An actual thank-you to Somerville

[squirrelitude]

(This is in response to a rant someone else posted today -- while I share much of that poster's frustration, I would like to point out some positives of the area as well.)

I would like to thank drivers, for:
* not freaking out when they see a bike in front of them,
* parking as close as they can to the curb,
* waving me in to join a stream of cars,
* understanding that sometimes I have to take my lane,
* checking before opening their doors,
* and generally being decent road-citizens.

I would like to thank the city for putting advisory sharrow signs on the road, providing sufficient quantities of locking posts on the sidewalks, and maintaining that lovely multi-use path for when I have need to travel to Fresh Pond.

I would like to thank the pedestrians who forgave me for close calls at crosswalks when I was first learning to bike on city roads.

I would like to thank fellow cyclists who have pointed out low tires and my obscured tail light, and who respect red lights and crosswalks. (Red light runners affect me too!)

There's work to be done both on my part and others', but on the whole, I've been very happy with commuting by bike in Somerville. For every asshat on the road, there are hundreds of decent people.

Thank you.

Comments

[ron_newman]

India?

[madrigal.livejournal.com]

and I would like to thank terror and disillusionment.

it took me a minute to place it, but then of course

[sparkgrrl658.livejournal.com]

earworm :/

[inahandbasket]

Amen to that sentiment too. ^_^

[veek.livejournal.com]

Well done.

[two-stabs.livejournal.com]

I'll raise a glass (not at work, of course!) to the good drivers.

After I got hit by a drunk driver head on last year, though, I lost a lot of my faith.

[lbmango.livejournal.com]

Heck, I got hit by a drunk driver. Don't paint everyone with the drunk driver brush... That's like painting all bicyclists with the texting wile riding brush. (WHO thinks that that is safe???? I mean, as a trick "look ma' no hands, I can text while riding!" Sure, but in reality it's followed by "Look chip, no bike!")

[squirrelitude]

Glad to see you've kept biking! I've never been in a collision, but I hear it can really make it hard to get back on the bike.

Every time I'm out there on my bike, I try to keep in mind that it's an opportunity to show drivers that there are responsible cyclists out there too. (Maybe I'll convert a few!)

[sparkgrrl658.livejournal.com]

and thank you for keeping at it!

assholes are everywhere, it's true, but every now and again you can fix some of them up with a little awareness.

to the good cyclists

[diatomacearth.livejournal.com]

I hear ya. I lost my remaining faith a few months ago, when I barely dodged a fast-moving bike in Cambridge. In his defense, he WAS in the bike lane--on the wrong side of the street--when he ran an already-red light, violated my walk sign, and only missed hitting me at a high speed by about a half second after I hurled myself backwards out of his way. If I'd been thinking, I would have checked to see if there was any oncoming bike traffic on the wrong side of the street, willfully ignoring a walk sign!

Re: to the good cyclists

[squirrelitude]

Jesus. As if salmon bikers weren't bad enough, red-light-running salmon...

I do my best to yell at them as they go past ("WRONG WAY!"), but I'm usually focused on not getting forced into traffic.

Apparently there was a brief period during which cyclists were taught to bike on the left -- some of these people might have gotten their cycling safety info from that period. Makes it a little more understandable, or at least I try to pretend it does. :-P

Re: to the good cyclists

[diatomacearth.livejournal.com]

I think I might have shouted something like, "GUhwtf.....asshole, asshole, you asshole, you asshole" as I stumbled backwards in terror. Normally, I'm more specific--like, "USE YOUR FUCKING TURN SIGNALS." "HAVE YOU HEARD OF YOUR TURN SIGNALS?" "BRAKE WHEN I'M IN A CROSSWALK, YOU STUPID FUCK."

I'll remember that cycling-on-the-left-bit, though, thanks. I mean, I'm still gonna hate people who menace me when they do it, but it's a help to understand, or at least potentially imagine, the motivations or reasonings of the people pulling assorted crazy acts of transportation.

[greyling.livejournal.com]

While we're at it, I think Somerville's been doing an amazing job keeping up with the plowing & snow removal problem.

I get that a lot of cars have been towed, and that there are lots of ways things could be improved, but man, we've had a LOT of snow this year. Somerville's done an excellent job keeping up. Every street I've needed to be on has been passable, and nobody I know has had an accident due to the snowfall. I appreciate all the city of Somerville employees who have been going around door-to-door to warn people of impending street closures, snow removal, parking issues, etc.

[squirrelitude]

A friend of mine opined that the cops were probably really having fun with the narrow streets -- they finally get to use their bullhorns! ("Come out of the house with your hands up... er, with your car keys!")

[josephineave.livejournal.com]

With my khakis?

[ocschwar.livejournal.com]

No wonder they were angry when I came out. I thought they wanted me dressed properly.

[diatomacearth.livejournal.com]

If this were Facebook, I would like the shit out of this comment.

[lonelyholiday.livejournal.com]

Going along with this, I would like to thank everyone who's keeping their sidewalks clear for those of us who don't drive or bike!

