Do bikes belong in the Memphis roadways?
Do you find it easy to navigate the Memphis roadways on a bicycle? Is it difficult? What is frustrating as a motorist when driving near bicycles? What would make it easier?
Log on and join the converstaion!
Posted by Anthony Siracusa on Mon, Feb 25, 2008
Do bikes belong in the Memphis roadways?
Do you find it easy to navigate the Memphis roadways on a bicycle? Is it difficult? What is frustrating as a motorist when driving near bicycles? What would make it easier?
Log on and join the converstaion!
February 25th, 2008 at 2:34 pm
I sincerely believe bikes belong everywhere in Memphis especially along the major roadways especially Poplar Ave. All you have to do is take away one lane and designate it as a bike lane. I long to see bike lanes on Cooper and McLean, a car free Madison Ave. on the weekends, but I know this will never happen.
The only problem keeping these ideas back is the mindset of this city’s culture. The people here are so selfish and lazy. The complacency is also evident in the city’s leaders.
I believe as long as folks have the attitude bikes belong they won’t and the people who can leave will eventually do so. I hope
one day I will be one of the ones to leave; I’m tired of fighting for something that will come to fruition when I’m 90 years old. You only live once so why stay in a place that doesn’t have the infrastructure I need now?
February 25th, 2008 at 4:12 pm
Absolutely bikes belong on the roadways. The key (on a bike) is to pick the roadway that matches your skill/comfort level. Start in the park, on quiet neighborhood streets. The better you get the more roadways will be accessible to you. As cyclist numbers increase, the political capital to begin changing transportation policies will accumulate.
In a car, be patient and be safe. The key to safety is awareness and mutual respect.
Bike lanes are great but intersections are tricky.
My feeling is right turns by bikes and cars should be made from the right most lane, to avoid “right hook” type accidents. That means that cars turning right occupy the curb lane and bikes don’t pass on the right.
February 25th, 2008 at 4:28 pm
THREW MIDTOWN, THERE ARE SOME WELL PAVED ALLEYS RUNNING BETWEEN N. PARKWAY & POPLAR IN THE NEIGHBORHOODS: SAY IF YOU WANTED TO TAKE A RIDE FROM OVERTON PARK TO THE OLD SEARS BUILDING. THERE IS A VERY NARROW BUT LONG PARK CALLED THE “GREEN LINE” IN THE SAME AREA THAT WOULD BE DECENT FOR A RIDE TOO. aS LONG AS YOU STAY OFF THE MAIN STREETS LIKE POPLAR AND UNION I, I FIND IT IS VERY EASY TO BIKE ALMOST ANYWHERE AROUND TOWN. THERE ARE BACKSTREETS EVERYWHERE THAT HARDLY ANY TRAFFIC IS ON. JUST EXPLORE A LITTLE BIT. EVEN IF THERE WAS A LANE ON POPLAR FOR BIKES I WOULDN’T WANT TO BE ANYWHERE NEAR IT ON A BIKE. PEOPLE DON’T DRIVE AS WELL WHEN THERE ARE SO MANY THINGS MOVING AROUND THEM. AND ON BIG STREETS IT IS MORE LIKELY FOR ANYONE TO BE A SHIT DRIVER. BIKING DOWNTOWN ISN’T AS BAD BECAUSE PEOPLE AREN’T AS WRECKLESS AS ON A MAIN THOROUGHFARE. BIKING DOWN MAINSTREET IS FUN AND THERE IS PLENTY OF EYECANDY UP AND DOWN. fOR A COUNTRY EXCURSION, TRY GOING NORTH ON SECOND STREET ALL THE WAY TO FRAISER. THERE IS A SMALL AIRPORT ON THE WAY AND SOME NICE WINDY ROADS. SHELBY FOREST IS VERY NICE TO BIKE AROUND IN TOO. i WOULD LIKE TO HEAR SOME MORE OBSCURE BIKE TRIPS THAT SOME OTHER PEOPLE GO ON.
February 25th, 2008 at 5:09 pm
Mike makes a couple great points about cycling in the roadway. He’s right that the longest and best bicycle communting careers all begin on small streets in our neighborhood.
I also tend to agree with Mike about avoiding “right hook” accidents on the bike by staying directly behind vehicles on the right side of the right hand lane. It’s sometimes difficult to know whether a car is turning–which is why blinkers are so important–but as a policy I think it’s best to never ride to the right of car as you approach an intersection or side street.
