In article ,
Jens Müller writes:
Tom Keats schrieb:
In article ,
writes:
On Nov 16, 1:08 pm, (Tom Keats) wrote:
You can't dumb down a neighbourhood -- too much
soap opera drama goin' on.
I like that interpretation.
With that in mind I'm a huge fan of these stylish big double chevron
sharrows that are being installed in several cities. Encourage these
neighbors to really get to know each other.
Yeah, that sort of works. Except here in Vancouver
there are very many traffic-engineering attempts to
accomodate non-motorized traffic, and sometimes they
conflict with each other. For example, we recently had
sharrows installed along our Main Street. But at the
same time, we have these pedestrian's sidewalk bulges
at intersections. So from a rider's POV you're just
riding along in a straight line in the safe zone, and
suddenly the curb juts out at you, and you're squeezed
between the motorized traffic and the curb.
"safe zone"? If there is a sharrow, you would be before or after a car
in a sequential queue, when riding properly. So how could you be
"squeezed between the motorized traffic and the curb".
On Vancouver's Main Street, these intersection sidewalk bulges
jut out into the outside lane, thereby narrowing it. They
narrow the outside (parking) lane almost twice as much as
the parked cars do. A rider often has a long vehicle such as
a bus or semi beside him/her, or just a big, long flow of cars,
so moving into the adjacent inside lane is obviated, and your
intentions to do so are instantaneously pre-emtped. Don'cha
just hate being instantaneously pre-empted? That always happens
at intersections. It's a Murphy's (Jenkinson's) Law thing.
It's how life goes. Unfortunately. But that's what we're
stuck with.
Here's what our sidewalk intersection bulges look like:
http://vancouver.ca/ENGSVCS/streets/admin/improvements/improvementTypes/bulges.htm
I guess I'm making Vancouver's Main St sound ugly and dreadful.
But it isn't. It really is quite navigable, and one of our
best arterials upon which to ride. But it's a testing ground
for civic engineers/planners/designers. There will come a day
when Main St is absolutely perfect. Then some engineer/planner/
designer will come along, add something more, and ruin everything.
I live in an area where so many experts are striving to
determine what works best for everybody.
I'm shrug blessed, I suppose. Along with everyone else
on Main St.
cheers,
Tom
--
Nothing is safe from me.
I'm really at:
tkeats curlicue vcn dot bc dot ca