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From: Brian
Subject: Biker Down again – Only it took ~one year this time…
In this case, the rider was the victim of a notorious bridge with a dated design here in Seattle.
seattlepi.nwsource.com
Excerpt below:
Bicyclist injured in 2007 Ballard Bridge crash dies
Father of three had been in constant pain, wife says
By LEVI PULKKINENA bicyclist gravely injured last year while crossing the Ballard Bridge has died.
Terry McMacken died Tuesday from injuries suffered in the July 2007 crash when he bumped a low concrete barrier separating bicyclists from the busy arterial. He was 51.
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The part that gets me was in the comments section about how the lane is so narrow that a sneeze at the wrong moment can send you over the barrier, or someone throwing something at you, or a car going through a puddle and splashing cold water… basically any sudden distraction that makes you startle with your hands on the bars can kill you.
That “low concrete barrier” looks like more of a hazard than anything! Pedestrians and cyclist would be safer if it wasn’t there at all. You have to love how the city says there is no quick fix to the problem. Uh, yeah there is. Ever see those 4′ high modular concrete barriers that are on almost all road construction sites? Use those. The city doesn’t want to fix the problem because it would be equivalent to admitting fault, there by losing the lawsuit.
Oh, and Critical Mass is a bunch of bullshit! All it does is create greater resentment for cyclist, not empathy. It it counterproductive to efforts being made by real, grown-up, adult cyclist who work through the legislative process to make real enhancements to our streets and trail networks. Think about it. What does Critical Mass accomplish? Nothing. Show me one tangible thing it has done to improve cycling safety or accessibility. All it is, is a bunch of anarchist hipsters who don’t know how to organize themselves into anything more meaningful than a once a month free for all.
I have done 3 of them in Chicago and quickly realized that they are doing nothing to better or promote cycling, in fact just the opposite. What would make Critical Mass great would be if everyone followed the traffic laws, stopped at stop lights and signs, road in a predictable manor and showed some fucking class. A smile, a wave and occasionally yielding the right of way to a car, now that would gain motorists respect and maybe even get a few of them out on a bike.
…bike_freak…100 % correct on all points…
…empowered idiots in bike party mode…what’s being accomplished ???…“uh, well ‘we‘ had a good time”…
That is the kind of place where we should just ride in the lane, it would be much safer.