JoeyBike

This is why I only bike for utility purposes any more, and have zero qualms about breaking "The Law" on my bike in New Orleans.

Please judge me by my environment, not your Utopian cycling opinions. I did not write or have anything to do with the creation this newspaper article. But they nailed it and was well researched reflecting the issues we (cyclists) face in NOLA. If I am on my own, then I do what needs to be done to make it back alive. Added a few other fun articles. Cheers.

For New Orleans bicyclists injured in hit-and-runs, the insult comes from city officials

"A part of all this danger is that New Orleans drivers are often inexplicably angry at cyclists for the audacity of merely existing."

https://www.nola.com/opinions/2018/1...officials.html

"I'm well aware that New Orleans is a treacherous place to ride a bike. "

https://www.nola.com/traffic/index.s...red_in_hi.html

"A 51-year-old New Orleans man was left paralyzed after being struck by a hit-and-run driver while bicycling to work earlier this month near the city's lakefront."

https://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf...ed_in_hit.html

"A series of drive-by paintball shootings in parts of New Orleans have residents on edge after several people have told authorities that they've been injured by paintball pellets while riding their bicycles."

https://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf...paintball.html

"In the past year, members of our club and other folks who ride bikes in New Orleans have been purposefully run off the road, shot at with paintball guns, (and) beaten with baseball bats," the petition states. "Those committing these crimes are doing so because they know that they likely won't be investigated or caught.

https://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf..._sign_pet.html

downhillmaster

JoeyBike

Eh. I had a few minutes to do some research. I get scolded for mentioning that cycling in New Orleans is like "going to war" as far as how defensive I have to be out there. This is just corroborating evidence. It is all A&S related stuff.

It's a big world with many different cycling cultures and scenarios, yet some here think we all cycle under the same conditions and bike around the exact same way. It has been said to me that "Walking down the stairs in my house is dangerous as well". So if that nonsense can be said, I feel free to post truth.

B. Carfree

Give it up, Joey. Most folks here don't have the miles and experience that you do. They only started riding in this century, and the ones in NOLA-type environments (or ten times better) gave up in short order, so the remaining folks on bikes are those who live where it's not horrific and can't understand.

Paul Barnard

Isn't it interesting that two people can read a thread and walk away with completely different impressions. I guess it's all in the way we approach it. I go into a thread looking for a way to connect with the author of the thread. Others go into a thread looking for a way to start a pissing contest.

Joey, I am so thankful that I don't have to contend with riding in traffic in this area. It really can be a hostile environment for cyclists. The police will not be bothered by an assault on cyclists. They will take a report and no further action.

Leisesturm

We kind of do. By the numbers, there simply is no evidence to support that the absolute worst place in the country to ride a bike is all that much worse than the best place. All are equally bad, or equally good ... because the fact is that even in the worst place there are fewer cyclists having negative interactions with motorists than there are people walking drunk through their back yard, and stepping on rusty barbecue tongs and dying from sepsis as a result. The persecution complex shared by many cyclists living in Red States is pure hyperbole. I live (now) in what is arguably the best city to ride a bike in, and it ain't no utopia. At least as many hit and runs take place here as in Florida, Louisiana, Texas or Mississippi. Still, the fact remains that by the numbers, pedestrian fatalities FAR outnumber cyclist fatalities, and driver fatalities eclipse both categories of misery altogether. To be fair, the cycling infrastructure in Red States is apt to lag behind more progressive areas. That's worth griping about. But, and I'm just saying, a better strategy might simply be to leave. I wasn't born in Portland I'm just saying.

gear64

I believe some places can be worse than others. I see it on a localized level where I live. I grew up in the city, lived in and out of the city as an adult; but always near the city. I've been riding close to 50 years. I'd be hard pressed to name incidents that have occurred to me in the city; which ironically has a reputation of being a generally more dangerous place to be all around. Off hand I can't think of one intentional incident, however I did once almost t-bone a car running stop sign on residential street while in my teens. In suburbs honking and cursing are yearly occurrences, not quite monthly. Weekly occurrences of folks running up my ass, then swerving around with just enough clearance to intimidate me without clipping me. I believe it's intentional, since the left lane is perfectly clear for miles. They just choose to get as close as possible, within their perception of control to make a point that I don't belong there. I've been intentionally herded off the road once, rolling smoked, and had things thrown at me. Sure it's possible I could get hit, shot, or whatever in the city; but day in day out the near misses are in the 'burbs.

bikemig 

I grew up in New Orleans, worked in a bike shop there, and biked everywhere there for many years. The OP is right. New Orleans belongs on a sort list of cities with terrible drivers.

jon c. 

