Live and Learn

I've never been caught by this stunt before. An intersection I negotiate daily is a bit weird in
that it's off-set by about 50m (~150'). The east-west residential street forms two tee-intersections
with the six lane major north-south cross street. (67th & Granville to locals)

Westbound there's a stop sign. There's a stop sign and signalled pedestrian crosswalk further south
at the east bound junction. With a liquor store, supermarket and several small shops with parking
lots off the back-lane, it's a busy location that goes nuts at rush hour

Going west usually involves waiting for the ped light to stop the north-south traffic and
negotiating with south bound drivers piddling to the stop. That requires paying very close attention
to what's eastbound and which way they're turning because you're hanging your butt out in a bad spot
if they're turning left. Bad-bad if there's southbound buses stopping at the light.

I was westbound last night and there was left turning eastbound traffic waiting for a pedestrian.
I'm out crossing the north bound lanes signalling to the south bound car that would be about fifth
in line at the light that I was crossing in front of them to the next south bound lane. I was
checking the timing of the pedestrians holding the turning cars when I was surprised by a pair of
headlights coming on a collision course. The second-in-line southbound car, that had been stopped at
the light, suddenly decided to make a U-turn. I'm glad he hit the brakes and straightened it out
when he did because there was no place for me to go except into the side of the moving SUV I'd
planned to go behind.

Other anticipated quirks at this corner are cars leaving a parking lot that's between the ped-xing
and the corner. Gotta watch for southbound cars turning left into that parking lot or onto the
street I'm trying to exit. I've danced with 'em using the northbound lanes to pull that stunt. Bad-
bad sight lines if there's a bus at its stop.

Of course, the folksy way to cross is to go on the sidewalk to the pedestrian signal. Other than
that, I don't know how to avoid what almost happened last night.

(fixed pitch font - not to scale)

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zk

>I've never been caught by this stunt before.

>nice ASCII snipped<

I don't have time to do the aerial photography.

Or do this justice. But it sounds to me as though this is a mid block mixed modality merge informal
intersection.

Get your ass onto the light controlled road to the left of the driveway and forget turning at the
stop sign on the convenient crossroad.

That looks like a pretty wobbly mid block cross traffic left to me, Zoot.

I've learned the hard way to stay out of that kind of situation.

Or apparently not.

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_______________________ALL AMIGA IN MY MIND_______________________ ------------------"Buddy Holly,
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Thu, 18 Dec 2003 00:55:34 -0500, <3FE14156.17DD5AD3@erols.com>,
"Eric S. Sande" <esande@erols.com> wrote:

>Get your ass onto the light controlled road to the left of the driveway and forget turning at the
>stop sign on the convenient crossroad.
>
>That looks like a pretty wobbly mid block cross traffic left to me, Zoot.

It's a sucky set-up. My favourite is when an idiot asswipe pulls up to the stop sign on my right and
then also tries making the left turn.

Cutting through the parking lot to get to the sidewalk and closer to the ped-xing is a counter-flow
maneuver which is why cars turning out that driveway can be a surprise.
--
zk

In article <3ff5ff2e.50627602@news.individual.net>,
Zoot Katz <zootkatz@operamail.com> writes:

> The second-in-line southbound car, that had been stopped at the light, suddenly decided to make
> a U-turn.

I wonder if this driver has ever complained of the "unpredictableness" of cyclists.

I've seen unmarked police cars suddenly snap U-turns (in response to emergency calls, I guess), but
they generally put the cherry on while they're at it. And I like to believe they're well-trained to
look out for other traffic when doing that.

> Other than that, I don't know how to avoid what almost happened last night.

Maybe if the north crosswalk and stop line were advanced so the entire intersection is bracketed?
The way it is now, is tantamount to the north crosswalk running down the centre of 67th Avenue
instead of at its northernmost curb, where, it could be argued, it belongs.

I've been backed-down by this intersection myself (my instincts just didn't like how it looked at
those times), and opted to instead turn down French or Cartier to 70th, and cross Granville there.
But it's a hassle, and sort of a capitulation, to have to detour. If you've been expecting somebody
to mention 70th sooner or later, there it is, FWIisn'tW.

Anyhow, I share your dislike for skewed intersections. Main & 28th is another ugly one. I guess
skewed intersections are a legacy of patchwork urban development that we just have to live with, and
maybe prod the City to apply band-aid solutions to them.

cheers, Tom

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Thu, 18 Dec 2003 16:35:33 -0800, <l4htrb.sja.ln@bud.garden.local>,
tomk2003@hotmail.com (Tom Keats) wrote:
> Zoot Katz <zootkatz@operamail.com> writes:
>
>> The second-in-line southbound car, that had been stopped at the light, suddenly decided to make a
>> U-turn.
>
>I wonder if this driver has ever complained of the "unpredictableness" of cyclists.

It's the first time I've seen it there in three years.

>I've seen unmarked police cars suddenly snap U-turns (in response to emergency calls, I guess), but
>they generally put the cherry on while they're at it. And I like to believe they're well-trained to
>look out for other traffic when doing that.

hehehe, I gobbed an unmarked cop car on that same stretch of road.

I'd just made a left off 67th heading north on Granville when a northbound car that must have been
stopped behind others waiting for the ped-light, accelerated out of line and came screaming up fast
on my left. I launched the gob of gum without looking and then saw a cop! watch it land just short
of the front fender as they drove by. I think he'd just finished putting up the cherry because the
window was still open.

I wasted a fresh piece of gum but it was worth the look on his face. \snip

>I've been backed-down by this intersection myself (my instincts just didn't like how it looked at
>those times), and opted to instead turn down French or Cartier to 70th, and cross Granville there.
>But it's a hassle, and sort of a capitulation, to have to detour. If you've been expecting somebody
>to mention 70th sooner or later, there it is, FWIisn'tW.

The worst for screwing up your timing there is the Airporter buses.

That corner certainly encourages folk cycling. The trick is figuring out how to score style points
while cutting counter-flow through parking lots and onto a sidewalk to cross like a pedestrian. It
might be okay with the coaster-brake lady's bike but it's still an ugly move. Whereas nailing a
tightly timed left on the fixey is thing of beauty.

Depending on where I'm going, sometimes I do use the back lane down to 70th. It's repaved and got
about five new speed humps. So now you can coast down that slope no hands faster than cars can
travel. You just listen to 'em bottoming-out behind you as they try to pass the bike.
--
zk

Zoot Katz wrote:

>Depending on where I'm going, sometimes I do use the back lane down to 70th. It's repaved and got
>about five new speed humps. So now you can coast down that slope no hands faster than cars can
>travel. You just listen to 'em bottoming-out behind you as they try to pass the bike.
>
One of life's little pleasures. Ego tripping with frustrated egomaniacs. Bernie

In article <3FE3B5BE.7040107@mouse-potato.com>,
Bernie <bmcilvan@mouse-potato.com> writes:
>
>
> Zoot Katz wrote:
>
>>Depending on where I'm going, sometimes I do use the back lane down to 70th. It's repaved and got
>>about five new speed humps. So now you can coast down that slope no hands faster than cars can
>>travel. You just listen to 'em bottoming-out behind you as they try to pass the bike.
>>
> One of life's little pleasures. Ego tripping with frustrated egomaniacs.

It's often so easy to goad drivers into racing the cyclist, and lure them over speed bumps they
didn't notice in their I've-gotta-be-ahead-mindedness. Make their DRLs blink.

Working pickup trucks are great; the stuff in the bed flies up and falls back down with a
startlingly resounding crash.

cheers, Tom

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