apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

That guy needs a helmet.

We need to reconceptualize the streets in the city as being first for pedestrians, then for skaters, bikers, and those using other non-motorized transport. Busses come next. Private automobiles should not dominate the city.

The city was a wonderful place for pedestrians when the power was out a few years ago, except for the lack of public transportation.

People should not be afraid to walk or bicycle in the city. They should not feel menaced by cars.

Yippee! I'm glad to see this posted here. This is the sort of work I do professionally (although not in NYC).

I'm a cyclist. I like cycling news. I read apartment therapy for design information about homes. Please don't clutter it up with this.

Sharon, Apartment Therapy is about more than just the way a lamp looks in your living room. I suggest that you buy the A.T. book and read it.

These have been around in my town for a while. In Dublin they particularly facilitate turning right (since we use the other side of the road).

They're all well and good in theory, unfortunately being front and centre of the traffic waiting to turn right wasn't so great in my experience when the car behind me drove straight into the back of poor bicycle when the light turned green. I was alright, shaken not stirred ... but my poor bike didn't get off so easily.

we have bicycle lanes and signs that say "share the road" but no one does. this is in the southside of birmingham, which is more pedestrian friendly, but cars apparently really are the dominant life form (you were correct, ford!) but birmingham isn't necessarily the most walk/ride your bike to work city to live in, unless you work and live in the center of the city, which people rarely do as the northside of birmingham really is just slums, drugs, and crime. with a couple banks thrown into the mix. i do not hang out in north birmingham. nu uh.

wish we would start by enforcing "don't block the box"

I'm glad this is posted here too- I think all kinds of quality-of-life issues overlap with apartmenttherapy. It's an urban living issue, after all.
New York is a scary place to bike- cars are generally very unaware of cyclists and don't look before turning or speeding through yellow lights. I love biking but I am terrified to do much of it here, with or without a helmet. I am all for anything that makes the streets safer for cyclists! I'm not optimistic that cars will actually respect the bike boxes, but here's hoping!

In Central Park there markings on many pedestrian pathways that say "No Cycling on Path". Do you think cyclists pay attention? NO. I was knocked over on such a path by a cyclist who came up from behind me & then sped off. I see cyclists on these paths all the time. If you work in midtown/Wall Street you know how dangerous cycling messengers can be (not to mention Chinese delivery guys elsewhere). Cycling may be greener -- but depending on the rider it is not necessarily safer. They abuse the rules as much as car drivers ignore the "don't block the box" signs -- and we all know how often that happens. These Bike Boxes are pointless -- people will cycle & drive as they please.

How about making it safer for the pedestrians! I was crossing the street yesterday on E. 14th after making sure traffic was stopped. As I crossed, a bicyclist almost knocked me over coming down the wrong side of the street and he had the balls to yell at me to "wake up!" I'm all for less cars but I have found that here and in San Francisco, cyclists think they have more rights than cars and pedestrians combined. They ride on the sidewalks, they go down the wrong side of the streets and then have the nerve to yell at anyone in their way - as if they have the right away in any and all situations. Pisses me off!

Not real thrilled to see this, since "cyclist boxes" tend to confuse everyone on the road. Confused people don't make good decisions, and that's dangerous.

And sorry people have been run down by cyclists or run into scofflaw ones. When I ride my bike I'm very aware that I move a lot faster than a pedestrian can, and I'm *slow*. I average around 12 mph, better cyclists can average over 20 mph. A pedestrian is often moving at only 2-3 mph. That means if I'm on a multi-use path I need to slow down so I can respond if a 2 year old runs wild, or if an adult doesn't see me. And on the roads I need to push my speed a bit and obey the law so no one is confused (and so I don't get hit!). I prefer it when roads are safe for pedestrians, because then they work better for all road users.

Most days I see cyclists, pedestrians *and* drivers breaking the law. Makes me sad, because the laws people break the most often seem to be running red lights and jaywalking.

Ugh, off-topic I know, but it drives me absolutely insane when I see a cyclist with no helmet. Yes, we need to make the streets safer for cyclists, I agree, but what good does it do when the majority of adults I see wear no helmet? It makes no sense.

aesargent,

Maybe this will make you feel less bad when you see cyclists with no helmet - they're less likely to get hit by a car than those who wear helmets. Check out the NYT article on this, "Bicycle Helmets Put You at Risk".

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/10/magazine/10bike.html?ex=1323406800&en=7dec08ce8a56d743&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=

Many times i've seen a man/woman on a bike with a child onboard -- and the child has no helmet. I can't believe this is good.

Seriously, next time some hipster skateboarding or cycling a-hole or delivery boy almost runs into me, I'm pushing him off of the damn thing. The hipsters almost never wear helmets (which would explain why they're hipsters).

Elizabeth, north side Birmingham is far from being just "slums, drugs, and crime" and is getting better by the day. If this is the way that everyone thinks about north side, then it will continue to stay in its depressed state (other than during the middle of a business day).

Also, it's not THAT inconvenient to bike downtown from Southside - I live in the Highlands and ride my bike to the Alabama Power building quite often. I take 24th St to get over the tracks, and then it's a smooth ride. I'll admit that it took a while for me to build up the bicycle endurance to climb the Red Mountain hills.

Mr Green - Guess what? Own the book. Read it three times. Was a regular poster on this site before you ever heard of it. I've stopped visiting very often because of how far it wanders off topic. My vote to keep it on topic is as valid as any.

Puh-lease, cars and cabs in this city don't even pay attention to the lines running down the MIDDLE of the street!

And I agree with anne, the cyclists here are the worst offenders of pedestrian/traffic rules.

Hey Sea- Wow! Thanks for the link. I still don't feel better, but now I know why I have so many close calls with Boston traffic when wearing a helmet. -Aes