I haven't ridden a bike in NO since I lived there 40 years ago. It was unique then and I don't expect it has changed much. On the upside, speeds don't tend to be that high so you could often chart a course that gave you more control over the madness. At night you just had to keep moving. And local knowledge helped a lot. One street might be a good route while a parallel street may have a lot of pitfalls. It was exciting then, but I wouldn't want to do it now.

MikeyMK

ITT - People who ride on roads.

Stupidity in the thread, i'm out.

McBTC

Based on what you hear it isn't safe to go anywhere in New Orleans -- at last at night by yourself -- and, venturing off the main street during Mardi Gras, e.g.,


https://www.safehome.org/resources/m...crime-reports/

OBoile

I'd make a more substantial reply, but I'm suffering from some cycling PTSD right now. We lost three good men on our last commute. The things I've seen man... the things I've seen. Combat, oops, I mean riding a bike, changes you. You can't unlearn what you've learned.

Leisesturm

Obviously. My point is neither of those places (in the U.S.) would be Amsterdam (NL). I doubt a Dutch cyclist thinks there is much difference between Tallahassee and Davis, CA, they wouldn't want to ride a mile in either place. And, yes, it might actually be more salient to focus on the violent crime statistics of different American cities in a discussion like this. Few could disagree on the obvious differences in personal safety in NO vs PDX, to name only two.

H (who can't help but wonder out loud why people who hate where they live so much don't simply leave)

mtb_addict

NO just sounds like an awful awful place to live. Rampant shooting at bicyclists. I feel sorry for resident of NO. They must live in constant fear and worry. Sounds like there's no law and order.

JoeyBike

NOLA is the most liberal city I can afford to live in. Beautiful, mild winters. Everything is green and lush year round. The city is relatively small - I can get anywhere on a bike in 20 minutes from the city center. The people are AWESOME when not behind the wheel of a car. Flat as a pancake.

I have tried other places: Los Angeles / Santa Monica, CA. Lake Placid, NY, St. Louis, MO. Charlottesville, VA. Seattle, WA. Baton Rouge, LA. All either too cold or too expensive. Or too conservative. Mainly, I like FREEDOM. No one here gives two hoots who you are, what you look like, who you bed with, what gender you consider yourself, rich or poor, party affiliation, etc. And within reason, very few laws get enforced. Just try not to kill anybody and it's all good. Every city our size has safety issues and other things that suck. I have to live somewhere. I'll go with freedom for now.

Leisesturm

No worries. Rock on. No more of these rants against your fair city's cycling culture then. You can't have everything. You do know that, right?

JoeyBike

No rant. Justification for giving up recreational cycling here. I choose to limit the danger by limiting my exposure, which is one sure way to not get killed on my bike - don't ride it. Next time I read "Using the stairs in your house is dangerous too" I can just RE: this thread instead of responding with the same old "rant" everyone is tired of reading. Including me.

Leisesturm

What does that mean exactly, 'giving up recreational cycling'? Why would a driver make a distinction between a rider out for a lark and one that is on his way to work? Most of us don't hammer out Strava KM's on the busy urban arterials. We are in the State Park where the only cars around are the ATV's the Rangers use. Most Parks Service employees avoid targeting road racers for their monthly kill tallys. So, no. The only effective way to limit your 'exposure' is to give up vehicular cycling in favor of exclusively recreational cycling (which is what the majority of cyclists already do!) and the even better way to ensure that you are not ever killed on your bike is simply not to ride it. Ever again. Which of course you are free to also do. At that point, however, you are no longer a cyclist. Your posts will only have relevance in the 'Living Car Free' forum where all the other ex-cyclists come to gripe about how hard it was to live car free and ride a bicycle everywhere so now they drive more than they ever did when they cycled occasionally.

