Out on the streets, that’s where we’ll meet
By Captain Comannokers
NoC Transportation Czar
For full effect, the title of this installment should be sung to the Kinks’s “Where Have All the Good Times Gone.” It should also be noted that the official subtitle—Out on the streets, that’s where we’ll meet—is the opening lyric to Ratt’s “Round and Round” and should be sung each time you begin reading this column.
Now, some information that you may actually find helpful: BADASS (Bicycle Accommodations Downtown for All Serious Syclist) had its initial meeting a few weeks ago to discuss the lack of bike parking available in the Limestone Corridor and downtown in general. Thanks to Hap Houlihan for sharing the minutes of the meeting with me.
The hoop-style “hitching post” racks, while not particularly popular or efficient, were certainly better than nothing. Now, areas that had hitches before the first phase of the Limestone Corridor project have nothing – sidewalks returned, traffic is flowing once again, but bike racks are missing.
Cyclists either have to go far afield to find a rack or be creative (or maybe illegal) in hitching their bikes. Riders with U-locks have the toughest time since their locks are made for attaching to a rack as opposed to, say, a tree trunk.
Limestone merchants have been told that bike racks, as well as new waste receptacles, etc., are classified under a later phase of the Limestone Corridor project. LFUCG’s Kenzie Gleason noted that bids for the racks had yet to be issued as of late September, and no reliable timelines for completion have been announced.
One goal of BADASS is to determine how much of the resources needed for adequate bike parking downtown and on the Limestone Corridor can be provided by committed citizens instead of waiting for change at the “speed of government.”
BADASS noted that the recent redistribution of racks on UK’s campus was largely due to volunteer effort to collect the data, suggesting that volunteers may be key in mapping demand for downtown bike parking.
I’ll keep you posted, letting you know how and when you can assist in this effort.
Some questions and comments have filtered in via the noclexington.com discussion board. Loyal reader Lauren had several, and below I discuss a few with the assistance of Officer Howard Florence and UK’s Sustainability Coordinator Shane Tedder.
“I will admit I need to be better about using hand signals. I don’t always like to give up dual-hand control on my handlebars when turning in order to signal.”
First, I will say that cyclists need to use the proper hand signals – that is currently a big issue around these parts. Yes, I am completely annoyed when vehicles DON’T USE THEIR DAMN TURN SIGNALS…EVER, but cyclists have no room to bitch unless they are also using hand signals (my best guess would be less than 10 percent of riders use hand signals).
“Even if it’s only for a brief moment, it’s important to signal your intention,” Officer Florence said. “Sometimes I have to hold my arm out for a second – then grab the handle bar—then signal again. You’re not required to do so if it could cause you to crash, and you don’t have to constantly keep your arm extended throughout your maneuver—just long enough to give cars a chance to understand your intent. I would suggest practicing in an empty parking lot at different speeds to build on bike handling skills and gain confidence.”
Excellent advice – just as you learn to drive a car through driver’s ed, you may need to touch up some bike skills to effectively and confidently become an active participant in traffic. Practicing in a safe environment may seem embarrassing or silly, but at least you won’t have to learn how to parallel park again.
“When I get into the left turning lane at Euclid/Rose and I am the only ‘vehicle’ in the lane, I don’t weigh enough to get the light to change. So I can either wait till a car comes up behind me, turn illegally against the red, or jump off my bike and pretend I’m a pedestrian and walk through the cross walks.”
“Depending on the intersection, I like to pull up past the stop bar when safe to allow a vehicle behind me to trip the sensor. Sometimes I have to motion for them to pull closer because they’re giving me so much space,” Officer Florence recommended. “If you’re in a left lane with its own signal and no traffic is behind you, you may need to cross the street in the through lane and then start traveling with the cross traffic in the direction you wanted to go.”
“The law says that you can proceed if the signal malfunctions. A police officer or the court may feel that just because it doesn’t work for a bicycle, doesn’t mean it’s malfunctioning. If you proceed through a red light, the burden is on you to justify why you did it,” Officer Florence said.
I call this using “safe sense.” If you are in a situation like this and can determine that you SHOULD have the arrow but don’t, and can make a left onto Rose without endangering yourself or ANYONE else (driver, pedestrian, squirrel)—then proceed. There are situations when I have determined that it would not be in my best interest to flirt with an 18-wheeler or seven lanes of anxious and antsy drivers—and so I walked my bike through a crosswalk, or took other precautions. I base predicaments like these on a case-by-case scenario, and my greatest concern is safety for myself and all others involved. (I fully realize that the court may not have my supreme sense of justice—but maybe they can eventually appoint me Bike Infractions Judge or something along those lines).
“There is no easy way to legally get to Patterson Office Tower. I’ve been riding up the hill from Rose on Patterson Drive, but that turns into a one-way street going the wrong way. Thoughts?”
“The bike lane that begins in front of Fine Arts is intended for cyclists heading uphill against the flow of traffic,” said Tedder. “Students traveling by bike in the opposite direction (downhill) should use the same travel lane as the vehicles. To sign this, we are considering ‘sharrows’ in the shared eastbound lane (downhill) and a classic directional bike lane marking in the westbound lane (uphill). The markings are proposed at this point and we don’t have a concrete timetable for implementing.” So, rest easy Lauren—you are legally riding to work (unless you are carrying a concealed weapon or perpetrating some other offense that I don’t know about).
Thanks, Lauren, hope that answers some of your questions. I know there are plenty more inquires of all kinds out there, so join in the conversation at noclexington.com or email ShareTheRoadLex@gmail.com. This is your Captain speaking—over and out.
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