paths near DT on weekends but the only times I have seen speed traps set up are weekday afternoons during the commute.

[Flames0910]

Adding to the notes above, most times I've heard of the bylaw guys being out ticketing cyclists is on the river pathway on the morning commute. Sometimes you can get a heads up by checking #yycbike on Twitter.

For anyone who's still fuming over the fine increase, I emailed my councillor and got back a pretty detailed response. I would encourage you to do the same.

Speeding on pathways up to 10 km/h over the limit now carries a specified penalty of $150, with speeding of more than 10 km/h over the limit carrying a specified fine of $400. There is an additional specified fine for “unsafe speed on a pathway” of $400.

1. The change was the result of changing the entire Pathway bylaw. Council didn’t notice they were going up so much and Parks didn’t bother to bring it up.
2. Speeding on the pathway was identified by Calgarians as a top concern (plus inflation...).
3. Parks wants a “heavy hammer” for people who recklessly speed, most infractions are just a warning.
4. Druh Farrell agrees the amount is excessive (lighter than cars + lower speeds = less kinetic energy = less damage) and "is considering" bringing forward a reconsideration to bring the amounts in line with driving.
5. Pathway speed limits were initially set based on their use for "recreation" not for commuting. There was discussion of revisiting the limits, but council was not interested. Getting them changed is unlikely.

[Fuzz]

So the first admission is dereliction of duty. Nice.

[Mass_nerder]

Originally Posted by Flames0910

Adding to the notes above, most times I've heard of the bylaw guys being out ticketing cyclists is on the river pathway on the morning commute. Sometimes you can get a heads up by checking #yycbike on Twitter.

For anyone who's still fuming over the fine increase, I emailed my councillor and got back a pretty detailed response. I would encourage you to do the same.

1. The change was the result of changing the entire Pathway bylaw. Council didn’t notice they were going up so much and Parks didn’t bother to bring it up.
2. Speeding on the pathway was identified by Calgarians as a top concern (plus inflation...).
3. Parks wants a “heavy hammer” for people who recklessly speed, most infractions are just a warning.
4. Druh Farrell agrees the amount is excessive (lighter than cars + lower speeds = less kinetic energy = less damage) and "is considering" bringing forward a reconsideration to bring the amounts in line with driving.
5. Pathway speed limits were initially set based on their use for "recreation" not for commuting. There was discussion of revisiting the limits, but council was not interested. Getting them changed is unlikely.

I would email my councilor, but it's Farkas.

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by Mass_nerder

I would email my councilor, but it's Farkas.

I'd email mine, but it's Chu.

[Table 5]

Definitely write in ALL CAPS then.

[Flames0910]

I would email my councilor, but it's Farkas.

Maybe you can trick him into it by showing that it's an opportunity to grandstand?

[Bigtime]

Originally Posted by Mass_nerder

I would email my councilor, but it's Farkas.

He is a fellow cyclist though, but I think more of the "weekend warrior" variety that rides out of town.

[kermitology]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

So the first admission is dereliction of duty. Nice.

In fairness, councillors definitely get a tonne of paperwork to review every day, and they’re probably relying on the executive summary. I read the executive summary and it mentions that fines were increased, but refers to the appendix for what the fines are. If I was a councillor I probably would have skipped it too. Someone should have taken a closer look though.