The View from a Drawbridge

The first thing most people think of when you mention Seattle is rain. Because of that, I was really taken by surprise at the number of people who ride bicycles in this town. Thousands of bikes cross my drawbridge every single day, rain or shine, cold weather or mild. You have to admire their determination, but you also have to peek out the door before stepping on the sidewalk to avoid being taken out by one of them. And there are bike lanes on every major road.

From an environmental standpoint I love this about Seattle. And frankly, given the sheer density of vehicles on the roads here, the more cars that are left in garages, the better off we are. All that extra exercise makes for a healthier population, too, and we can all benefit from that.

Having said that, there are a few issues that appear to be a general source of irritation with regard to the bicycle culture in this town. First of all, bikes are expected to adhere to the same rules of the road that cars do, and yet many of them simply don’t bother. I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve seen bikes go right through red lights and make no apologies. This astounds me, because if a bike and a car meet, it’s the bicyclist who will suffer, so you’d think they’d be more cautious as a consequence, not less.

And another complaint I hear quite a bit is that if there is a vehicle/bike accident, more often than not it’s the driver who gets the ticket, even if it was the biker who was breaking the rules. This means you have to drive even more defensively than you do in other cities.

Then there are the militant bicyclists. Those are the ones who block intersections on Ride Your Bike to Work Days, which causes traffic to back up for miles. I’m sorry, but many of us couldn’t ride our bikes to work even if we wanted to, because we have a 30 mile commute, or have to drop 3 kids off at daycare, or can’t do so for health reasons. Why should we be punished?

Cooperation is a two way street, and we all have to share that street. Until all parties involved bear equal levels of responsibility, the roads will not be safe for anyone. Can’t we all just get along?

[Image credit: seattle-cycling-tours.com]