Friggin' Cyclists - We need to punish these people

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by llwhiteoutll

Do this. He needs to call the police and cite Section 2(1)(c) and Section 3(1)(b) of Alberta Regulation 304/2002. It sounds like she isn't riding as close as possible to the curb and is impeding traffic.

The law says "as close as practicable", not as close as possible. If there is snow/ice/potholes etc that make it unsafe to ride as close as practicable to the curb then she is still following the law.

[llwhiteoutll]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

The law says "as close as practicable", not as close as possible. If there is snow/ice/potholes etc that make it unsafe to ride as close as practicable to the curb then she is still following the law.

That would be a matter for the officer or the court to decide. If you're going so slowly that you're backing up traffic, you don't need to be on the road, that goes for cars as well as bikes. There are more options available to her than clogging up a full lane.

Or if he's directly behind her, Sliver could just pass her. Even on a solid line, passing is allowed.

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by llwhiteoutll

That would be a matter for the officer or the court to decide. If you're going so slowly that you're backing up traffic, you don't need to be on the road, that goes for cars as well as bikes. There are more options available to her than clogging up a full lane.

Or if he's directly behind her, Sliver could just pass her. Even on a solid line, passing is allowed.

From my understanding it is up to the cyclist to decide what they feel is safe or not. They are entitled to take the entire lane if that is what they deem safe. I will take the lane on a narrow street becuase I worry about getting doored, or leaving just enough space that the guy behind thinks he can squeeze by and cuts way to close. It's happened to many times so I just take the entire lane to avoid the risk. This is not against any laws. "Practicable" gives me that leeway.


I do not know why this women chooses to take the lane, but I suspect she has good reason, because like I mentioned, most people don't like to have impatient vehicles lined up behind them. I mean, sure, she could just be a horrible human being, too.

[Barnet Flame]

Originally Posted by Sliver

What about where I said she could walk her bike on the sidewalk or take side streets? Honestly, what's going on with you that you can't follow along?

In your original post, you said she could “ride or walk” on the sidewalk.

I think I’m following along here.

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by llwhiteoutll

That would be a matter for the officer or the court to decide. If you're going so slowly that you're backing up traffic, you don't need to be on the road, that goes for cars as well as bikes. There are more options available to her than clogging up a full lane.

Or if he's directly behind her, Sliver could just pass her. Even on a solid line, passing is allowed.

I'm a pretty aggressive driver in general, but I definitely wouldn't want to put her in danger and passing her would for sure be unsafe here.

The other thing about calling the cops is I don't think this is really a police matter so I'm uncomfortable doing that. Seems like a waste of their time. I'm going to start with 311 if I decide to do anything.

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by GGG

Asking her to walk is not a reasonable option. She is using the infrastructure that is in place.

Well, that's your opinion. IMO, it is reasonable (it's only about 650m we're talking here) along with my other suggestions of riding a different route that takes her away from the bulk of traffic.

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by Barnet Flame

In your original post, you said she could “ride or walk” on the sidewalk.

I think I’m following along here.

No, you're really not. You're being obtuse.

She could walk along the sidewalk. She could also ride along the sidewalk if she's comfortable bending the rules. I gave an example of how riding on the sidewalk isn't the worst law you can break, in the same way going 5 kph over the speed limit to stay with traffic is breaking the law, but is absolutely accepted by the police and every other citizen as it helps keep traffic running smoothly.

You're not being funny, you're disrupting the conversation, you're intentionally misunderstanding, you're not giving a fair ear to the discussion...like what's up? I don't get what your input is contributing here. A joke is always good, a counter point is important, asking me to see it a different way is helpful, but you're just being weird. I don't get it. Maybe you and I could just agree to disagree on this one?

[Wormius]

Originally Posted by Sliver

I'm a pretty aggressive driver in general, but I definitely wouldn't want to put her in danger and passing her would for sure be unsafe here.

The other thing about calling the cops is I don't think this is really a police matter so I'm uncomfortable doing that. Seems like a waste of their time. I'm going to start with 311 if I decide to do anything.

What is it about the road that passing her would be dangerous to her? Is there oncoming traffic so you're not able to pull far enough to the left to leave her enough room when passing?

[redforever]

Originally Posted by Salt Water Cowboy #10

I think you can get ticketed for driving too slow? So I don’t see why the speed limit on a road wouldn’t apply to a cyclist in the middle of a lane. Try calling the cops

That is the same as no slow moving vehicles are allowed on Deerfoot Trail.

Reasonable speed limits should exist on all roadways....that should be both ways, too fast or too slow.

[4X4]

Originally Posted by Wormius

What is it about the road that passing her would be dangerous to her? Is there oncoming traffic so you're not able to pull far enough to the left to leave her enough room when passing?

