Radio Comments Against Cyclists

Sam, Thank you for addressing this. It is completely disturbing that people can trivialize the lives of other people in such a way as this. Laughing at other people dying! I just can't believe this.

I know there have been many heated debates on this blog about spending on bicycle infrastructure, but it's been just that: debate, i.e. healthy public dialog. And I think we're all better for it, because these debates introduce us to other people's thought processes and allow us to talk about them. But this DJ - man. Just absolutely zero tolerance or understanding for people who choose to live differently than him. And the crazy thing is that we're simply talking about the choice of a mode of transportation!

Again, Sam, thanks for addressing this. 95.5 needs to at least own up to the hate that they're airing, and make ammends. How 'bout a 95.5-sponsored bike trail??

Wow Sam.

I think I understand the point of the 95.5 broadcast.

The city, state, and even feds have made many people believe that bicycles are the equivalent to a 2,000lb+ car. They (meaning you) constantly tell us it’s an "alternative" to driving and they do everything they possibly can to promote this "alternative."

Fact is, motor vehicles are larger, heavier, and travel much faster then any bicycle, yet they are expected to share the road. Since bikes are more maneuverable then cars, most bicyclists ignore major traffic laws (like stopping at a stop sign). This only multiplies the problem.

Bicycles and motor vehicles do not mix. ANY person dumb enough to take a bicycle out into fast moving traffic (including the un-used bike lanes on the east side) is just asking to be killed.

Instead of listening to hip-hop radio broadcasts for hate speech against a super-minority transportation mode, maybe you should do your job and start doing things that actually fix transportation problems (like widening streets, completing sidewalks, timing traffic lights, and removing bubble curbs).

Thank you Sam for taking this issue head on.

I only hope that something positive can come out of this. A healthy discussion upholding the value of human life would be a good start - especially in light of recent events going on in the world.

As a student, professional, taxpayer, and bicycle commuter in the City of Portland, this debate needs more attention.

Bicycles reduce the demand for gasoline, making gas for those who drive cheaper. Bicyclists don't pollute, so the air drivers breathe is just a bit cleaner. Bicyclists don't take up space on the road, so they make traffic lighter.

I bicycle commute downtown every day. I obey the laws (even those which our friend Anthony doesn't know - such as passing on the right when safe). I thank drivers who obey the law (don't kill me). Those who don't have no mercy - you don't want to cut me off in my bike lane.

Bicyclists need to obey the laws, too, and I publicly chide those that don't as well. Bicyclists who don't stop at crosswalks, stop signs, traffic lights make people like Anthony more jaded, angry, and make it riskier for me to be a victim of his road rage.

Finally, I think everyone should also know the rules of the road - the law. It would at least give us a level field to at least start the dialog: http://www.stc-law.com/pdf/Pedal_Power_Jun19.pdf

-Dan Richardson
Cyclist, Motorcyclist, and even driver

Sam,

Have you ever been going down the interstate at the posted speed, and from out of nowhere another vehicle blows past you going 90 plus. Then about five miles down the road, that vehicle has been pulled over. It happened to me and some friends heading north a few months ago. A bright yellow low slung econo-box roared past. A few miles down the road, flashing lights, and like most people, we all had good chuckle. I have also been downtown when bicyclists come from out of nowhere, zipping in between cars and then as far as the eye can see, blowing through all the red lights down the street ahead of the rest of the traffic. The difference is the bicyclists are never stopped and there is no last laugh because the City tends to look the other way when it comes to bicyclists breaking traffic laws. Proof positive of a double standard is the free headlights handed out by law enforcement to the bicyclists instead if issuing citations when the bicyclists are caught after dark without proper lighting.

Yes, I agree that a fatality of any kind is not funny; however one avenue of thought is that the bicyclists themselves have brought this on with their own arrogant attitude. There is hardly a day that goes by that I do not observe bicyclists blowing past stop signs, running red lights, making illegal turns and/or just in general violating some traffic law. And again yes, motorists do some of the same things, but more by oversight than doing it with the repeated arrogance of bicyclists who think they are above the law. At your safety summit, one law enforcement officer commented that on average bicyclists are far more abrasive than motorists when he issued citations. Add to that the mass demonstrations ballyhooed as bicycle awareness rides, but masking their true purpose of creating disruption and civil disobedience. Arrogantly the organizers will not get permits.

Also Sam, you and many other politicians who should be equally representing the users of all modes of transport, including stakeholder taxpaying motorists, totally reject any open public conversation or a vote of the people that sharing the road must also mean sharing the financial responsibility, with the aim of taxing the bicycle mode of transport for bicycle infrastructure and the government services received. You and others also appear to support and even encourage the barrage of verbal missile attacks and name calling bicyclists make against motorists and the anti-automobile oratory. “One less car” is one less taxpayer for the roads. Even those types of statements are insults when coupled statements you have made like the “gas tax has not been raised since whenever.” Your own Senior Transportation Policy Advisor has demonstrated through his posts on this blog his one-sidedness and favoritism towards bicyclists with bias and prejudice towards motorists. Your office is fueling what could be described as a mid-east war between the bicycle mode and the motorist mode.

Although making funny of a fatality is going too far, so has your office with all the bicycle babble rhetoric and preferences. This radio broadcast is the verbal missile being fired back. If you truly want to have these types of remarks discontinued, a change in your attitude and mindset is in order. Adopt a get tough bicycle enforcement policy with bicycle stings where bicycle offenders are issued citations for violating traffic laws. Start listening to motorists and include them with direct representation at the transportation project advisory table. Organize an auto-commuter and motorist summit to hear motorist ideas. Be open to and have a public conversation about the merits of a bicycle tax Then let the voters decide the issue. The more you and your office opens up to and listens to the needs of motorists, be it stopping the proliferation of curb extensions or not having busses stop for passengers in travel lanes (I just had to get those in), the more harmony will exist between modes of transport.

Terry,

I find your rhetoric overheated. Bikes and motor vehicles both have to follow all the rules of the road. That is what I said at the transportation safety summit that is how I lead PDOT. For example, recently I did a crosswalk enforcement sting. We ticketed both bikes and motor vehicles that violated the crosswalk rules.

Even the most casual observer can see we have a problem with road safety in this city that includes pedestrians, bikes and motorists.

I see plenty of room for all modes of travel to improve regarding operator safety.

Most of PDOT's funds go to motor vehicle investments. Terry, you already know that. Getting more people on bikes reduces congestion and has other great benefits to society.

Terry, I like having your point of view included my site. But I need you to reduce the length, number and repetition of your posts on my site. You do not need to comment on each post.

Thanks,

Sam

YES....IT IS FUNNY BIKERS ARE HIT BY CARS...I guess this is the same disregard for life that helps enable the bombing and slaughter of people and the entire planet!