City just crazy

McGiver

Thargor wrote:

This account has to be a troll at this stage, nobody can be this bad

Mrs doesn't like two-wheelers as has been demonstrated many times. And if it has a e- prefix, the worse. E-bikes and e-scooters are apparently totally evil and shall be banned

John_Rambo

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

And walkers.

Also, I don't think we should fixate on any one form of two-wheeled vehicle: Yesterday I watched an e-scooter travel up the Parkmore Road, and was impressed by how much less space it took than a bicycle, and how much less intimidating it was. No parking need either: these could easily fit inside most apartment buildings or office cubicles.

(Yes, I'm aware of the regulatory restrictions (http://www.rsa.ie/Documents/VS_Information_Notes/Two_Three_Wheeled_Vehicles/FAQs%20on%20E%20Bikes%20and%20Pedelecs%20and%20battery%20Scooters.pdf) and think that it's mad that you must be licensed / registered and insured to use a scooter but not a bicycle. But the principle still applies. Smaller vehicles (motorbikes, bicycles, scooters, tricycles, etc) are ALL part of the solution.

What they have in common is that they are almost-always individual vehicles: one person, one set of wheels. As solutions, they don't scale as well as shared vehicle options.

Are you getting mopeds mixed up with scooters? Scooter are like skateboards with two wheels and handlebars, you push with your back foot like a skateboard. You don't need insurance for them. Mopeds are like small automatic motorbikes, they have an internal combustion engine that requires fuel, you need insurance and tax for them.


Are you aware 20 bicycles can fit in one car parking space? And that it's very rare for 6 people to travel in one car to work in Ireland?


Are you aware illegal bicycle parking isn't an issue in Galway? They don't block up bus lanes, car lanes etc...?

Excellent news, the sooner they get the ring road built the better!

Mrs OBumble

John_Rambo wrote: »

Are you getting mopeds mixed up with scooters? Scooter are like skateboards with two wheels and handlebars, you push with your back foot like a skateboard. You don't need insurance for them. Mopeds are like small automatic motorbikes, they have an internal combustion engine that requires fuel, you need insurance and tax for them.


Are you aware 20 bicycles can fit in one car parking space? And that it's very rare for 6 people to travel in one car to work in Ireland?


Are you aware illegal bicycle parking isn't an issue in Galway? They don't block up bus lanes, car lanes etc...?

Read the RSA document I linked to: The vehicle I watched yesterday was definitely a scooter (small platform on wheels), and definitely not being propelled by the rider's foot. It was powered, and therefore needs all the things I listed.

Please show me how you can fit 20 bicycles in one car parking space. (Leprechaun bicycles don't count!) I agree you can fit multiples - but cannot imagine any way to fit that many, and for it to still be possible for a person who owns a bicycle in the middle to remove their vehicle when they need it.

I can assure you that inconsiderate bicycle parking IS an issue for pedestrians, especially ones with disabilities, in Galway city. It may not be an issue that car-users experience, but I encounter it most days. Whether it's illegal is anyone's guess.


For the record - what I dislike are individual vehicles. As well as promoting selfishness, ("It's MY little pony and I'll ride it where I like"), they don't scale well, aren't great in bad weather, need specialist parking - and the unpowered ones have riders who often don't obey the road rules. As a pedestrian I've had more near-misses with them than with motorised vehicles.

Even though I dislike them, I agree that they are PART of an integrated approach to traffic management. I disagree that they're suitable for everyone, and a panacea for all city transport problems. And I wholeheartedly support segregated two-wheel vehicle lanes, ideally away from pedestrian lanes.

Mrs OBumble

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

Read the RSA document I linked to: The vehicle I watched yesterday was definitely a scooter (small platform on wheels), and definitely not being propelled by the rider's foot. It was powered, and therefore needs all the things I listed.

