This was a Critical Mass event, which is why the bicyclists are taking up all of the street as a way to reclaim the streets and protest the lack of safety for riders under usual conditions. It’s not legal, but protests are never useful if they’re fully legal now, are they.
Protesting the lack of safety for riders by being unsafe riders? I don’t think the best way to convince the public that cyclists can be safely integrated into traffic is to purposefully create dangerous situations.
Ah yes, the inevitable “protests should only happen when it’s convenient for everyone and 100% approved by the authorities” comment.
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Maybe you shouldn’t use loaded language chuckles.
No but how about do this but only in the proper lane? You’re still causing attention/inconvenience, but it’s a lot less likely someone is going to mow you down from behind over driving slowly behind you, versus riding directly into oncoming traffic.
Use your brain for two seconds. Don’t you think they already tried what you’re suggesting? If you were planning a bike protest, wouldn’t you only go down one side of the lane? Well, it turns out, the people running this already tried that years ago, and they found that blocking both lanes is the only way to do this safely. Otherwise asshole drivers will try to “just slip past” by doing things like taking left turns. Parades take up all lanes on a road for a damn good reason.
Your idea was already tried and found not to work.
Parades close down the street with barricades/detours and such so cars don’t have the option to dangerously drive at them.
By law they don’t have that option either.
Yeah, but this is a little like protesting against gun violence by juggling loaded handguns and putting everything on the safeties working perfectly. You don’t protest an unsafe amusement park by going on the unsafe rides standing up.
Point being, most people would probably not want to serve as the example of what not to do. Most rules/regulations are written in blood, but most people aren’t volunteering to be the ink to pen those regulations.
What is the best way?
They could try attending local government meetings that decide city ordinances, or protest outside of the city government buildings?
Are people on this thread really that ignorant that I need to explain how local government works and how the people trying to get home from work in this disaster are not magically going to be on the side of these criminals trying to cause accidents?
Who’s to say that they’re not doing both?
I sometimes go on these critical mass rides and I am heavily involved in the local council meetings here when they discuss infrastructure. Unfortunately, you have to be squeaky wheel in order to get the grease.
Yeah, people are trying to get home etc. But it’s a minor inconvenience compared to cycling on bad infrastructure.
Funny how it’s a problem when cyclists start acting like drivers
Funny how no one would be on the side of a driver driving into oncoming traffic. They’re not acting like drivers unless you want to lump them in with absolute moron dangerous drivers.
Hold up traffic by staying in the proper lane and following road rules and I’ll be on their side.
That’s literally what happens during every parade. They don’t close down half a street and let regular traffic proceed down half a parade route. That’s dangerous. You close the entire street and send the parade down both sides of the street.
Have you really never been to a parade before?
Right. You close the entire street, with barricades/detours and such. I don’t know what parade you’re going to but the ones I’ve been to don’t parade down both sides of the street while giving cars the option to drive down them.
That’s common in the US, but elsewhere theres often parades and demonstrations that se the entire road without blocking them off. Drivers can either wait or backout or be stuck there while everyone goes around them.