The votes are in, and the consensus is that Memphis is a tough place to be a bicyclist or a pedestrian.
How could an advocacy organization change this? Have you lived in a city with an advocacy group? What did they do? Was it helpful? What strategies would a Memphis Bike/ped advocacy organization employ to make Memphis a better place for bicyclists and pedestrians? Would you like your organization to be a part of such a group?
Log on and join the conversation!
January 14th, 2008 at 12:07 pm
My Aunt lives in Davis CA, where bike lanes are huge and advocacy groups are plentiful.
The high use of bikes in Davis eases traffic, helps people stay healthy, and keeps the smog at bay.
Bike lanes and conscientious drivers would make Memphis a better place to live.
Who knows, we might lose our status as one of the laziest, fattest cities in the nation.
I wouldn’t mind that.
January 14th, 2008 at 1:03 pm
The Mata buses: I am a ex buss driver the stress factor of the drivers are already very high considering if anything goes wrong the drivers a quick to be left out to hanging on a limb to dry with the dispatchers leaving them on their own insurance is no back up the only hope is your capabilities to maneuver through a constant course of obstacles of safety infractions after another.
Drivers are taught in classes’ professional driving tactics. And the fact that the buss is a large vehicle is no relief to the stress of watching out for the other driver. The y are taught the safest policy is a distant policy the further the other operator the better leaving a larger gap for safety routes to avoid collisions etc..
Other autos seemly don’t notice the large busses or bikes. An extreme average of accidents involves these vehicles. There is no bike trail connecting different part of Memphis that I Know of. I realize this is an expense the city can’t afford however this type of thinking may help turn thing around. Imagine a paved black top bike trail constructed to reach Coleriveal to the river the path could be landscaped with rest stops with plants, flowers, small lakes stocked with fish etc… Ponds park etc… Giving tourist another reason to visit the river Beal and etc… Promoting the environment and the natural resources already hear. I could imagine ridding along stopping to play my guitar or harmonica on a nice day maybe having my picture taken, or the path used for commuting to and from work situations. There would also have to be consideration of security for such paths to avid criminal behaviors. The struggle goes on. Wish there was an answer besides trial and error!
January 14th, 2008 at 4:40 pm
I’ve lived in Memphis for 1 year now and from the beginning I noticed silenced hostility towards bike commuters/bicyclists. I didn’t understand this until I was driving along and long story short I was educated why these bikers could be a nuisance. If trails were placed strategically (paved and smooth not uneven rim bending concrete trails) I think there would be more harmony between the car and the bike. We would eventually develop a happier diverse population here in Memphis. Agree or not but that’s just my 2 wheels.
January 14th, 2008 at 5:23 pm
I try to give as much space to cyclists as possible. I don’t drive in the curb lanes. I don’t crowd bikes. But, what really burns me is some bikers have no regard for the law. I’m in the right hand lane trying to turn and a cyclist will come between the curb and me. Some riding thru Central Gardens don’t stop at the stop signs.
Now that’s said, buses think they can make their own rules of the road. In the past week, I witnessed two handicap buses and one regular doing this. One decides to make a U-turn on Peabody. Another decides the stop sign at Melrose and Central doesn’t apply to her. The third decides to pull away from the curb causing me to nearly lose my bumper. Thankfully my brakes work. Memphis drivers used to be more courteous but that is no longer the case here. Everyone is out for themselves. Traffic laws are just suggestions now. Turn signals are optional.
There I’ll get off my soap box.
January 14th, 2008 at 10:28 pm
Elliot, the same applies to cars in Central Gardens: they tend to not stop at the stop signs, either. Granted, I often ride through at night but a bright flashing light coming towards you is not an everyday occurance.
A bike lane would hopefully solve our problems, though. And I think Central Ave. is the perfect place to start. Not only is it the main route for many students to Christian Brothers University and University of Memphis as well as the Children’s Museum of Memphis and The Pink Palace but it is in need of repaving anyway.
A possible first step for a cycling/pedestrian advocacy group would be a petition signing at the aforementioned campuses and museums.
I would also challenge Mayor Herenton to commute by bicycle in Memphis traffic (if he doesn’t already). That will surely get him to see the light.
January 14th, 2008 at 11:06 pm
As a student at the University of Memphis and a lover of my new fixed gear, I would greatly enjoy a safe commute to school. However, I am not awarded this luxury because I am afraid of traffic and uneven and glass spattered roads.
When attempting this trek to class i have to constantly fear cars that zip close to me, obviously annoyed that i have slowed them down for even one second. I have been honked and yelled at, not because of my lack of following the law, but because of the driver’s lack of knowledge of it. Additionally, most everyone I speak with on this topic isn’t aware of laws meant to protect cyclists. For instance, cyclists can “take the lane” in accordance with TN code 55-8-175.
I am aware that everyone makes traffic mistakes, myself included, however as a cyclist I feel that I am not treated with the same , or any respect when I am on the road. In conclusion, I believe that an advocacy group could provide myself and others like me a safe route to school and other places around this city.
January 15th, 2008 at 1:07 am
In contrast to the unsafe discription of cycling in Memphis, I would suggest and my 37 years and 150,000+ miles would support that we have a reasonably safe enviornment in which to recreate or commute. That requires an adherence to traffic laws of course, but more importantly requires a thorough knowledge of our streets and roadway system. With the exception of crossing I-240, one can go anywhere in town and not have to be on any significantly traveled street. Safer and infinitly more enjoyable. Common sense should dictate that just because we have a right to the road, we should be prudent where that right is excersized.