Are you really trying to claim electric scooters like the one linked below need a licence and insurance if so you are totally wrong. These are becoming common now and certainly don't need either a licence or insurance and more than a bike does.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Original-Xiaomi-Scooter-Mini-2-Wheels-Smart-Electric-Scooter-Skate-Board-Adult-Foldable-Hoverboard-M365-30km/32799250814.html?spm=2114.search0104.8.26.57f963f1z6qvy1&priceBeautifyAB=0

flazio

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

Read the RSA document I linked to: The vehicle I watched yesterday was definitely a scooter (small platform on wheels), and definitely not being propelled by the rider's foot. It was powered, and therefore needs all the things I listed.

Please show me how you can fit 20 bicycles in one car parking space. (Leprechaun bicycles don't count!) I agree you can fit multiples - but cannot imagine any way to fit that many, and for it to still be possible for a person who owns a bicycle in the middle to remove their vehicle when they need it.

I can assure you that inconsiderate bicycle parking IS an issue for pedestrians, especially ones with disabilities, in Galway city. It may not be an issue that car-users experience, but I encounter it most days. Whether it's illegal is anyone's guess.


For the record - what I dislike are individual vehicles. As well as promoting selfishness, ("It's MY little pony and I'll ride it where I like"), they don't scale well, aren't great in bad weather, need specialist parking - and the unpowered ones have riders who often don't obey the road rules. As a pedestrian I've had more near-misses with them than with motorised vehicles.

Even though I dislike them, I agree that they are PART of an integrated approach to traffic management. I disagree that they're suitable for everyone, and a panacea for all city transport problems. And I wholeheartedly support segregated two-wheel vehicle lanes, ideally away from pedestrian lanes.

If you park them side on with every other handlebars facing the opposite direction I can see 20 fitting in there but it'd be tight. As you say, accessing the middle bikes would be difficult

zulutango

McGiver wrote:

It's about diversity and options.

Yet this massive, costly project is providing neither. You don't get cycle and bus lanes by a building ring road for cars. We'll be in exactly the same situation when this is built. We'll have more roads and the same, possibly worse traffic issues.

xckjoo

Gracelynn Whining Rainbow wrote: »

Are you really trying to claim electric scooters like the one linked below need a licence and insurance if so you are totally wrong. These are becoming common now and certainly don't need either a licence or insurance and more than a bike does.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Original-Xiaomi-Scooter-Mini-2-Wheels-Smart-Electric-Scooter-Skate-Board-Adult-Foldable-Hoverboard-M365-30km/32799250814.html?spm=2114.search0104.8.26.57f963f1z6qvy1&priceBeautifyAB=0

Fairly certain she's right. It was that way a few years ago and haven't heard that things changed. It's just unlikely to be enforced (like all road rules )


Side-note but was in New York recently and was amazed at the number of electric bikes and mopeds. They were everywhere.

John_Rambo

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

Read the RSA document I linked to: The vehicle I watched yesterday was definitely a scooter (small platform on wheels), and definitely not being propelled by the rider's foot. It was powered, and therefore needs all the things I listed.

The link doesn't work. Irrespective of that, I my wife has one and I have a one-wheel. Couldn't get insurance so called in the the Garda station. They told me we don't need insurance.

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

Please show me how you can fit 20 bicycles in one car parking space. (Leprechaun bicycles don't count!) I agree you can fit multiples - but cannot imagine any way to fit that many, and for it to still be possible for a person who owns a bicycle in the middle to remove their vehicle when they need it.

I’ve done it. We removed one car space in our club carpark and we fit 20 bikes in the space. Don’t try and tell me you’ve tried it cause you haven’t and you won’t.

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

I can assure you that inconsiderate bicycle parking IS an issue for pedestrians, especially ones with disabilities, in Galway city. It may not be an issue that car-users experience, but I encounter it most days. Whether it's illegal is anyone's guess. .

Illegal parking by cars is snarling up the city, not bikes.

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

For the record - what I dislike are individual vehicles. As well as promoting selfishness, ("It's MY little pony and I'll ride it where I like"), they don't scale well, aren't great in bad weather, need specialist parking - and the unpowered ones have riders who often don't obey the road rules. As a pedestrian I've had more near-misses with them than with motorised vehicles.

