If you consider 45 mph calm then the new traffic cushions on Lincoln Avenue work great…but somehow I don’t think that’s what Phil Jackson and neighbors have in mind.
Tomorrow I officially become a “soccer Dad” (ugh) so naturally for the occasion we purchased a new Town and Country mini-van. So maybe it has the same axle width of a fire truck (but somehow I doubt it) in order to straddle the speed cushions as easily as I just did.
But I also witnessed some small sedans and compacts straddle the bumps as well. Can we get our money back?
Glad to see I wasn't the only one who thought that it would be pretty easy to miss those.
ReplyDeleteThanks Larry.
No problem. Just for fun I'm going to hit one dead on with my bike at 20 mph (25 if I'm feeling brave, although I'm still feeling a shoulder/back injury from my bike accident a month ago, so I may not be all that brave) just to show they are not even much of a hindrance to bikes--let alone large construction trucks.
ReplyDeleteAnd the reason they were installed improperly in the first place is because Select Man Rob Kusner was worried about cyclist.
Larry you are the ultimate good citizen.
ReplyDeleteHey Tommy,
ReplyDeleteThanks! Coming from you that's quite a compliment.
I completed (easily) my crash test on a bike about an hour ago. I hit the first at about 16 mph the second at 19 and the last at 24.5 and lived to tell the tale.
Will upload the vid later today or tomorrow morning.
When I was out in CA this summer I often drove over the kind that go all the way across the road. They did slow folks down, emergency vehicles and bikes did just fine, and they looked like they'd be easier to plow than these things. A little more research would have been nice I suppose.
ReplyDeleteThey should just block Sunset at Amity and Lincoln at Fearing.
ReplyDeleteSome bollards and a couple of "Not a Through Street" signs would solve the problem, the locals (and the fire department) would know to use Elm Street to hop between the streets, but the 4 extra turns should deter speeders and idiot students trying to use Lincoln as a shortcut...
Guess I should refer to you as soccer dad now. RIP businessman, activist, agitator, troublemaker and Town Meeting member.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the great videos, Larry.
ReplyDeleteThe modification that resulted in the larger-than-necessary curb width will be discussed at Monday's SB meeting. I would hope that we can at least have the orginal 6' width in the travel lanes restored.
As a 1500+ mile a year biker myself, and a former Washington, DC bike messenger, I know that there are no guarantees on the road surface, even on bike-only trails like Norwottuck.
Rule 1 is drive defensively and constantly monitor the road surface for any manner of natural or man-made dangers.
I sincerely doubt that a cyclist is going down because of these things.
I firmly believe that any cyclist would prefer to either go over the bump or go around it. Last I checked, most bikes have tires < 2.5" wide, so I would imagine 1-2' would be adequate.
Compared to the cars whizzing by at 40MPH+, I'd consider it a net safety gain.
Whether or not the bumps achieve their primary purpose - slowing vehicles down - remains to be seen, but the devices need to be properly installed to test this.
The center lane is an obvious issue - will drivers transfer their illegal and irresponsibile speeding habits to a new illegal and irresponsible of stradling a double yellow line?
Hey Phil,
ReplyDeleteMy pleasure. Although I don’t recommend for cyclist to hit the cushions dead on at 15 mph or greater.
I hope the Select board read Stephanie’s scolding on Inamhert.com (although I’m not sure with them if it will do any good).