Is Bicycle Safety the issue or is it Vehicle Safety?

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Before we go into a long diatribe about what ‘bicyclists’ should be doing to ride safely, I want to remind everyone who either drives a car or a bicycle or both, cars weigh a lot more then bicycles, like about 100x more. As a driver you must always be looking around you and aware of your surroundings, that is Driver’s ED 101, and it just doesn’t have to do with bicyclists, it has to do with pedestrians, wild animals and other vehicles.

In the latest incident where a teenage biker was drug 15 feet, there were probably many factors involved, but what concerned me the most about the accident is the age of the driver. First off, I don’t have a problem with elderly drivers, just BAD elderly drivers. I am also NOT saying they are driving badly on purpose, some of them lack the eyesight and hearing to drive safely. I suggested years ago that after an established age, that elderly drivers need to go in yearly to the DMV for AT least an eye and hearing exam, if not a full driving test. And in fairness, I would suggest that the testing be FREE to them for a five year period.

That being said, YES, bicyclists need to ride carefully. Trust me, most of the bicycle accidents I have been in the over 20 years I have rode in this town, have been self-inflicted because I WASN’T driving carefully, or riding on the sidewalk (which is extremely dangerous). Have I been hit by vehicles, yes a couple of times, but due to my very large mouth I was able to alert the driver before the incidents have escalated. I often tell fellow riders you must ride defensively a 100% of the time and should not be afraid to shout to alert drivers.

My advice for riding in Sioux Falls;

-Try to use the bike trail as much as possible for long commutes

-Try not to ride on the sidewalk unless you absolutely have to

-DO NOT ride on the sidewalk Downtown on Phillips Avenue, not only is it against city ordinance, it is extremely dangerous. I have almost been taken out a couple of times by cyclists while waiting on patio tables. The bump outs DT were created for pedestrian traffic, not bikes, skateboards and rollerblades. If you have to use the sidewalk with your bicycle DT, walk it.

-Lastly, try to ride in the road lane as much as possible

Riverdale Park chain of death

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From my email box:
I was out riding my bike this morning and I noticed this hazardous chain down at Riverdale Park.  It has recently been placed across a section of the road that approaches the pedestrian bridge access to the bike trail.  It was nearly invisible to me, on a bike, and I took a few pics of it.  As you might be able to see, there are 3 reflectors in the chain, but they hang horizontally due to the chain twisting over, so they do not show up.  Please note that this chain is also in the way of the access trail that many people use to get onto the bridge, since it is nearer to the road.
I had intended to call this in as a problem this morning to see what the Parks Department thought of it, and to ask that something more visible could be added or used instead.

It seems I was too late, and I was informed that the chain is now down, and that someone had already run into it.  You can imagine the hazard this will pose to anyone who attempts to ride through the park at night.
Please make a note of this hazard to your readers.  The Parks Department boss informed me that the chain would stay in place to block parking for peewee football games, and that they would add some more reflectors to it.
I often laugh when this city gets ‘awards’ for being a bike friendly town when the Parks Department does stupid crap like this, and drivers scream at you and swerve at you when riding your bike in the street. We are anything but friendly, we are ignorant when it comes to bicycling.

This could have been any of us

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Image; Minus Car Project

As a person who has ridden the streets of Sioux Falls for over 15 years, I can’t tell you about all the close calls I have had, even with sober drivers. Some weren’t paying attention, some were distracted, and even some will look straight at you and still proceed. Getting on a bike in SF is a ‘defensive’ practice. But it doesn’t have to be that way. There is something you must remember when driving your vehicles and you encounter a bicyclist; YOU ARE BIGGER and YOU ARE FASTER. Please pay attention to your surroundings and watch for bicyclists. These kind of events make us very sad;

Today we are sad. We are sad because someone many here knew as friend has died in a collision with a motor vehicle doing something that many of us know to be a beautiful thing – simply riding a bicycle.

Temporarily closing the city bike trail may save us from the Apocalypse

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four-horsemen-mikh-l

Apparently the Four Horseman could be riding in on the Big Sioux Creek, but don’t expect them to be on bikes.

I see city officials are sharing talking points when it comes to levees, floods, and spending Federal money;

Sam Trebilcock, a city transportation planner, said the trail will close from 49th Street to the dam just north of where the river and creek meet northeast of 26th Street for a city flood control project to raise the levees by 5 feet and build a dam.

“You know very well what happens in the news if we don’t do that,” Trebilcock said. “Grand Forks happens. What happened in huge catastrophic (quantities) in New Orleans happens if you don’t have a good levee system.”

First off, Sammy, Sioux Falls isn’t a soup bowl sitting below sea level. In fact you and I both know the real reason why the levees are getting built; an overly paranoid FEMA after Katrina started running around the country like a chicken with their heads cut off. Secondly, several studies have shown Sioux Falls is experiencing a moderate drought, and everyone knows we have low water tables here. I find it ironic that the same city that is begging the Feds for money to build the Lewis and Clark water pipeline (That we have borrowed millions to build, well because, we don’t have much water in Sioux Falls) would be going to the same Feds to ask for money for our levees.

Does Sioux Falls have the potential to flood? Sure, and precautions should be taken, but don’t act like it is the end of the world and cut the crap.