Bad weather is a problem for the individual on the bike, it’s not your problem. And the near miss stories? Tiresome to be honest… hundreds and thousands of “near misses” but not one accident? I have a feeling your idea of a near miss is a cyclist cycling by you. Specialist parking? One dirt cheap parking bay for dozens of bikes is specialist in a way that saves space and money.

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

Even though I dislike them, I agree that they are PART of an integrated approach to traffic management. I disagree that they're suitable for everyone, and a panacea for all city transport problems. And I wholeheartedly support segregated two-wheel vehicle lanes, ideally away from pedestrian lanes.

Take away the irrational dislike and you're almost spot on.

what_traffic

McGiver wrote: »

Looking forward to Bonham. It will cause a traffic failure, and finally force people to stand up and kick out the clowns off the council.

Ya I know what ya mean. Will be interesting if it does.
However it will be the first development in the City Centre where Bike parking will out number car parking 3 to 1 (that bike parking will still take up way less space than the car parking)
Not looking forward to the construction works, pass by it every day on the bike to and from work. Hopefully it will be a clean site, will be built quickly though once it starts.

Stevo11

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

Please show me how you can fit 20 bicycles in one car parking space.  (Leprechaun bicycles don't count!)   I agree you can fit multiples - but cannot imagine any way to fit that many, and for it to still be possible for a person who owns a bicycle in the middle to remove their vehicle when they need it.

This style of rack is in many Tube/Rail stations in London :
https://goo.gl/images/iA5CMX

Delighted to hear the bypass is moving forward, its crazy the city is being held back by the short sighted.

zulutango

Stevo11 wrote: »

Delighted to hear the bypass is moving forward, its crazy the city is being held back by the short sighted.

On the contrary, the road is being pushed by the short sighted.

McGiver

flazio wrote:

If you park them side on with every other handlebars facing the opposite direction I can see 20 fitting in there but it'd be tight. As you say, accessing the middle bikes would be difficult

Make it 10 then. That's still one order of magnitude higher than cars...

AndrewJRenko

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

I can assure you that inconsiderate bicycle parking IS an issue for pedestrians, especially ones with disabilities, in Galway city. It may not be an issue that car-users experience, but I encounter it most days. Whether it's illegal is anyone's guess.

So do you encounter this kind of parking by motor vehicles in Galway most days?
https://twitter.com/GalwayCityCars
And you've noticed how this IS an issue for pedestrians, for cyclists, for other motorists AND for people with disabilities, right?


But yeah, keep jumping up and down about cyclists.

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

For the record - what I dislike are individual vehicles. As well as promoting selfishness, ("It's MY little pony and I'll ride it where I like"), they don't scale well, aren't great in bad weather, need specialist parking - and the unpowered ones have riders who often don't obey the road rules. As a pedestrian I've had more near-misses with them than with motorised vehicles.

'Specialist parking' is the problem? Our cities are littered with cars taking up vast amounts of storage space, and you reckon that the need for 'specialist parking' for bikes is the real problem?


How about instead of using your anecdotes of near misses as a measure of danger - how about instead we look at the real hard data - 3-4 people killed by motorists each week, 4,500 killed in the last fifteen years versus zero killed by cyclists.

Mrs OBumble

John_Rambo wrote: »

The link doesn't work. Irrespective of that, I my wife has one and I have a one-wheel. Couldn't get insurance so called in the the Garda station. They told me we don't need insurance.

Sorry that the link doesn't work - it did work for me when I posted that. Googling again gives this:

http://www.rsa.ie/Documents/VS_Information_Notes/Two_Three_Wheeled_Vehicles/FAQs%20on%20E%20Bikes%20and%20Pedelecs%20and%20battery%20Scooters.pdf

(It's the same doc that I got when googling last time - if this version doesn't work, I'll find it for you another way.)



