[SDCBC] 10news.com Teenager Killed In Carmel Valley Bike Crash

[Gene Carman]

Carmel Country right in that area is a very fast downhill, it is not 
unheard of to reach 30MPH downhill in that area.

Personally I have long left the BL and use those neat stripped areas 
to the left of the BL in this area.  The road narrows near the 
bottom, and there is one uncontrolled intersection as well as the 
light controlled intersection.

For that uncontrolled intersection, I like to be out, wide, and well 
visible, especially at 30MPH.

And yes landscaper trucks as well as phone company and SDGE trucks 
have been known to park in the BL along there and along El Camino 
Real...  the latter where motorists travel at 50+MPH.

At 09:44 AM 11/1/2007, Serge Issakov wrote:
>This is a terrible tragedy.  What can be learned from it?
>
>I don't think whether parking is legal in that bike lane is very 
>important.  Even if parking is illegal, if the truck was parked 
>there because it broke down there, it's understandable and should 
>not be unexpected.  Parking at the curb in a bike lane marked "no 
>parking" is akin to parking in a red curb zone, or double parking on 
>a surface street - at worst it's a minor infraction and not 
>considered a serious safety hazard.  Nor should it be.  Bike lanes 
>should not be thought of as guaranteed safe and clear space for 
>cyclists, and it's dangerous to assume as much.  As tempting as the 
>comparison may be, blocking a bike lane is nothing like parking in a 
>freeway traffic lane.
>
>My bias against bike lanes is well-known on this list, and this 
>tragedy exemplifies one of my main objections to them: that they 
>instill a false sense of security in cyclists, that they induce a 
>cycling-nirvana-mindlessness that might be appropriate on an empty 
>bike path or maybe even a very quiet country road, but not on a 
>surface street shared with motor vehicles.  I think less experienced 
>cyclists, perhaps like 15 year old Nigel Clarke, are particularly 
>prone to this effect.  Can a cyclist be blamed for going too fast 
>around a blind curve only a few feet from the curb where he could 
>reasonably believe he was legally obligated to be: in the bike 
>lane?  My heart goes out to Nigel's family and friends.
>
>If you're a supporter of bike lanes, I urge you to remember Nigel, 
>and think of his family, the next time you express favor for bike 
>lanes on the basis of safety for cyclists.  There is little if any 
>evidence that supports that view, and tragedies like this, which are 
>all too common, suggest the opposite may well be true: bike lanes 
>make cycling less safe, arguably even deadly.
>
>Serge
>
>--
>NOTE: Any opinions expressed above are mine and not necessarily 
>shared by any organization in which I am involved.
>
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