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Related Categories: Santa Cruz Indymedia | Environment & Forest Defense | Government & Elections | Health, Housing & Public Services
Cyclists Allowed (Use of Full Lane)
Ten years ago the process for designing Mission Street was drawing to a close. Lines were drawn and plans were printed up. Task force members, City Council members, and engineers congratulated themselves. Caltrans and the city council agreed to widen the street to allow four lanes of automobile traffic. Everyone was happy with the design, except for bicyclists. People Power's then-director, Ron Goodman, had lobbied for a three-lane street with bike lanes and a center turn lane—a configuration that is arguably better for slow-moving commercial traffic of all types. He was ignored. "I knew that people were going to get killed as a result of that decision and I told them that. There was too much pressure to increase the capacity for cars." People Power had 60 members at the time.
 _ Indybay_files/bike_may_use_full_lane.gif)
Roll the clock to last August, when high school teacher and experienced bike commuter John Myslin was killed at the corner of Mission and Bay. John was riding to the right of an 18-wheeler, where many drivers think we should be riding. The driver didn't see him and turned right into him. On April 8, another experienced cyclist, Chris Rock, was killed as he rode alongside the curb and was overtaken by a gravel truck that ran over him. The driver, again, didn't see the cyclist. The next day People Power organized a bicycle rights ride down the middle of the right lane of Mission Street. Over 200 cyclists rode to "take back the lane," wearing signs asserting their right to the lanes.
Both John and Chris would be alive if the city had designed the street properly with bike lanes. Both riders would also be alive if they had been in the middle of the right lane. Members of the cycling community, including People Power director Micah Posner, have been taking the full right lane on Mission safely for years. It is perfectly legal, according to California Vehicle Code section 21202, which states that cyclists may use the full right lane when the lane "is too narrow for a bicycle to safely ride to the side of a motor vehicle." Two deaths occurred while cyclists were riding along the curb. It's outrageous for anyone to claim that these lanes are wide enough to ride safely side-by-side.
None of this is to suggest that we should go out our of way to ride down the middle of the lane on Mission Street. In fact, cyclists should try to avoid Mission when possible by using King or California/Seaside. And the city is currently drawing up plans to improve King for cycling. The problem is that Mission is a major commercial and residential district. People live, work, and shop on Mission Street. Cyclists will always need to use this road to get to destinations on the street itself.
People Power has recommended that the city install signs on Mission reminding everyone that bicycles may use the lane. These signs, combined with more cyclists asserting our rights to the lane, would make it socially acceptable to take the full right lane—the safest way for competent cyclists to ride Mission.
http://www.peoplepowersc.org
Both John and Chris would be alive if the city had designed the street properly with bike lanes. Both riders would also be alive if they had been in the middle of the right lane. Members of the cycling community, including People Power director Micah Posner, have been taking the full right lane on Mission safely for years. It is perfectly legal, according to California Vehicle Code section 21202, which states that cyclists may use the full right lane when the lane "is too narrow for a bicycle to safely ride to the side of a motor vehicle." Two deaths occurred while cyclists were riding along the curb. It's outrageous for anyone to claim that these lanes are wide enough to ride safely side-by-side.
None of this is to suggest that we should go out our of way to ride down the middle of the lane on Mission Street. In fact, cyclists should try to avoid Mission when possible by using King or California/Seaside. And the city is currently drawing up plans to improve King for cycling. The problem is that Mission is a major commercial and residential district. People live, work, and shop on Mission Street. Cyclists will always need to use this road to get to destinations on the street itself.
People Power has recommended that the city install signs on Mission reminding everyone that bicycles may use the lane. These signs, combined with more cyclists asserting our rights to the lane, would make it socially acceptable to take the full right lane—the safest way for competent cyclists to ride Mission.
http://www.peoplepowersc.org
§Stand up for Your Right to Ride Safely!
Meet Tuesday, May 13, 6:00PM at the town clock in downtown Santa Cruz for a safety awareness ride on Mission Street. The ride will end at the City Council Meeting.
Come to the Tuesday, May 13 City Council Meeting and ask that "BIKE MAY USE FULL LANE" signs be posted on Mission Street. Caltrans is ready to cooperate with the City. Now it's up to us to convince council members to request this sign!
Cyclists all over the country are watching this struggle for the basic civil right to safely use a commercial street. We need you to show up and be counted.
If you absolutely can't make it, contact City Council at: 809 Center Street, Santa Cruz, 95060, or email citycouncil [at] ci.santa-cruz.ca.us or call 831-420-5020.
Call 831-425-0665 for more details.
Come to the Tuesday, May 13 City Council Meeting and ask that "BIKE MAY USE FULL LANE" signs be posted on Mission Street. Caltrans is ready to cooperate with the City. Now it's up to us to convince council members to request this sign!
