Go Back  Bike Forums > Bike Forums > Advocacy & Safety
Reload this Page >

Even bike paths are dangerous

Notices
Advocacy & Safety Cyclists should expect and demand safe accommodation on every public road, just as do all other users. Discuss your bicycle advocacy and safety concerns here.

Even bike paths are dangerous

Old 09-07-22, 02:02 PM
  #26  
Korina
Happy banana slug
Thread Starter
 
Korina's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2015
Location: Arcata, California, U.S., North America, Earth, Saggitarius Arm, Milky Way
Posts: 3,753

Bikes: 1984 Araya MB 261, 1992 Specialized Rockhopper Sport, 1993 Hard Rock Ultra, 1994 Trek Multitrack 750, 1995 Trek Singletrack 930

Mentioned: 31 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1524 Post(s)
Liked 1,513 Times in 906 Posts
Originally Posted by Milton Keynes
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.
That's a hazard and needs to be corrected. Have you contacted the appropriate people about it?

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.
Korina is online now  
Old 10-22-22, 10:05 AM
  #27  
rydabent
Banned
 
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Lincoln Ne
Posts: 9,924

Bikes: RANS Stratus TerraTrike Tour II

Mentioned: 46 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3352 Post(s)
Liked 1,054 Times in 634 Posts
Really STUPID place to put poles.
rydabent is offline  
Old 10-23-22, 12:59 PM
  #28  
Mtracer
Full Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2022
Location: Albuquerque NM USA
Posts: 453
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 202 Post(s)
Liked 274 Times in 179 Posts
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.
Mtracer is offline  
Old 10-23-22, 01:59 PM
  #29  
jack pot 
Fxxxxr
 
jack pot's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2017
Location: falfurrias texas
Posts: 993

Bikes: wabi classic (stolen & recovered)

Mentioned: 4 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2668 Post(s)
Liked 1,144 Times in 869 Posts
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
__________________
Nothing is true---everything is permitted
jack pot is offline  
Old 10-23-22, 03:48 PM
  #30  
rumrunn6
Senior Member
 
rumrunn6's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: 25 miles northwest of Boston
Posts: 29,528

Bikes: Bottecchia Sprint, GT Timberline 29r, Marin Muirwoods 29er, Trek FX Alpha 7.0

Mentioned: 112 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 5219 Post(s)
Liked 3,564 Times in 2,331 Posts
Originally Posted by tyrion
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.

each scratch represents a crash
rumrunn6 is offline  
Old 10-29-22, 09:45 AM
  #31  
freeranger
Senior Member
 
freeranger's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Kentucky
Posts: 2,579

Bikes: 06 Lemond Reno, 98 GT Timberline mtn.bike

Mentioned: 7 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 421 Post(s)
Liked 690 Times in 430 Posts
Originally Posted by jack pot
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
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.
freeranger is offline  
Old 11-08-22, 07:56 AM
  #32  
livedarklions
Tragically Ignorant
 
livedarklions's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2018
Location: New England
Posts: 15,613

Bikes: Serotta Atlanta; 1994 Specialized Allez Pro; Giant OCR A1; SOMA Double Cross Disc; 2022 Allez Elite mit der SRAM

Mentioned: 62 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 8186 Post(s)
Liked 9,094 Times in 5,053 Posts
Originally Posted by freeranger
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).
livedarklions is offline  
Likes For livedarklions:
Old 11-09-22, 05:53 PM
  #33  
Korina
Happy banana slug
Thread Starter
 
Korina's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2015
Location: Arcata, California, U.S., North America, Earth, Saggitarius Arm, Milky Way
Posts: 3,753

Bikes: 1984 Araya MB 261, 1992 Specialized Rockhopper Sport, 1993 Hard Rock Ultra, 1994 Trek Multitrack 750, 1995 Trek Singletrack 930

Mentioned: 31 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1524 Post(s)
Liked 1,513 Times in 906 Posts
Originally Posted by freeranger
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.
Contacting them won't do anything. You have to pester them, politely but persistently, and get others in on it. Petitions, emails, press coverage if you can get it; the more voices they hear, the harder it is for them to ignore the situation. It'll probably still take time, but it'll get done.
Korina is online now  
Old 11-10-22, 08:56 AM
  #34  
rumrunn6
Senior Member
 
rumrunn6's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: 25 miles northwest of Boston
Posts: 29,528