JoeyBike

Same reason car insurance companies give discounts for low mileage drivers. Their EXPOSURE is limited, therefore less chance of a claim. Same with me. I used to bike for fun, roughly 100-200 miles every weekend in the city as well as rural areas on state highways. I quit every type of cycling except the "must-do" kind - work commute, doctors, grocery, etc. So now I bike 40-50 miles a week on greenways and quiet back streets vs. 240-250 miles a week on every type of roadway. See?

Makes no sense. I meander my way 4 miles to work on 20 mph back streets interrupted by stop signs at nearly every corner. I gave up cycling on 2 to 4-lane state highways with speed limits from 50-70mph and all kinds of wide, fast vehicles from dualie pickup trucks to tractor trailers. So your assessment is just wrong. I do not have access to a state park worth cycling.

I've been car free since 1989. 30 years without interruption. If I decide to get a car I can certainly still give useful insights on the Car-Free forum. I never said it was "hard to live car-free". I said it's dangerous to ride a bicycle around high speed traffic with drunk/distracted operators behind the wheel - which is everywhere. Best way to take action myself - to do something with MEANINGFUL reductions in danger - is to limit my exposure. Am I not making it clear? I would do same in a car. I am not driving to/from the beach on Labor Day weekend. A high volume of traffic and a high probability people are drunk. Not worth the risk. So...I LIMIT MY EXPOSURE on the roadways and try not to fall down the 4 steps at my house.

downhillmaster

B. Carfree

I'm intrigued by the articles JoeyBike linked to. They are certainly the sort of thing that would put a fright into most folks about the relative risk of riding a bike. The reason I'm interested is because the city I live in has been on a stunning downward trend in bicycle use since 2012. That was, perhaps not coincidentally, when the city went all-in with the Mia Birk mindset that bikes MUST be separated from cars. The justification used was, predictably, safety. That creates a sense that cycling is dangerous, people aren't generally brave, so they stop riding or never start in the first place. At least that's my working hypothesis. The two nearest cities that had any cyclists have seen either stagnation (Portland) or large increases (Corvallis).

Naturally, I looked at the dates of the articles and the cycling trends in NOLA. The ACS data only runs to 2017, so the latest article isn't even in play, but there has been a noticeable decline in cycling in NOLA since 2013, when 3.6% of commuters rode. (2014=3.4, 2015=3.3, 2016=3.3, and 2017=2.9%).

I wonder, when did the press start doing these fear-based cycling articles/videos down in NOLA? Have they been doing them all along? I doubt it. I remember a few years ago JoeyBike was lauding the great improvements to the streetscape in NOLA for cyclists. That was about the time it saw an increase from about half of what is currently is up to that high in 2014.

McBTC

Random, unverifiable thoughts about the reasons could be anything and worthless for planning... nonetheless-- my guess is, there are instances of people who are still drunk from the night before... who essentially wake up drunk, know they're impaired drivers and purposefully take backroads, coastal routes and side roads that they're not that familiar to get home, avoiding driving on the freeway where they fear being stopped by law enforcement. It's the only thing I can think of as to why someone ends up going out of their way to kill someone, even to the extent of driving up a curb and killing joggers on a corner waiting for the light to change at 7 in the morning. In such a situation and to such people, bicyclists may as well be invisible.

livedarklions

Oh, BS. You go into threads to pick fights and insult your betters. It's all you do.

vol

I've read there is a particular intersection in New Orleans that is very dangerous and was the scene of two almost identical horrific fatal accidents where a cyclist was run over by a tractor trailer/18 wheeler in 2005 and 2017, resp.:

Marigny intersection where cyclist was killed was the scene of a nearly identical wreck in 2005

Has there been improvement in that area?

JoeyBike

That intersection is really nothing special except that tractor trailers are involved. Many streets in NOLA are forbidden to large trucks / buses due to the narrowness and sometimes strength (everything is paved on decaying organic goo - no bedrock). So if a non-savvy cyclist rolls up to a stoplight on the right side of the cab of a right-turning semi (right on red is legal) then they get crushed by the rear wheels of the turning truck. The new bike lane on the right side of turning traffic is the issue. Perfect scenario for a Darwin award. You have inspired me to check on that intersection now.

I never, ever line up on the right side of any truck in the right lane. It's one of those things you don't live to learn from. You have to be insightful about traffic behavior. "What if" that truck turns right? I am always thinking WHAT IF in a car or on a bicycle!