Cyclists all over the country are watching this struggle for the basic civil right to safely use a commercial street. We need you to show up and be counted.
If you absolutely can't make it, contact City Council at: 809 Center Street, Santa Cruz, 95060, or email citycouncil [at] ci.santa-cruz.ca.us or call 831-420-5020.
Call 831-425-0665 for more details.
Comments (Hide Comments)
Thursday May 8th, 2008 8:20 PM
Thanks for doing that. I just moved away, and this piece in the Sentinel was pissing me off. Everyone can see that riding on Mission street is risky, but you place yourself at legal risk for riding on the sidewalk because when you inevitably conflict with cars turning through store driveways, you will be at fault. Actually, there is probably greater risk for being run over that way. The city could put a type of bike corridor on the sidewalk like they have in Walnut creek where they tell pedestrians and turning vehicles to watch out, if they wanted to. Also, if you ever want to access a business on Mission, you need to go down at least half a block if you take the side streets most of the way. There are so many one way streets in the vicinity of Mission, that you essentially have to go the wrong way down a one-way street to get to Long's drugs, or bike four or five blocks out of your way just to get someplace.
Friday May 9th, 2008 7:40 AM
The Scotts Valley Senile often does nothing but publish anti-bike bullshit. Motorists need to recognize that cyclists have every right to lawfully use the lane as per the CVC- glad to see cyclists are being treated like they matter, instead of second-class citizens or kooks like the comments in the Senile would have you believe!
Saturday May 10th, 2008 10:42 AM
Last Thursday (5-8), Micah Posner was an in-studio guest on Bathrobespierre's Broadsides, my twice-weekly community affairs/civil rights show. The 1 1/2 hour interview is archived at http://www.radiolibre.org/brb/brb080508.mp3 .
Monday May 12th, 2008 11:17 AM
Bicyclists actually ~are~ acting like kooks, and should be treated as such by the city and police, IMO. Riding through town kicking cars? Blocking the entrance to the wharf? Breaking windows out of vehicles when the drivers did nothing wrong? Yeah...they're so misunderstood.
That's cool though, since the police will probably be paying extra attention for the May 13th ride. Maybe some of the riders will get the tickets they deserved for the last Mission St. ride when the showed that following basic traffic laws wasn't something they cared to do.
That's cool though, since the police will probably be paying extra attention for the May 13th ride. Maybe some of the riders will get the tickets they deserved for the last Mission St. ride when the showed that following basic traffic laws wasn't something they cared to do.
Monday May 12th, 2008 11:36 AM
Thanks for reading the Sentinel bullshit and spewing here!
See you in the streets!
See you in the streets!
Monday May 12th, 2008 1:45 PM
I blindly believe everything I read in the Sentinel, really. You got me on that one. The humor in someone calling the lowly Sentinel "corporate media" is pretty rich though.
I actually bother to gather my information from many different sources, and monitor events as they're happening when possible. I have my own photos of the law breaking that happened on the last Mission St. ride, and I'll have my own from tomorrow as well. Most of you here would rather twist the reality of things to suit your own agendas, which is completely obvious when looking at the choice of pictures to use and captions given to them on many articles.
Not that most people pay attention to this site anyways, but I do enjoy it for a good laugh at the so-called harassment and oppression from local authorities and the city, county, ucsc, etc.
I actually bother to gather my information from many different sources, and monitor events as they're happening when possible. I have my own photos of the law breaking that happened on the last Mission St. ride, and I'll have my own from tomorrow as well. Most of you here would rather twist the reality of things to suit your own agendas, which is completely obvious when looking at the choice of pictures to use and captions given to them on many articles.
Not that most people pay attention to this site anyways, but I do enjoy it for a good laugh at the so-called harassment and oppression from local authorities and the city, county, ucsc, etc.
Monday May 12th, 2008 2:29 PM
Points well taken. See you in the streets.
Monday May 12th, 2008 4:44 PM
Many years ago, before I ended up 35 miles from work, I rode my bike everywhere. Now the town I lived in was much like Santa Cruz. There were large busy not as wide as you would like streets that were direct routes to everywhere, but 1 block either way were quite tranquil residential streets where one could ride in peace and really enjoy the ride without losing anytime. Maybe instead of getting miltant and up in everyones face you should think about educating folks about the joys of side streets. Yeah I know you have every right to be on Mission and other busy narrow streets but your quality of life will be geratly improved and your stress reduced by taking the quite street.
Wednesday May 14th, 2008 6:38 PM
Photos from 5-13-2008 People Power ride. http://www.flickr.com/photos/pisceanelectron/sets/72157605064009423/
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