Expect cyclists on Mission this evening - Santa Cruz Sentinel

[Luca]

Finaly a open season if just for a day.

[Local]

Speed Limit wrote:

The speed limit on Mission Street is 25 mph. How many car drivers obey that rule of the road? How about stopping for pedestrians in a crosswalk? I live one block from Mission Street. Hundreds of cars will drive through intersections on Mission without stopping to let me cross. Under California law every intersection, whether marked or not, is a legal crosswalk and cars are required to stop for pedestrians.
How about obeying these rules of the road before whining about cyclists?
Oh, and I'm not a crazy - I own and drive three registered-in-California motor vehicles and I have a motorcycle license too.
Know the rules of the road and obey them before you get self-righteous!

I drive Mission all the time. I always stop when someone is waiting to use the crosswalk. I do it because I know that person will probably have to wait a long time before someone else stops. I might go over the 25 limit from time to time, but traffic is usually heavy on Mission - so 25 would be fast.

[Carl Bendix]

One thing's for sure, you won't see any cops there. Most likely they will be recovering from sugar induced coma.

[No Fixed Gear]

The riders last Friday were out of control jerks. If they start trouble, have the police spray them down with firehoses.
Were any of these protesters even locals? They had the classic Portland-Wannabe fresh at UCSC look, faded black jeans, neck beards, chubby girls that couldn't keep up.

[jeb]

Dissident wrote:

<quoted text>
Wow! As a near life long resident of SLV and a 25+ year commuter over highway 9 (and an avid motorcycle rider), I have NEVER come across a group of motorcyclists on the side of the road in some kind of memorial session for a fallen rider....not one time. But I can't count how many times I've come across a blind to curve to find bicyclists riding 2-3 abreast, blocking the road.
Bikes will earn respect when they learn to share the road AND responsibilities of the road. That includes registration, licensing, insurance and safety equipment (lights, etc.). That would also meanthan bicyclists should be ticketed for causing the same infractions as cars. Bicyclists should be required to pull over if you have 5 or more cars behind you....make a full stop at stop signs....speed limit in residential areas, Failure to adhere to these rules should result in the loss of bicycle license and impound your bike.....just like the big boys. Then...and only then will I consider sharing the road with bicyclists.

If we enforce laws, and revoke licenses for cars that break the same laws listed above that would be great because there would not be many drivers on the road.There are many more cars breaking the rules of the road then cyclist, and a car breaking rules i.e. speeding is a much more dangerous thing... It's just a mild inconveinience to have to wait a while.Relax and drive safely!The idiot car drivers have just as many issues with other cars as they do with cyclist because they are in a hurry and stressed out, and oftentimes have road rage.Take a deep breath, relax,and if you get there a couple of minutes slower who cares.The bad traffic slows you down way more than even the rudest cyclist.Don't be lame!

[Relax]

I ride more than I drive, but I do both and recognize the right that each group has to the road. I also recognize that biking is a form of commuting that is realistic for a small population of lucky individuals (healthy, live close enough to work, no kids to haul around, etc). Bikes must follow the rules of the road, as do cars. But let's be realistic, does every driver drive the speed limit, not tailgate, not perform rolling stops, etc... Sure, we all cut corners, so let's all just relax a little and cut each other some slack. And I think that these sort of antagonistic rides just make it harder for law-abiding cyclists.

[jeb]

Local Mom wrote:

Go ahead and ride, but you are still legally supposed to ride in a single file and can't take up the entire right lane unless absolutely necessary!
"Share the road" doesn't mean that you just automatically get to ride down the right lane from one end of Mission to the other.......
Such a bad call on Caltrans behalf.
Thanks Caltrans for allowing these idiots to have an even greater excuse to take up an entire lane and block traffic. Not to have to find an alternate route!!!!!!AWESOME!

It's the law not caltrans. The law says that a cyclist can take the lane if it is unsafe for cars to pass.Many cylist go close to the posted 25 miles anyway, so who cares. Do some deep breathing exercises and sell your hummer. It takes up to much of the road anyway. Traffic takes way more of your time than any cyclist.Cyclist just make easy targets for drivers frustrations. Are you going to follow every letter of the law to a t?Not even our president does that!

[Ichabod Pennifflecorn]

It's time to "LOCK N LOAD", range, latitude, longitude mark, we have target acquisition, fire for effect, time to stop all this BS.

[J-Town]

If you drive a car and you're frustrated with bicycles on Mission street, I recommend using an alternative route like King Street or California.

[W_S Resident]

I HOPE THEY DO NOT PLAN ON SLASHING THE KING ST. RESIDENTS TIRES, AND VANDALIZING THEIR SUVs AGAIN TONIGHT LIKE THEY DID IN APRIL 2006. THE POLICE SHOULD MONITOR THESE KIDS.

[Local]

Carl Bendix wrote:

One thing's for sure, you won't see any cops there. Most likely they will be recovering from sugar induced coma.

Sad but true. I'm sure they'll observe the cyclists rights to form, from a secure distance, at the local Jamba Juice.

[Dissident]

jeb wrote:

<quoted text>
If we enforce laws, and revoke licenses for cars that break the same laws listed above that would be great.....

