Even bike paths are dangerous
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What's worse than a bollard in the middle of a path is two bollards. There's a semi-local path which has a couple of wooden foot bridges on it, but instead of having a single bollard in the middle of the path on each end of the bridge, they put two bollards at each entrance of the bridge, making the passage even more narrow and dangerous. One would have been fine and given a wider area to ride through while still keeping vehicles off the bridge.
There's a trailhead near where I used to work, with scars in the pavement where you can see the construction crew put a bollard in each lane. Immediately in front of them is a single one in the middle.
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For the most part the bollards on the MUPs where I live are painted bright yellow and not worn. They are also much wider than a typical pipe. Probably at least 6 inches wide. But there is one at the front of a bridge that is getting rusty and is beginning to blend in a bit with the bridge itself. I need to figure out who to contact about that. Probably won't get it painted soon, but if it's on record, someone's lawyer will have something to work with.
I've only come close to hitting one myself, one time. And it wasn't because I didn't see, just one of those moments on a bike where the direction the bike needs to go to maintain balance is the wrong direction. One of those "forgot how to ride a bike" moments.
I have seen in my city where many places clearly had two bollards where now they have just one. At least someone figured that out. Literally spots like a bridge, with two bollards such that you effectively had one bollard right in the middle each side of traffic flow. Basically you couldn't put them in a worse location.
We have plenty of knuckleheads in our city who wouldn't hesitate to drive on a MUP if they could get their car onto it. So, I think the need is real, but they do need to be well thought out and only put in where really needed.
And they need to be as easy to see as possible. The one in the OP's link is criminal. Victims family should get a big payout for that one.
I've only come close to hitting one myself, one time. And it wasn't because I didn't see, just one of those moments on a bike where the direction the bike needs to go to maintain balance is the wrong direction. One of those "forgot how to ride a bike" moments.
I have seen in my city where many places clearly had two bollards where now they have just one. At least someone figured that out. Literally spots like a bridge, with two bollards such that you effectively had one bollard right in the middle each side of traffic flow. Basically you couldn't put them in a worse location.
We have plenty of knuckleheads in our city who wouldn't hesitate to drive on a MUP if they could get their car onto it. So, I think the need is real, but they do need to be well thought out and only put in where really needed.
And they need to be as easy to see as possible. The one in the OP's link is criminal. Victims family should get a big payout for that one.
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poles are viewed as great places to meet or to leave messages or to slow and discourage motorized 2 & 4 wheel traffic but were never intended test a cyclist's avoidance skills ........................... of course most poles were implemented by non bike riding city officials at the behest of non bike riding users of MUPs
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At first I thought this was gratuitous danger porn, but a solid pole like that in dappled light could be a killer. I wish the article provided more info like maps and photos from different angles to help us learn how to avoid making hazards like that. It's a learning process, and as we promote bicycling we need better analysis of these kinds of problems.
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poles are viewed as great places to meet or to leave messages or to slow and discourage motorized 2 & 4 wheel traffic but were never intended test a cyclist's avoidance skills ........................... of course most poles were implemented by non bike riding city officials at the behest of non bike riding users of MUPs
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Total agreement that many(most?) are placed by officials who don't ride. Not too long ago my wife clipped a bollard. It is at the beginning of a 90 degree turn onto a straight and coming the other direction, is at the end of the turn, where the mup goes straight. After falling, we stopped at a nearby kiosk to look her and the bike over. Neither she nor the bike were badly hurt. But a few riders at the kiosk saw her fall and were concerned if she was ok (she was). Several said they had crashed on it also. Contacted the administrators of the mup--nothing has changed.
There's a couple of these on the Nashua River Rail Trail in Pepperell MA, located a few feet from where someone would do a 90 degree turn from the street onto the path. One of them is especially hazardous as the road is both busy and on a slight descent, so people tend to take the turn fast. I was recently going straight on the path across the intersection when a cyclist in front of me turned off of the road into my lane with what should have been plenty of clearance, but then she had to slam the brakes when she realized the bollard was right in her path. It was not a particularly close call for me (it was for her), but she was very apologetic to me. I actually complimented her on her last-second adjustment to a deceptively tricky turn as she obviously had no way to know the bollard was there before she actually turned (parked cars obscure its view from the road).