Bikes: Bottecchia Sprint, GT Timberline 29r, Marin Muirwoods 29er, Trek FX Alpha 7.0

Mentioned: 112 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 5219 Post(s)
Liked 3,564 Times in 2,331 Posts
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
rumrunn6 is offline  
Likes For rumrunn6:
Old 11-11-22, 05:47 AM
  #35  
livedarklions
Tragically Ignorant
 
livedarklions's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2018
Location: New England
Posts: 15,613

Bikes: Serotta Atlanta; 1994 Specialized Allez Pro; Giant OCR A1; SOMA Double Cross Disc; 2022 Allez Elite mit der SRAM

Mentioned: 62 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 8186 Post(s)
Liked 9,094 Times in 5,053 Posts
Originally Posted by rumrunn6
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
Where does she live?
livedarklions is offline  
Likes For livedarklions:
Old 11-11-22, 07:46 AM
  #36  
rumrunn6
Senior Member
 
rumrunn6's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: 25 miles northwest of Boston
Posts: 29,528

Bikes: Bottecchia Sprint, GT Timberline 29r, Marin Muirwoods 29er, Trek FX Alpha 7.0

Mentioned: 112 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 5219 Post(s)
Liked 3,564 Times in 2,331 Posts
Originally Posted by livedarklions
Where does she live?
hehe I know where there are trails. I'm not letting her ride a bike now & she wasn't serious anyway. she has trouble standing up, as it is ...
rumrunn6 is offline  
Likes For rumrunn6:
Old 11-11-22, 08:16 AM
  #37  
phedge
Newbie
 
Join Date: Sep 2022
Posts: 72
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 35 Post(s)
Liked 260 Times in 89 Posts
Canadians Maginot Line

phedge is offline  
Likes For phedge:
Old 11-11-22, 08:25 AM
  #38  
RCMoeur 
Cantilever believer
 
RCMoeur's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2021
Location: Phoenix, AZ
Posts: 1,475
Mentioned: 4 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 491 Post(s)
Liked 1,668 Times in 761 Posts
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."
__________________
Richard C. Moeur, PE - Phoenix AZ, USA
https://www.richardcmoeur.com/bikestuf.html
RCMoeur is offline  
Likes For RCMoeur:
Old 11-11-22, 08:58 AM
  #39  
rumrunn6
Senior Member
 
rumrunn6's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: 25 miles northwest of Boston
Posts: 29,528

Bikes: Bottecchia Sprint, GT Timberline 29r, Marin Muirwoods 29er, Trek FX Alpha 7.0

Mentioned: 112 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 5219 Post(s)
Liked 3,564 Times in 2,331 Posts
Originally Posted by RCMoeur
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."
yes so true. Wifey crashed into one that was hidden by shade. broke her wrist

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
rumrunn6 is offline  
Old 11-11-22, 09:01 AM
  #40  
livedarklions
Tragically Ignorant
 
livedarklions's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2018
Location: New England
Posts: 15,613

Bikes: Serotta Atlanta; 1994 Specialized Allez Pro; Giant OCR A1; SOMA Double Cross Disc; 2022 Allez Elite mit der SRAM

Mentioned: 62 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 8186 Post(s)
Liked 9,094 Times in 5,053 Posts
Originally Posted by rumrunn6
hehe I know where there are trails. I'm not letting her ride a bike now & she wasn't serious anyway. she has trouble standing up, as it is ...

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.
livedarklions is offline  
Likes For livedarklions:
Old 11-11-22, 09:13 AM
  #41  
livedarklions
Tragically Ignorant
 
livedarklions's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2018
Location: New England
Posts: 15,613

Bikes: Serotta Atlanta; 1994 Specialized Allez Pro; Giant OCR A1; SOMA Double Cross Disc; 2022 Allez Elite mit der SRAM

Mentioned: 62 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 8186 Post(s)
Liked 9,094 Times in 5,053 Posts
Originally Posted by phedge

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.
livedarklions is offline  
Old 11-11-22, 09:13 AM
  #42  
rumrunn6
Senior Member
 
rumrunn6's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: 25 miles northwest of Boston
Posts: 29,528