I'm not certain that the law isn't being enforced:

This article is from July this year: https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/ludicrous-electric-scooter-law-needs-to-be-changed-says-td-37074517.html

This one from 2017: https://extra.ie/2017/07/28/news/irish-news/gardai-warn-scooter-tax-insurance

(To be clear, I think it's a daft law. But it is the law - just as much as stopping at red lights, and not parking in bicycle lanes - and should be obeyed.)

Ashleigh1986

Don't talk to me about cyclists .
Just passed merlin park hospital and cyclist comes out head to toe in black , no lights onto a main road without stopping.
Same cyclist comes up behind in traffic at huntsman lights and goes straight tru even on red lights .
Twice the muppet was nearly ran over .
To many of these clowns on the road .
If your on the road they should get the same fines for no lights and dark clothing.

AndrewJRenko

Ashleigh1986 wrote: »

If your on the road they should get the same fines for no lights and dark clothing.

Same fines as what? Same fines as the 82% of motorists that break speed limits every day? Did you happen to break a speed limit yourself today at all?

zulutango

Ashleigh1986 wrote:

Don't talk to me about cyclists . Just passed merlin park hospital and cyclist comes out head to toe in black , no lights onto a main road without stopping. Same cyclist comes up behind in traffic at huntsman lights and goes straight tru even on red lights . Twice the muppet was nearly ran over . To many of these clowns on the road . If your on the road they should get the same fines for no lights and dark clothing.

You'd agree with lots of segregated cycle lanes so?

Ashleigh1986

So you find it ok to be on the road at night in the dark with no lights on a bike or the person ???
One things for sure .... I didn't drive tru a set of traffic lights that were RED.
But you carry on turning a blind eye to these clowns putting their own lives in danger cycling around in the dark !!!!!

Mrs OBumble

AndrewJRenko wrote: »

Same fines as what? Same fines as the 82% of motorists that break speed limits every day? Did you happen to break a speed limit yourself today at all?

The same fines as anyone else who breaks the laws about having lighting on your vehicle.

IMHO light coloured clothing should also be a legal requirement - but it's not as yet.

AndrewJRenko

Ashleigh1986 wrote: »

So you find it ok to be on the road at night in the dark with no lights on a bike or the person ???
One things for sure .... I didn't drive tru a set of traffic lights that were RED.
But you carry on turning a blind eye to these clowns putting their own lives in danger cycling around in the dark !!!!!

Maybe you didn't drive through red lights, but lots of motorists do.
https://youtu.be/Vc5VGuJvOVk



Every day, at every junction, at every change of lights, I see 1 or 2 or 3 motorists pushing through the junction after the lights have gone red. It seems to come as a total surprise to many motorists that red light comes after amber, and indeed that a green light is inevitably going to go amber soon.


The Luas red light camera found that 88% of red light jumpers were motorists, not cyclists;


http://kerrycyclingcampaign.org/but-all-drivers-break-the-lights/


But I note you avoided my question about speed limits - does that mean that you, like most motorists, break speed limits routinely? While in the same breath complaining about cyclists law breaking? Wouldn't that be just a touch hypocritical of you?

AndrewJRenko

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

The same fines as anyone else who breaks the laws about having lighting on your vehicle.

So that would be zero fines then, for the drivers I see every day with one or two broken brake lights, or one or two broken back lights, or no back lights at all because they haven't worked out how their DRLs work, or the cars with one dodgy or missing headlight?


Let's not kid ourselves that

a) motorists don't ignore traffic laws just as much and more than than cyclists, including lighting laws
b) enforcement of traffic laws for motorists is anything more than token

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

IMHO light coloured clothing should also be a legal requirement - but it's not as yet.

And all cars should be light coloured too, given the evidence that shows that bright coloured cars are safer? And sure why not go the whole hog and make hi-vis mandatory for all cars - if it saves one life, right?

zulutango

Ashleigh1986 wrote:

So you find it ok to be on the road at night in the dark with no lights on a bike or the person ??? One things for sure .... I didn't drive tru a set of traffic lights that were RED. But you carry on turning a blind eye to these clowns putting their own lives in danger cycling around in the dark !!!!!

