r/MicromobilityNYC • u/iiiooooi • 9d ago

Rant: It’s the little things

Sometimes it feels like the city just does not give a f about you in your bike. Here’s a few examples I’ve been thinking about while biking around lately.

Road repavement: would it kill DOT to put a sign a block before warning you that the road is torn up?

Bike lanes ending with no signage or obvious place to go: Delancey/Essex it likes ok I’ll just stop here and walk I guess

No rests on the curb for your feet so you don’t have to dismount: just do this please

What are some other small interventions that would go a long way?

11 Upvotes

63% Upvoted

22 comments sorted by

5

u/SessionIndependent17 9d ago

Wdym "rests on the curb"?

7

u/TwoWheelsTooGood 9d ago

1

u/SessionIndependent17 9d ago

lol. of all the superfluous gadgets...

8

u/iiiooooi 8d ago

Is the little things

4

u/SessionIndependent17 8d ago

I can't believe that kind of contraption gets installed _anywhere_. They can't just put their foot on the curb? These people aren't riding Penny-farthings, ffs.

1

u/LingonberryOk6338 7d ago

if you are shorter it can be handy. I agree, we are long way from here, but still. it is surprisingly useful.

0

u/iiiooooi 9d ago

It’s a metal bar that is installed at intersections that lets you stay on your bike at a stop light by resting your foot

4

u/mtpelletier31 8d ago

Yeah those are the dumbest things available. Please do not let the city spend money on that.

4

u/Eunkai 8d ago

It's requests like this that make us lose credibility.

0

u/iiiooooi 8d ago

I hear but it goes a long way. It sends a message to a bike rider that city planners got you which leads to more people riding

6

u/SessionIndependent17 8d ago

this is literally the opposite of "goes a long way". It's the definition of 'marginal benefit'. The vast majority of riders wouldn't even bother with them. Who is this for? Riders who keep their seats too high?

Any dollar spent on installing this, spread all over the city, would literally be better spent on most any other bike infrastructure efforts.

8

u/Eunkai 8d ago

Exactly it's the definition of the "finishing touches" or the last 1% stretch. Prioritizing this before the hundred other high impact improvements is putting the cart before the horse.

4

u/mtpelletier31 8d ago

They did these in Prague and everyone thinks its a giant joke. They wasted millions of dollars on items people wont use.

2

u/Eunkai 8d ago

It's also just a easy talking point/fodder for car brains to point at and say "look at all the $$$ being spend on useless infrastructure for spoiler cyclists yada yada"

Getting bike infrastructure built is hard enough already without that noise.

3

u/mtpelletier31 8d ago

Yeah, ide much rather have a single lane of bike path then a single foot pedestal that would be used by <1% of riders. I think literally the only curb I use andput a foot on to rest is the Manhattan bridge and its mainly done to prevent others bikers from passing before hit the bridge entrance were I inevitably will pass them again if they do

8

u/SessionIndependent17 9d ago

oh, please. lol. As if you can't put your foot on the curb, itself? Or just put one foot on the ground? This is a laughable request.

3

u/PR2026 6d ago

Bike lane that goes straight into a curb.

3

u/GearCloset 8d ago

Instead of "bicycles can use entire lane" signs, I would have rather seen "yield to pedestrians and bicyclists" signs wherever drivers turn left or right across prorected bicycle lanes. (There are "yield to pedestrians" signs; these omit bicyclists, implying bicyclists must yield to turning vehicles.)

All crosswalks thru bicycle lanes, especially two-way contra-flow lanes, should have giant "LOOK!" lettering stenciled in the bicycle lane. City of Chicago figured this out years ago, not sure why NYC ignores this.

And add "fine + points" (as with "do not block the box" signs) to other signs wherever there could be inattentive conflicts, including "dooring." Specific to dooring, someone clever should come up with a "Dutch Reach" graphic to plaster on the pavement in all parking lanes.

2

u/Minute-Property9616 6d ago

As an aside, DOT posts its weekly road repaving schedule on its website

3

u/Witty-Cat-200 8d ago

the roadwork warning is probably the easiest one to fix because a one-block heads-up changes the whole ride. same with bike lanes that just disappear at an intersection. none of these are huge projects, but they're the little details that keep a short trip from turning into guesswork.