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#33
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Total agreement that many(most?) are placed by officials who don't ride. Not too long ago my wife clipped a bollard. It is at the beginning of a 90 degree turn onto a straight and coming the other direction, is at the end of the turn, where the mup goes straight. After falling, we stopped at a nearby kiosk to look her and the bike over. Neither she nor the bike were badly hurt. But a few riders at the kiosk saw her fall and were concerned if she was ok (she was). Several said they had crashed on it also. Contacted the administrators of the mup--nothing has changed.
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92 yr old Mom calls me yesterday, "I saw a program showing happy ppl riding bikes on a nice bike path. you know when I was a young girl I used rent a bike for a nickel. can you find out if there is a bike path near me now?"
oh boy OK Mom
oh boy OK Mom
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In the current 4th edition of the AASHTO Guide for Bicycle Facilities, there are two pages of guidance on the use of bollards. I can't post all of it due to copyright restrictions, but this is the second paragraph:
"The routine use of bollards and other similar barriers to restrict motor vehicle traffic is not recommended. Bollards should not be used unless there is a documented history of unauthorized intrusion by motor vehicles. Barriers such as bollards, fences, or other similar devices create permanent obstacles to path users. Bollards on pathways may be struck by bicyclists and other path users and can cause serious injury. Approaching riders may shield even a conspicuous bollard from a following rider's view until a point where the rider lacks sufficient time to react."
"The routine use of bollards and other similar barriers to restrict motor vehicle traffic is not recommended. Bollards should not be used unless there is a documented history of unauthorized intrusion by motor vehicles. Barriers such as bollards, fences, or other similar devices create permanent obstacles to path users. Bollards on pathways may be struck by bicyclists and other path users and can cause serious injury. Approaching riders may shield even a conspicuous bollard from a following rider's view until a point where the rider lacks sufficient time to react."
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In the current 4th edition of the AASHTO Guide for Bicycle Facilities, there are two pages of guidance on the use of bollards. I can't post all of it due to copyright restrictions, but this is the second paragraph:
"The routine use of bollards and other similar barriers to restrict motor vehicle traffic is not recommended. Bollards should not be used unless there is a documented history of unauthorized intrusion by motor vehicles. Barriers such as bollards, fences, or other similar devices create permanent obstacles to path users. Bollards on pathways may be struck by bicyclists and other path users and can cause serious injury. Approaching riders may shield even a conspicuous bollard from a following rider's view until a point where the rider lacks sufficient time to react."
"The routine use of bollards and other similar barriers to restrict motor vehicle traffic is not recommended. Bollards should not be used unless there is a documented history of unauthorized intrusion by motor vehicles. Barriers such as bollards, fences, or other similar devices create permanent obstacles to path users. Bollards on pathways may be struck by bicyclists and other path users and can cause serious injury. Approaching riders may shield even a conspicuous bollard from a following rider's view until a point where the rider lacks sufficient time to react."
the above photo is interesting
- a friend in HS flipped his motorcycle over a chain stretched across the teachers parking lot. he didn't see the chain
- at the southern end of the CCRT paved bike trail there is a road crossing at the dump. it's a good one. instead of a bollard & the above ropes, they used chain link fencing to make the maze to ride or walk thru. I thought it was effective & safe
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These days, you never can assume that a 92 y.o. is incapable of much unless you know them.
BTW, my 93 y.o. dad never learned to ride a bike. Not sure how unusual that was for the depression era children.
Maybe you can find somewhere that rents recumbents for a nickel.
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There's a gate like that close to the end of a trail I ride on, except that it is directly under a bunch of overhanging branches. The effect is to make people on opposite sides of the gate blind to each, other, and I've had one close call where I almost did a head-on with a cyclist going the other way as we both worked our way around the opposite sides of the gate. A tree on one end of the gate makes both sides cross the line on the same end of the fence, and you can't tell someone's thee even though you're just a couple feet apart. I've taken to being really noisy there.
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These days, you never can assume that a 92 y.o. is incapable of much unless you know them.
BTW, my 93 y.o. dad never learned to ride a bike. Not sure how unusual that was for the depression era children.
Maybe you can find somewhere that rents recumbents for a nickel.
BTW, my 93 y.o. dad never learned to ride a bike. Not sure how unusual that was for the depression era children.
Maybe you can find somewhere that rents recumbents for a nickel.
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She's still in NY? Did she miss the obligatory move to Florida?
NYC it is, then! When your parent is in their 90s, you definitely go to them.
TBH, I'm a little jealous because my dad is basically housebound at this point.
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+1. My mom didn't make it past 70. Give her some joy.
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