Two Wheel Tuesdays specials?

With today being a Tuesday, I think it would be appropriate to mention Two Wheel Tuesdays on Frankfort Avenue. Are any restaurants on Frankfort offering any specials for this?

[Robin Garr]

I love the idea of making Louisville bike-friendly (and that includes putting people like the guy who ran down Les Pollit in prison for a very long time). I believe drivers should be courteous to cyclists (and vice versa).

But here's a question, not meant as confrontative but as a conversation-starter: Are Frankfort Avenue and Bardstown Road problematical as places to encourage large crowds of bike riders? The problem I see is that they are narrow, congested, have cars parked on both sides, and it's REALLY a bad (and illegal) idea for cyclists to jump up on the sidewalks in these crowded zones.

How can it be made to work? I think merchants would probably object very strongly to banning street parking on bike nights to turn the curb lanes into bike lanes, but I'm trying mighty hard to come up with a more practical way to get large numbers of bikes and cars to coexist on these urban streets.

Comments?

With today being a Tuesday, I think it would be appropriate to mention Two Wheel Tuesdays on Frankfort Avenue. Are any restaurants on Frankfort offering any specials for this?

Can I ask a silly question? Are you talking about motorcycles or bicycles?
thanks!

[Robin Garr]

Can I ask a silly question? Are you talking about motorcycles or bicycles?
thanks!

The link in the original post makes it look like bicycles, Paula.

should have clicked on link first! thanks, Robin

How can it be made to work?

Comments?

I think it requires attitudes on both side of the aisle (riders and drivers) to change. I think many drivers get annoyed being stuck behind cyclists because they feel they get slowed down when the reality is they may be held up by about 60 seconds without thinking how little 60 seconds really is. I think cyclists feel they get harassed by driver for the above reasons and some start to ride aggressively and then you've got this downward spiral of drivers and cyclists becoming enemies when they both simply want to use the road to get somewhere.

The best way it can be made to work is if both riders and drivers are simply more courteous and keep an eye out for each other.

How can it be made to work? I think merchants would probably object very strongly to banning street parking on bike nights to turn the curb lanes into bike lanes, but I'm trying mighty hard to come up with a more practical way to get large numbers of bikes and cars to coexist on these urban streets.

Comments?

As I can be rather strongly opinionated on this topic, I was going to see where the conversation went before jumping in. Alas, as there as not been much conversation, I'll give you my opinion, Robin.

I find the idea of "co-existing" troubling because bicycles and cars are very different types of vehicles. The law is written such that both types of vehicles have equal rights to the road and equal responsibility, but that seems to be more a legal solution than a solution that works in reality.

If such an event were to draw a large crowd of cyclists, I think the prevailing notion would be one related to "the actual flow of traffic." Cyclists are often ticketed for impeding the flow of traffic especially when riding more than one abreast on a two-lane road (like Frankfort, if we discount the parking lanes, or River Road). If, though, a large number of cyclists were to partake in this event the "actual flow of traffic" would then become the speed at which the cyclists are traveling and not the stated speed limit (which is a limit and not an expected pace). In such a situation, while both parties have equal legal use and responsibility to the road, the events on the road would be dictated by the presence of the bicycles (the actual conditions at a given time).

In other words, those people who would not their travel to be slightly hindered would need to find another route. This is not as radical an idea as it seems. I often avoid Frankfort and Main during trolley hops. I avoid the Freedom Hall area during UofL games. And I avoid other places when I know there is going to be significant foot traffic in the area (orphan's pinic, art fairs, etc.)

Now, my argument is based on a large presence of bicycles. Short of that, I don't know what the answer is. When the law is written for equal use and equal responsibility for a one-lane road, something's got to give.

I should say that I'm not a lawyer, although I have tried to become as educated as possible on traffic laws pertaining to bicycles. The argument I make regarding "actual flow of traffic" is borrowed from Bob Mionske, a writer, lawyer, and cyclist.

[Robin Garr]

Your thinking reflects my concerns exactly, Matthew. Mike's "can't we all get along" approach is kind-hearted, but I just don't see it as a pragmatic solution. Fill narrow, busy urban streets like Frankfort or Bardstown with bikes on a busy night (and that's pretty much every night), and you're going to end up with motorists and cyclists cussing each other out and flipping each other off.

The only real solutions I can see are out-of-the-box notions like closing the streets to vehicle traffic during the event - and I just wonder how much the streetside merchants, including restaurants, are going to like THAT.

How can it be made to work? I think merchants would probably object very strongly to banning street parking on bike nights to turn the curb lanes into bike lanes, but I'm trying mighty hard to come up with a more practical way to get large numbers of bikes and cars to coexist on these urban streets.

Mike's "can't we all get along" approach is kind-hearted, but I just don't see it as a pragmatic solution.

Yeah, I really should have added that changing people's ingrained attitudes is almost impossible.

The only real solutions I can see are out-of-the-box notions like closing the streets to vehicle traffic during the event - and I just wonder how much the streetside merchants, including restaurants, are going to like THAT.

I can't speak for the merchants, but I can speak as a cyclist. I hate any "special treatment" policies, because such approaches, such as closing the road, explicitly highlights the bicycle as not being an accepted form of transportation. This is also the reason I'm leery of cycling lanes removed from the actual roadway. Bikes belong on roads next to cars, not removed from the driving lane or placed on a road otherwise closed to other vehicles.

While I know many vehicle drivers who are both courteous to cyclists and empathetic to the cyclist's plight, many, many drivers just want cyclists to get the hell off the road. Changing that attitude is going to be an uphill battle as long as the motor vehicle holds almost God-like status in American society.