January 15th, 2008 at 2:47 am
I would agree with Wayne that Memphis is a fairly safe place to ride. I was more afraid in a Chicago bike lane than I have been in the Memphis roadways. Once cars become accustomed to driving near cyclists in bike lanes, they often become more careless. Since bicycles in the Memphis roadways are more rare than bikes in the Chicago roadways, most Memphians don’t know what to do when they see a bicyclist. Rather than hostility, I find most Memphians act with uncertainty towards cyclists. This uncertainty will lead to accidents much more quickly than hostility.
An advocacy organization could launch a public education campaign geared at promoting a safe partnership between bicyclists and motorists, as well as lobby the city government to build bicycle lanes. The approaches for an advocacy group would seem to include an emphasis on driver and cyclist education, organized rides to promote community cycling in the roadways, and a lobbying of the local government for road improvements. There is no single problem that cyclists and pedestrians face, so it would seem that such an organization would need a committee to tackle education, a committee for political lobbying, and a committee that plans rides and other actions.
January 15th, 2008 at 10:49 am
I would contend that commuting should be about taking the safest, most direct route to your destination. Yes, the neighborhood roads of Memphis are safe but they are rather tricky to navigate for a beginner and definitely eat time. Most of my commute is through Chickasaw Gardens, only for a minor stretch am I on McLean where I take the lane. If I could ride directly down Central I could probably save 10 to 15 minutes on my commute.
Anthony, there are already established rides through most of the bicycle shops and clubs and we both know that those draw only a minor percentage of Memphis cyclists. I think education and government lobbying should be the main concerns of an advocacy group. I think another key is to start being specific. Instead of just asking for bike lanes, as for a bike lane on Central between Cooper and Highland. Or on any of the other already designated bicycle routes (ha!).
January 16th, 2008 at 6:25 pm
I lived in the Netherlands for 3 years and they all ride bicycles. They all had their own lanes and rules. And they also followed the rules. They did not ride double and all over the lanes. They rode single file. I get so disgusted with the bicyclists on Shady Gove riding 2 and sometimes 3 across. And we in our cars have to stop or slow down so we do not hit an on coming car in the other lane. If they rode single file, I’d have no problem. Chat latter, not as your riding on our Memphis streets.
January 16th, 2008 at 7:29 pm
A common theme throughout many of these posts is cyclists not obeying the laws or riding recklessly. I attribute this to a number of factors:
1. A lack of education for cyclists. You don’t have to apply for a bicycling license, and thus according to the state, you can operate a bicycle with little to no knowledge of road laws.
2. A lack of ques for cyclists in the roadway. If there is no marked lane and not enough room for a cyclist in the road, they are prone to ride in the middle of the roadway or on the sidewalk. The streets have not been laid out in a way that is intuitive for cyclists, so they often ride in a counter-intuitive way.
3. There is no enforcement of proper riding techniques from local police. This is due largely to the fact that police don’t really know what the laws are for cyclists.
You have to be brave to ride in the city streets of Memphis, and while many of the complaints on this forum regarding cyclists behavior in the roadways is justifiable, the responsibility does not rest solely with the bicyclist. As Syliva has indicated above, better provisions for cyclists and clear guidelines for riding will benefit motorists as well. Cars swerving into oncoming traffic is not a good thing, and if cyclists know how to remain safe while riding respectfully, such incidents can be avoided. This is a community wide issue–not simply a bicycling issue–and as such affects motorists and bicyclists alike. As such I think we share responsibility for the successes and shortcomings.
January 19th, 2008 at 11:38 pm
The Editor received two letters in response to the January 14 LifeCycles article:
Deal with it: Cycling is dangerous
Saturday, January 19, 2008
I had to reset my main breaker when I read Anthony Siracusa’s Jan. 14 “Life Cycles” column, “Making Memphis safe for cyclists through advocacy.” He’s correct in postulating that cyclists (along with everyone else) are vulnerable in the streets of Memphis. I couldn’t agree more that there is a serious need for education regarding street cycling.
The first axiom regarding survival in any outdoor recreational endeavor is to comprehend that older streets and roads are narrow and laid out for motorized traffic. The mule and wagon learned that long ago and acquiesced to the inevitable, recognizing that safety trumped convenience — even recreation.
I suggest the education process begin with the cyclists, so they’ll be able to recognize that narrow roads and those without bike lanes are dangerous. Particularly dangerous roads — like curving, narrow and hilly Houston Levee Road from Macon Road south to the Wolf River — aren’t fit (read safe) for foot traffic, wagon and mule, or cyclists.
And if the proposed advocacy group does get to “work with the City Council to find money,” it’d be well spent on “No Cycling” logo signs placed to identify potentially dangerous roads.
Roy Reed
Eads, Tenn.
Dodging the dangers of city streets
Memphis streets and sidewalks are unacceptable for use by pedestrians and bicyclists. Not one mile of bicycle lane exists in the Memphis city limits, while Germantown provides many miles of lanes for bicycle use.
Many crosswalks are under-maintained and barely visible on the surface of the road; some crosswalks are nonexistent. Signals that tell pedestrians when to walk often don’t work. According to the City of Memphis Division of Engineering Design and Review Policy Manual (201.2 A), “Memphis is a large urbanized area with the corresponding traffic demand. Unlike smaller cities and rural areas, the expectation of motorist (sic) in Memphis is that some minor delay on side streets is expected.”
Does a pedestrian crossing the street take too much time? How about someone in a wheelchair? Is slowing down to pass a bicyclist considered a minor delay? Each day I see students dodging cars in the crosswalk in front of White Station High School. Some students are hit by cars each year by careless motorists.
Several hit-and-run accidents have occurred recently that have shocked the community. It is time for city officials to realize that the streets of Memphis are unsafe for walkers, joggers, bicyclists, students or anyone else who might not be surrounded by a steel cage.
Phillip Scruggs
Memphis