LOL! are you actually trying to suggest that car drivers don't receive speeding tickets...unregistered tickets...or any moving infraction? LOL! Can I have a show of hands for all the drivers who have ever received a ticket? Now, can I see a show of hands from bicyclist who've received tickets?

Humor me....what do think the results should be?

Share the road....the WHOLE the road, including liabilities and responsibilities, or go back to your sand box.

[Westside Dave]

Most bike riders are considerate and don't cause any real problems for other drivers. There are some that are rude, just as there are some rude car drivers. The bottom line is the more people we have on bikes instead of cars the better off we all are, e.g. less traffic, less pollution, less obese lazy people driving around in their SUV's. Everyone should do their share to make bikers and cars coexist as safely as possible. Getting angry with one another is just making the problems harder to solve.

[Hugh G Rection]

I myself am an avid cyclist. I own three bikes and ride them alot. I was dismayed at last Friday's fiasco and am hopeful of a few things

#1. Last weeks incident was not a reflection of the cyclists in Santa Cruz, but more so, an out of area student(s) at UCSC, being a typical UCSC student, trying to bring attention to something they know nothing about, nor really care about, but it's "cool" to protest.

#2. Tonights organized ride is thought out, planned well, and goes without a hitch. However, I do not see a 100 cyclists riding on Mission St. during rush hour being without problems. I am hopeful they ride single file, and do not feel the need to make more of a scene by blocking traffic, and bringing more undue negative attention to us.

#3. I would like to see more of these events have some cycling activists speaking out about responsible riding, including members of MBOSC, SCCC, and the UCSC riding team. That would help.

[Vehicle Code]

Local Mom wrote:

Go ahead and ride, but you are still legally supposed to ride in a single file and can't take up the entire right lane unless absolutely necessary!
"Share the road" doesn't mean that you just automatically get to ride down the right lane from one end of Mission to the other.......
Such a bad call on Caltrans behalf.
Thanks Caltrans for allowing these idiots to have an even greater excuse to take up an entire lane and block traffic. Not to have to find an alternate route!!!!!!AWESOME!

Please read the vehicle code on this topic. It specifically states that bicycles must "keep to the right as far as safely practicable" when also going into detail on the right of cyclists to take the entire lane, when required, on roads such as Mission St.(two lanes each direction, urban). The only true judge of how far to the right is "safe" is the rider them self. Would you, on a bicycle, trust someone in a car or, worse yet a truck, to make that judgment for you???? Of course not. It actually is totally legal to take the entire lane for the distance you plan to travel on a bicycle. On the other hand, it is totally illegal to force bikes to the curb (as has happened to me) and that should be rigorously enforced with reckless driving tickets.

[rog]

everybody has good days and bad days..drivers probably have more trouble with other drivers than cyclists anyway. what i've noticed in the last few years is that road rage has is not just inappropriate, but has become very dangerous. you never know what kind of nut you just flipped off.
if this kind of communication keeps up with the bikes and the cars..someone is gonna get hurt needlessly. also, it occurs to me that in this political/economic climate, that if it is true that police won't respond to cyclists infractions as much because of lack of insurance reasons, license, etc...then it seems like a good idea that if bikes want vehicle rights, then get licenses, registration, insurance etc. like all other vehicles. this revenue alone could do things like, keep all of the parks in california open, help school athletic programs, art programs, or scholarship programs, etc. i don't know about you, but i like it, and i intend to write my district supervisor and suggest it.
stay safe on the roads. it's getting tuffer all the time.

[Pamparius]

J-Town wrote:

If you drive a car and you're frustrated with bicycles on Mission street, I recommend using an alternative route like King Street or California.

If you don't want to get crushed by a steal vehicle, I recommend you stay on alternative routes.
Why do other cyclists think "share the road" means they are exempt from traffic laws, such as stop signs, lights, passing on the right, illegal lane changes, etc? Car drivers and cyclists need to be more aware and conscious. But as we see case after case, the cyclists made the error that led to their demise. I don't wish that upon them, but no road precautions can program people to stop making errors.

The cyclists that don't get hit are the ones you see suited up in lycra road riding gear who know the laws and how to be safe.

[jenninscruz]

In reading the posts left by many different schools of thought...it leads me to a simple idea. If you live/work in Santa Cruz, then you know people, a lot of people, ride bicycles. PAY ATTENTION to that. It's not that hard. And don't assume that because one person or even two people did something dumb on their bike or **** you off in traffic, that that means you can lump all riders in the same category. No one is better...it's about safety. For everyone. What if it was your kid or your mom on the bike. Bet you wouldn't care whose fault it was if they were dead because they wanted to ride their bike to work or school. Get a reality check.

[Another chance for SCPD]

Hopefully the SCPD will enforce any traffic laws these morons break.
Right now they are 0-3
1. Harbor Rape- still not solved
2. Disregard for the pot smoking on 4/20 @ UCSC (though law enforcement claimed it was a slap in the face)
3. This past weekends bike drama, with the idiots blocking traffic and lying on the street
Way to go guys! Stop rolling over and enforce some laws! Especially all the traffic laws bikers break.

[Bobby]

when those bikes shut down Mission street, traffic will divert through the westside neighborhoods. very considerate. way to think it through.

Take the load off fanny. And you put the load right on me.