November 4
Bikers, walkers, drivers: Can’t they all get along? | Philadelphia Inquirer | 11/04/2009
Philly’s usually a bike-friendly city, said Stephanie Singer, 28, a marketing strategist at BAJ Design, who almost always rides her bike about a mile and a half to work.
She observed, however, that because of the strike, not only was car traffic up, but courtesy was down, as harried drivers ran more yellow lights and blocked bike lanes.
I have to say, I have only really biked during rush hour twice so far (yesterday morning and today) but I really haven’t noticed drivers being any more or less courteous than normal. there’s a lot more volume on the roads, but there aren’t any buses to contend with which is kind of nice.
I’m about to bike during the evening rush hour for the first time since the strike started though, so we’ll see what I say when I get home.
also:
On roads that don’t have bike lanes, cyclists are supposed to keep to the right, if it’s safe and practical, under state law, he said.
this isn’t totally accurate. Pennsylvania law says that it is okay to ride on the left-hand side of the street on one-way streets:
Any person operating a pedalcycle upon a roadway, which carries traffic in one direction only and has two or more marked traffic lanes, may ride as near the left-hand curb or edge of the roadway as practicable, exercising due care when passing a standing vehicle or one proceeding in the same direction. (source)