Bikes: Bottecchia Sprint, GT Timberline 29r, Marin Muirwoods 29er, Trek FX Alpha 7.0

Mentioned: 112 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 5219 Post(s)
Liked 3,564 Times in 2,331 Posts
Originally Posted by livedarklions
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.
yes exactly right. hehe thank you. been thinking about all sorts of things to give her some joy. like a bike taxi ride in NYC
rumrunn6 is offline  
Likes For rumrunn6:
Old 11-11-22, 10:23 AM
  #43  
livedarklions
Tragically Ignorant
 
livedarklions's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2018
Location: New England
Posts: 15,613

Bikes: Serotta Atlanta; 1994 Specialized Allez Pro; Giant OCR A1; SOMA Double Cross Disc; 2022 Allez Elite mit der SRAM

Mentioned: 62 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 8186 Post(s)
Liked 9,094 Times in 5,053 Posts
Originally Posted by rumrunn6
yes exactly right. hehe thank you. been thinking about all sorts of things to give her some joy. like a bike taxi ride in NYC
https://bostonbiketaxi.com/tours

Tours ? Boston Pedicab ? 617.266.2005
livedarklions is offline  
Likes For livedarklions:
Old 11-11-22, 12:27 PM
  #44  
rumrunn6
Senior Member
 
rumrunn6's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: 25 miles northwest of Boston
Posts: 29,528

Bikes: Bottecchia Sprint, GT Timberline 29r, Marin Muirwoods 29er, Trek FX Alpha 7.0

Mentioned: 112 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 5219 Post(s)
Liked 3,564 Times in 2,331 Posts
thank you, she's actually 15 minutes North of NYC, where I grew up
rumrunn6 is offline  
Likes For rumrunn6:
Old 11-11-22, 12:46 PM
  #45  
livedarklions
Tragically Ignorant
 
livedarklions's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2018
Location: New England
Posts: 15,613

Bikes: Serotta Atlanta; 1994 Specialized Allez Pro; Giant OCR A1; SOMA Double Cross Disc; 2022 Allez Elite mit der SRAM

Mentioned: 62 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 8186 Post(s)
Liked 9,094 Times in 5,053 Posts
Originally Posted by rumrunn6
thank you, she's actually 15 minutes North of NYC, where I grew up

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.
livedarklions is offline  
Likes For livedarklions:
Old 11-11-22, 12:51 PM
  #46  
Korina
Happy banana slug
Thread Starter
 
Korina's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2015
Location: Arcata, California, U.S., North America, Earth, Saggitarius Arm, Milky Way
Posts: 3,753

Bikes: 1984 Araya MB 261, 1992 Specialized Rockhopper Sport, 1993 Hard Rock Ultra, 1994 Trek Multitrack 750, 1995 Trek Singletrack 930

Mentioned: 31 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1524 Post(s)
Liked 1,513 Times in 906 Posts
Originally Posted by livedarklions
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.
+1. My mom didn't make it past 70. Give her some joy.
Korina is online now  
Likes For Korina:
Old 11-11-22, 12:56 PM
  #47  
livedarklions
Tragically Ignorant
 
livedarklions's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2018
Location: New England
Posts: 15,613

Bikes: Serotta Atlanta; 1994 Specialized Allez Pro; Giant OCR A1; SOMA Double Cross Disc; 2022 Allez Elite mit der SRAM

Mentioned: 62 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 8186 Post(s)
Liked 9,094 Times in 5,053 Posts
Originally Posted by Korina
+1. My mom didn't make it past 70. Give her some joy.

I'm coming down and having the Thanksgiving dinner catered this year. He loves turkey.
livedarklions is offline  
Likes For livedarklions:
Old 11-11-22, 01:01 PM
  #48  
rumrunn6
Senior Member
 
rumrunn6's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: 25 miles northwest of Boston
Posts: 29,528

Bikes: Bottecchia Sprint, GT Timberline 29r, Marin Muirwoods 29er, Trek FX Alpha 7.0

Mentioned: 112 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 5219 Post(s)
Liked 3,564 Times in 2,331 Posts
Originally Posted by livedarklions
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.
sympathies my Dad was too, toward the end
rumrunn6 is offline  

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off


Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.