I've been trying to make a point to thank anyone directly when I see them out with their shovels while I'm walking. :)

[closetalker11.livejournal.com]

Agreed! I would like to ESPECIALLY thank those of you who take the effort to shovel something wider than the one-shovel-width donkey-path fron your sidewalks. I know it takes longer, and I appreciate it. Whoever you are in the red house about halfway up Simpson who always clears your sidewalk to the curb: I love you, man. I look forward to walking on your sidewalk daily.

[sungold123.livejournal.com]

Yes! And the people who use salt!

[trtls.livejournal.com]

This.

[qwrrty.livejournal.com]

This!

[hahathor.livejournal.com]

Thank you! You make me proud to be part of the community of bikers!

[visage.livejournal.com]

Where's the upvote on this site, again?

[tealegirle.livejournal.com]

*searches foolishly for like button*

(Not really on the searching part. But really on the like part.)

[tlaad.livejournal.com]

Way to go--you're right that Somerville is a great place to commute on a bike.

[miss-chance.livejournal.com]

Today on my way in to Davis, doing my errands, and my way home, one driver decided that of events that it was worth spending attention on, yelling at me ranked over anything else that might have been important to do while driving. And, at first, that interaction over-shadowed my sense of my ride. But then I thought about it and realized, that for that one rude and loud driver, there were several who slowed or stopped to let me in, and countless more that made whatever choices they made such that I never even thought about them. For my part, I yielded the road where appropriate, and took a lane when safety called for it. I took up less space than a car, and when it came time to park I got out of the road more quickly than I could if I were parallel parking an auto, thus keeping traffic flowing more. I put someone's coins in the meter for him, since I was already standing in the snow bank to lock up while he was on cleared pavement. And all-in-all everyone had a fine time of it. Except the one duffus who yelled. But really he represented such a small percentage of the drivers. I love this 'ville!

[rmd.livejournal.com]

Oh God, I love the sane bicyclists. The ones who clearly indicate where they're going rather than doing surprise radical maneuvers, who treat red lights as red lights or stop signs, who (when I'm driving) take the lane when they need it and make it easy for me to safely pass them when appropriate, and who look out for pedestrians.

[boblothrope.livejournal.com]

Thank you for posting this! I try to make a point to think about all the good drivers I see (which is most of them), because it's so easy to let one or two bad drivers get you in a bad mood.

finally, some common sense

[808.livejournal.com]

Right on. Now we can get back to the more important issues (http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2459/3761578967_230d3cc2cc_o.gif)...

[tsuki-no-bara.livejournal.com]

i try to be a considerate driver, so thank you for trying to be a considerate bicyclist. :D

and i would like to thank the pedestrians who walk on the sidewalks instead of down the middle of the road, altho to be honest i totally give them a pass this time of year, because sometimes the road really is a pedestrian's best option.

[squirrelitude]

Haha, yeah -- there are also times when *cars* shouldn't be on the road, and should make way for pedestrians (and plows, of course.) The morning of the first big snowstorm this winter was one of those times. >_< So many stuck cars...

[squirrelitude]

I should elaborate: My personal philosophy is that pedestrians have the ultimate right to be on public ways, and that when the roads are in appropriate condition (which is usually), that right is ceded to cyclists, and from there to drivers. It's based on the idea that walking is something that pretty much anyone can do (not requiring money), and is also the least protected from the elements and from impacts.

[antimony.livejournal.com]

My usual phrasing is "thank you, Boston drivers, for treating me on a bike approximately like you do every other driver. Which is sometimes completely like an asshat, but at least you're consistent."

Seriously, the drivers up here are more predictable and less likely to do things like swerve *towards* me on a completely open road just to freak me out while passing compared to anywhere else I've lived.

[totient]

This. Boston drivers are often assholes, but at least they're self-interested assholes. It makes them predictable.

[tt02144.livejournal.com]

I would like to add my 'wish list' for cyclists......
~Please do not come at me on a one-way street, especially when there is no room to move, or it is early morning/late afternoon when the sun makes it impossible to see what's ahead of you.
~Please obey traffic laws...stop at red lights and stop signs, use turn signals, and please, please when you see cars stop for a pedestrian to cross the street, you should do the same.
~I would like the city to begin to register/license bike riders so that when they cause an accident they can't just disappear, and leave you with the damage costs.
Squirrelitude......I do think you're mistaken. The roads were built for vehicular traffic, not for pedestrians....that's what the sidewalk is for.

[squirrelitude]

+1 on the one-way streets and obeying traffic laws.

The issue of licensing or registration is a tricky one -- a bicycle causes *way* less damage than a car in a collision, so there is not nearly as much reason to track or restrict users. I *might* be in favor of a process by which cyclists show knowledge of basic road rules, but it needs to be an extremely easy process, and cost close to $0. What might work far better is actual enforcement of traffic laws regarding cyclists. I don't mean stuff like violating "no right on red" (which is silly to enforce on a cautious cyclist) but instead the more flagrant violations like blazing through a red light or biking the wrong way up a road.

What do you mean about pedestrians? (Not sure what you're referring to.)