Acadia Dr has a grass/tree median all the way through Bonavista.

[Harry Lime]

Wouldn't it be easier for everybody just to ban cycling from November to May and use the bike lanes to pile snow?

Savings on snow removal, and cycle lane upkeep, as well as taking horribly unbalanced cyclists off the road at a time when riding a bike could only be an indication of madness.

[troutman]

Fat biking girls, they'll be riding today
So look out for those beauties, oh yeah
On your marks, get set, go

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by Harry Lime

Wouldn't it be easier for everybody just to ban cycling from November to May and use the bike lanes to pile snow?

Savings on snow removal, and cycle lane upkeep, as well as taking horribly unbalanced cyclists off the road at a time when riding a bike could only be an indication of madness.

No.

[Mazrim]

Originally Posted by Sliver

I think we need a new rule for cyclists. If the shoulder/side of the road is blocked with snow such that you're unable to ride along the curb edge, you can't ride your bike there. I cycle as well (not in the winter), but would never have the gall to hold up dozens of people so I can selfishly putt along inhibiting the flow of traffic. People have places to be. Since too many cyclists aren't going to stop being dikbags on their own, I think we need to get the law involved.

This person has places to be too, and yet you're asking them to inconvenience themselves further so you can save 30 seconds on your commute. I don't really recall what part of Acadia has any kind of incline aside from a short stretch at Anderson Road, so what's the big deal? Are you that impatient?

You should record the so-called traffic nightmare so we can see just how bad this really is.

[CliffFletcher]

I'm a cyclist and I think people are being unfair to Sliver here.

Yes, a cyclist has a right to take a lane. But IMHO if you want to ride in traffic you have some responsibility to the other drivers on the road not to impede traffic. That means either riding on the shoulder where you can be easily passed, or keeping up with traffic if you're on a narrow road. Because a road with some vehicles doing 55 km/hr and some doing 15 km/hr isn't safe for anybody. And cycling on the road in winter is not for most people. Just because you have a right to doesn't mean it's a good idea.

Yes, it's illegal to ride on the sidewalk. But people (ie just about everybody under the age of about 13) do it all the time. You aren't going to get ticketed or cause an injury if the sidewalk isn't busy and you ride slowly. It's safe to assume a sidewalk in Acadia in the winter is going to have few, if any, pedestrians on it.

Bikes and cars have to learn to coexist. Sometimes that means cyclists being inconvenienced, like getting out of the way on a busy road in winter by riding on the sidewalk for a few blocks.

And you can say 'lobby for more bike lanes', but does anyone really think Calgary is going to lay down thousands of km of bike lanes in the near future, enough so there are dedicated lanes on every suburban road like Acadia Drive? There are a lot of places (like Acadia Drive) where they simply aren't feasible.

[kukkudo]

Originally Posted by Mazrim

This person has places to be too, and yet you're asking them to inconvenience themselves further so you can save 30 seconds on your commute. I don't really recall what part of Acadia has any kind of incline aside from a short stretch at Anderson Road, so what's the big deal? Are you that impatient?

You should record the so-called traffic nightmare so we can see just how bad this really is.

We found the biker.

[habernac]

If the lane is narrow and the sides were full of snow/ice , I'll sit in the middle of it as well.

I'd love to see a picture of the road.

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by Mazrim

This person has places to be too, and yet you're asking them to inconvenience themselves further so you can save 30 seconds on your commute. I don't really recall what part of Acadia has any kind of incline aside from a short stretch at Anderson Road, so what's the big deal? Are you that impatient?

You should record the so-called traffic nightmare so we can see just how bad this really is.

I'm asking her to be considerate of dozens of people, not just me. I don't feel wrong about expecting this of her because I would expect it of myself, too.

[stone hands]

the absolute horror of adding a few minutes to your commute so someone can legally use the road

i think you should just run her over

[4X4]

Originally Posted by Mazrim

This person has places to be too, and yet you're asking them to inconvenience themselves further so you can save 30 seconds on your commute. I don't really recall what part of Acadia has any kind of incline aside from a short stretch at Anderson Road, so what's the big deal? Are you that impatient?

You should record the so-called traffic nightmare so we can see just how bad this really is.

Side rant... Why is this always the number trotted out? It's as stupid as "10 minutes to downtown". It's more than 30 seconds when some butthead dawdles in traffic and causes you to miss a light at a major intersection that you could have caught going the limit. Compound that a few times, and it can accumulate into being pretty late.

And save the "leave earlier" BS, please. When your job requires you to be out on the road all day, putting up with inconsiderate, mentally lazy a-holes can get pretty aggravating.