I also agree eith Chuck that it’s possible to find a safe and pleasurable route to nearly any destination throughout the inner-city. Google Maps can help us digitally plot safe side street routes.
February 25th, 2008 at 5:38 pm
GRANTED: It would be good if there were dedicated bike lanes on larger streets, even though they are perilous. It would take legislation to enforce bike safety, for that to be worth it. There are a few buses that have bike racks on them to get in and out of town threw the more busy streets. I would like to see more of that, and if there were laws for that helped bikers lanes be safe; i think it would entail a lot. For instance, i think would have to be wider than 5 feet for safety purposes, and there would have to be a strong ticketing enforcement for automobiles who encroach on that space. Such as if there was a biker, the speed limit would need to drop at least 5mph around the biker for 30yrds around the biker. There should be a penalty for cars that drive in the biker lane. All of these factors would need to be in place plus more for it to be fair, and safe.
February 25th, 2008 at 6:05 pm
I think many “right hook” accidents between bikes and vehicles occur when the driver fails to account for the speed of the cyclist. I was sideswiped by a car that sped up to get around me to turn right but I could not see the blinker and was knocked off my bike.
Cyclists do belong on our streets and we all share the responsibility in making it safe for them. After all the bicycle does predate the vehicle.
February 25th, 2008 at 9:55 pm
One of the ways to make bike lanes possible along some of our major streets is to make sure that when they are repaved that raise the drainage grates by including in the project. Also changing out the tires grabing grates to ones with “side to side” openings. I am a champion for reducing traffic lane width to perceptually reduce “available speed”. By that I mean that if i am on a race course such as Watkins I will drive faster than I would on a narrower residential street. I believe that two bike lane along Poplar would not require the taking of a full traffic lane. Reduce the lane widths and make the drainage swale at grates and intersections less deep.
–I want to ride my tricycle (I am old enough for one of those) or a motorized chair or a golf / utility cart along a good sidewalk or bike lane.
Memphis needs to learn to give pedestrians and bikes the right-of-way. And, I need to stop driving 50 mph along Walnut Grove!
May 13th, 2008 at 11:42 pm
I sent the following email to Memphis City Council Members earlier today:
I sent the following letter to Memphis City Council members earlier today:
I don’t live in Memphis, but I did grow up in the city and still work inside city limits. Although I don’t have a vote locally, I do have an interest in the city’s development and hope with your help that I may have an influence on the community. Please allow me just a few minutes of your time. I don’t know how city ordinances come into being other than that you all vote on them, so I’d like to suggest a new one…
With gas prices increasing every week and my waistline not getting any smaller either, I recently started researching the idea of commuting by bicycle, at least for a portion of my 32 mile daily commute from Tipton county. I’ve read about two really great projects in the works in Memphis to create greenways across the city along the wolf river and an old railroad track and have also read about numerous attempts from small groups to encourage the city to establish bike routes and lanes through the city, but all those ideas cost the city and thus, the resident tax payers a significant amount of money that might better be used somewhere else.
Based on these findings and an idea I just had while checking out a route I plan to bike along Shady Grove RD and White Station, I’d like to suggest the following idea for a new city ordinance:
In an effort to promote a healthier lifestyle amongst the citizens of Memphis and to reduce the daily traffic strains on the city’s streets, the council should encourage commuting by bicycle in the city by requiring all businesses maintaining more than three vehicle parking spaces reserve “one” space to install a bike rack capable of securing no less than 10 bicycles.
This is an amazingly simple and economical idea that would transform the city into a more bicycle friendly community overnight. The businesses already have the space available, they would just need to purchase and secure the racks into place.
You might be surprised to know that the first 11 bike parking rack I came across on the Internet costs less than $300. In my opinion, this is a small price for each business to pay in order to promote a healthier, cleaner - greener city.
You might also find it interesting that just by me pointing out to my employer that this is National Bike-to-Work Week and that it would be nice to have a secure place to park a bike, they contacted our property managers and two racks will be installed shortly, just for asking…
I hope that you all will be excited about this idea and appreciate what such an ordinance could do to improve the perception of bicycle friendliness in the city and look forward to hearing back from you with any comments or suggestions on how to move forward with this idea.