{"id":203407544,"date":"2011-06-13T06:05:44","date_gmt":"2011-06-13T06:05:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.baltimorespokes.org\/?p=203407544"},"modified":"2011-06-13T06:05:44","modified_gmt":"2011-06-13T06:05:44","slug":"cant-a-guy-ride-a-bike-without-being-yelled-at","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.baltimorespokes.org\/?p=203407544","title":{"rendered":"Can\u2019t a guy ride a bike without being yelled at?"},"content":{"rendered":"

BY MARC SCHLOSSBERG
\nIt finally happened. The other day someone yelled at me, \u201cWhy do you cyclists think you own the road?\u201d
\nI had just finished an afternoon dentist appointment and was cycling home. I was riding on East 27th Avenue from Willamette Street to the Amazon Parkway in Eugene, a short, narrow, not-too-heavily traveled road with parking on both sides and no bike lanes \u2014 generally the type of road where things work themselves out.
\nI was riding downhill in the middle of the lane at the pace of the car in front of me, preparing to turn left on Amazon. A car entered the road behind me, accelerated around my left (into the opposite traffic lane), swerved in front of me, and skidded to a stop as we all reached the stop sign at Amazon Parkway. And that\u2019s when I heard it: \u201cWhy do you cyclists think you own the road?\u201d
\nHonestly, it was deeply disturbing to have a two-ton vehicle aggressively swerving around me and then be made to feel as though I was the instigator of some great injustice. I\u2019ve heard from others that this is a fairly common refrain coming out of car windows, so I thought I\u2019d try to answer this question using its component parts: \u201cYou,\u201d \u201ccyclists\u201d and \u201cown the road.\u201d
\n…
\nIn that day\u2019s unfortunate situation, I was riding in the middle of the lane, both because there was no bike lane and because I was preparing to turn left. But beyond legality, where and how I was riding was just common sense. I was travelling at the same speed as cars on this short strip, so why wouldn\u2019t I be a \u201cvehicle\u201d and act as one? What upsets me most about this situation is how easily someone felt they could enforce their view of right and wrong by aggressively swerving a vehicle around someone on a bike.
\nPerhaps this is the crux of the matter: In an ambiguous space, what are our community priorities? Should someone in a vehicle have priority, because after all, in a collision between a vehicle and a bike we know who would lose? Or in such situations, should our community default be to defer to the more vulnerable user?
\nI was confident I was right, both legally and morally (although I do wish I could have kept calmer after being yelled at).
\nBut I worry for others who want to use a bike as a safe, convenient, less costly, more environmentally friendly \u2014 or whatever \u2014 way to move about.
\nI have taught my children to how ride responsibly, but I worry about them being confronted \u2014 actually, assaulted \u2014 like this.
\nMore importantly, I worry about their physical safety simply because they are using the road as they should. I also worry about the thousands of others who are interested in biking but don\u2019t because they worry about confrontations with vehicles similar to my experience.
\nSo to answer the question: No, I don\u2019t think I am an overentitled bicycle-\u00adriding road owner; I\u2019m just a guy trying to get to work, the dentist, pet food store or my kid\u2019s ballet lessons, sometimes by bike, and hoping to do so without being yelled at.
\nMarc Schlossberg is an associate professor of Planning, Public Policy and Management at the University of Oregon.
\n
\n.
\nhttps:\/\/www.registerguard.com\/web\/opinion\/26266025-47\/bike-road-riding-vehicle-worry.html.csp<\/a>
\nFound via CenterLines, the e-newsletter of the National Center for Bicycling & Walking.oldId.20110613060544801<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BY MARC SCHLOSSBERG It finally happened. The other day someone yelled at me, \u201cWhy do you cyclists think you own the road?\u201d I had just finished an afternoon dentist appointment and was cycling home. I was riding on East 27th Avenue from Willamette Street to the Amazon Parkway in Eugene, a short, narrow, not-too-heavily traveled … <\/p>\n

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