In today’s New York Times, columnist Robert Sullivan explores the cultural moment New York’s bicyclists are in right now, between a lawless, dangerous, renegade past and
NYT photos
The parallels with Oregon cities are clear, but I do wonder whether, in terms of culture, Portland is ahead of New York by a year or two. I observe, as do other longtime Portland bicyclists, that red-light running is now rare, bicyclists seem to pass one another and pedestrians more politely, and biker/non-biker animus is at an all-time low.
Whether that is the result or the cause of the surge in non-aggressive cyclists (kids, older women, slower people on cruisers, classy dressers) on our roads is debatable.
What do you think?
I think it probably has something to do with having a greater mix of people out on bikes, but it probably also has to do with bikes as transportation just setting in a bit more. It seems that in New York, this is kind of a pretty new phenomenon, so there are probably higher tensions. While there is still a lot of resistance to cycling in Oregon, maybe we just got started with it significantly early enough that things are starting to calm down a bit by now, where as they are just heating up there. People here are getting more used to driving with bikes, and riding with cars, and we’re starting to see that it’s beneficial for everyone if we’re all a little calmer on the roads.
I think as much as anything it has to do with NYC being more crowded and having vastly more pedestrians than Portland. I don’t see as much red-light running here as in NYC, but I also don’t see anywhere near the number of red lights. I do see casual and systematic disregard for stop signs, which over much of Portland’s topography, are more akin to NYC’s red lights. Here, motorists and cyclists tend to take red lights as “Stop – We Really Mean It!” and stop signs more as “Proceed with caution or you might get into trouble.” In Manhattan, and almost all of the more traveled parts of NYC’s other boroughs, stop signs are a rarity, signals are the norm.
Cycling in Portland, I still get the occasional surprised reaction from pedestrians when I actually do stop where I’m supposed to and yield to them, as I’m supposed to. I know how they feel, because when I’m in pedestrian mode I simply don’t trust most cyclists to do the right thing. I have a lot of empathy for the old woman Sullivan says yelled at him, even when he was doing what he was supposed to. I’ve spent most of my adult life as a pedestrian, mostly in NYC, where pedestrians are the norm and rule the day. I’ve never owned a car, and even though I’ve been cycling more and more in Portland over the past few years, I will probably always have the mindset of a pedestrian. It troubles me that so many cyclists in these parts find it too inconvenient to respect the rules that are supposed to protect pedestrians.
I wish I felt that red-light running is now rare. I have had a few recent incidents that are contrary to that. Just last week while I was riding across an intersection with a green light in my direction, another cyclist ran the red light and nearly ran into me. If I hadn’t slammed on my brakes we would have hit HARD. He didn’t even stop, say sorry, nuthin’. hmmm.
This isn’t the only red-light running cyclist I’ve seen lately -see more folks slowing and then going through the red. Are there more cyclists obeying the traffic controls? perhaps, but are there enough more to be changing perceptions of general cyclist behavior. I’m not feeling there is. So I think there’s still lots ofl work to do to get folks to stop and stay stopped at red lights.
What is a “classy dresser”, and what is “non-aggressive” about it?
I concur with Barb G (#3) that running red lights is not rare. I see it almost every morning on my commute. Yesterday, there were two separate incidences.
That said, I do feel, since I moved here 7 years ago, that the frequency has noticeably dropped. It helps, too, (at least in terms of driver perception) when you have four cyclists patiently waiting for the light to turn green and a lone “vigilante” decides to zoom on through, instead of the one-goes, they-all-go phenomenon that used to be more common (at least on my routes).
I just spent a week in London where I got to contrast the cycling there compared to NYC. There were big differences:
- People keep promoting cycling in NYC, but no one mentions that about 90% of the cyclists on the street are delivery guys bringing around restaurant meals. I saw none in London.
- London didn’t have the fake bike messengers who blast through intersections and cause drivers and pedestrians to scatter. London streets are less of a grid, so you never quite know where traffic is coming from, plus the buses come from every direction and will flatten you in a heartbeat if you cross their path.
- London cyclists were fast, and it was common to see someone out of their seat in practically a sprint even though many of the bikes were fairly utilitarian. Many of them “took the lane” and cycled in a lane with cars.
- Nearly London every cyclist at night had front & rear lights, and about 60-70% wore fluorescent gear for visibility.
- Folding bikes, especially Bromptons (made in the UK), were far more common.
In all, I’d say NYC cycling has a ways to go before reaching a European standard of cycling facilities.
There may be less red light running, but there is still a lot of stop sign running. Not to mention that most night time cyclists do not have even a blinking light in front, much less the required steady light. And there are still a few fools that ride with no lights or reflectors.
The “idaho” rule needs to NOT be implemented, it will only cause more car / bike collisions (not accidents).