Tom Keats wrote:
> In article <
[email protected]>, Bernie <
[email protected]> writes:
>
> > I've noticed how completely enraged car drivers get when I drive the speed limit past a
> > playground - hey, I can drive! It's stressing and depressing when I get passed while doing 30 k
> > in a 30 k zone with children playing nearby. Bernie
>
> I see numerous schools have taken to planting their own signs, supplementary to the official
> signage. Rows of yellow, soft plastic signs stuck in the grass along the roadside, reminding
> drivers to slow down. But I think they look too much like real estate or "open house" signs, for
> all the recognition they get.
>
> It appears one criterion for designating bike routes in Vancouver, is proximity to schools. But
> the routes often seem to have the unintended consequence of attracting rat runners[*]. So then the
> City has to install speed bumps, like along Ontario Street, which is now corrugated with them.
> I've seen a few drivers along there bottom-out on them, while desparately and vainly trying to
> pass me or other riders. Then they approach the rest of the speed bumps very gingerly.
>
> Interestingly, the speed bumps appear to be so scientifically designed and engineered, that riders
> travelling exactly at 30 km/h can comfortably surmount them without having to unweight the saddle
> very much, but cars exceeding 30 km/h by even a little bit, get a fairly serious wake-up call.
>
> I'm impressed by the thoughtful design that went into things. They're not just lumps of asphalt.
> And they're a lot more effective than a bunch of extra signs.
>
> cheers, Tom
>
> [*] I've heard the term used to describe impatient, shortcut-seeking, car-driving commuters who
> will run through the "maze" of side streets to try to lop a few seconds off their commute time.
>
> --
> -- Powered by FreeBSD Above address is just a spam midden. I'm really at: tkeats [curlicue] vcn
> [point] bc [point] ca
Tom
You and I are "preaching to the choir" when we chat this way. I use Ontario St. and a couple of
other designated Vancouver bike routes regularly. I love them! Those bumps on Ontario (by Nat
Bailey?) are no prob to a bicycle, but keep cars in line.
There's a school on 8th Ave in New Westminster that has huge signs reminding drivers of the speed
limit, including hours of school operation, and traffic still moves fast. The signs are nothing. I
suspect they have near zero effect. And they are reminding drivers of their responsibility, and
asking them to not kill children. I guess they will work, outside of RUSH HOUR - the sacred time
when cars must not slow down unless there is an interesting crash to scope out. Me? Bitter? What?
Why are you bugging me? Very Best Regards, Bernie