It's proven that more motorists than cyclists break red lights. At least the moron on the bike isn't as dangerous as the moron behind the wheel of a car.

McGiver

Ashleigh1986 wrote:

Don't talk to me about cyclists . Just passed merlin park hospital and cyclist comes out head to toe in black , no lights onto a main road without stopping. Same cyclist comes up behind in traffic at huntsman lights and goes straight tru even on red lights . Twice the muppet was nearly ran over . To many of these clowns on the road . If your on the road they should get the same fines for no lights and dark clothing.

Agree with that both as an active cyclist and a motorist. Actually, in the UK you get fined on the bike if you've got no proper lights.

Ashleigh1986

Zulutango.....the moron on the bike is a danger .... Mostly to himself .
If your on the road ... I don't care if it's bike/ car/ bus /Lorry ...you must be Able to be seen.
It's crazy cyclists been allowed to go about their business without be seen.
Its now that time of year when these idiots are on the road .
Of course when they're hit.. It's the motorists fault !!!!

AndrewJRenko

Ashleigh1986 wrote: »

Zulutango.....the moron on the bike is a danger .... Mostly to himself .
If your on the road ... I don't care if it's bike/ car/ bus /Lorry ...you must be Able to be seen.
It's crazy cyclists been allowed to go about their business without be seen.
Its now that time of year when these idiots are on the road .
Of course when they're hit.. It's the motorists fault !!!!

Vast majority of cyclist deaths in 2017 were in daylight hours.
https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=108252653&postcount=5041

Motorists don't see if their head is stuck in their phone. But yeah, keep banging that cyclist drum if it makes you happy...

John_Rambo

Ashleigh1986 wrote: »

Zulutango.....the moron on the bike is a danger .... Mostly to himself

And the moron in the car is a danger to everyone. Motorists, pedestrians, cyclists young and old. Statistics show that motorists are the biggest menace on the road by miles.

Look at the cycle and dash cam videos trending at the moment.

Demanding certain coloured clothing for cyclists and pedestrians is as good as demanding certain colours for cars. Behaviour and attitudes need to change. But we're back to entrenched views, hearsay, anecdotes and tall stories.

Back on topic. The ring road is an expensive and okish idea for a bad situation. The one off housing planning disaster has to be catered for at everyone's expense. If it's integrated to park and ride facilities it could be great.

Mrs OBumble

AndrewJRenko wrote: »

And all cars should be light coloured too, given the evidence that shows that bright coloured cars are safer?

I'd totally support that. It's mad making them colours that blend and are hard to see.

Also support electric cars having noise generation.

ben.schlomo

Plenty of a$$holes behind the wheel and In the saddle,I see it every day. Both are regularly in the wrong. Pointless arguments.

McGiver

Mrs OBumble wrote:

IMHO light coloured clothing should also be a legal requirement - but it's not as yet.

This is total BS and a joke, I suppose. Would you apply that to pedestrians too?

What should be a legal requirement is proper bicycle lighting at night which is indeed the case in the UK.
And unlike in Ireland, I actually saw this being enforced.

The same goes for reflective elements on the bike. Reflective clothing elements or accessories are highly recommended by the UK road safety authority and police but are not a legal requirement.

The Pedal Cycles (and Use) Regulations 1983 only stipulate that every pedal cycle (the rules are slightly different for electrically-assisted bikes) should have two braking systems (one can be a back pedal-operated rear brake).

The Road Vehicle Lighting Regulations 1989 (amended several times) stipulate that bikes ridden at night must be fitted with white front and red rear lights, flashing or steady, as well as a red rear reflector.

All bicycles made after October 1st 1985 must also be fitted with amber pedal reflectors (on each pedal) when being ridden on a public road between sunset and sunrise, although fitting such reflectors is almost impossible with many ‘clipless’ pedal styles. It’s important to comply with these regulations as any slight illegality with respect to your lights or reflectors may be regarded as contributory negligence should you be involved in an accident at night.