After many phone calls and much wheedling, pleading and cajoling, it appears I’m getting my stripes.
Those are pedestrian crosswalk-style stripes to mark the Jeff Davis bike path as it crosses Tulane Avenue. Since they were resurfacing Tulane Avenue (and Airline Highway) it seemed like a good time.
The idea of course is that it’s a cheap way to enhance safety. Many motorists won’t notice the stripes at all, but a few will. If even a small percentage of people become more aware of the path it will help.
Of course, such striping would also be desirable at the dozen or so other street crossings the bike path makes, but Tulane Avenue is possibly the busiest. Canal Street would be good too.
However, the real hazard at Tulane Avenue is the fact that a cyclist can’t see when the light is about to change. Every so often I will get stranded on the neutral ground, which on Tulane is razor-thin, without even room for a bike. I have to turn my bike sideways while the cars whiz past on either side, way to close for comfort. Possible solutions would be a button to delay the light changing for a few seconds, or one of those countdown displays that lets you know when the light’s about to change.
I’m not holding my breath. But please allow me a moment to revel and bask in the glory of these stripes.
I got stripes,
Stripes around my shoulders . . .
Should we call you Sergent B?
Very nice – congrats on getting the DOS to do ANYTHING. I alway thought they should paint the bollards in the curbcut with reflective paint so people wouldn’t plow into them late at night but that’s not as big a hazard as the traffic.
Also, congratulations.
Am I the only person who thinks there’s a similar hazard due the placement of the recovery sign at Banks and Jeff Davis? You only notice it if you’re stuck on the narrow strip at Banks while heading toward the Lake. The sign makes it very difficult to see traffic coming from downtown. I’ve actually been more aware of it causing a problem when I’ve walked home, than I have been when cycling. But, it would be so easy to move the sign to either side of Banks where it wouldn’t obstruct anybody’s view of oncoming traffic.
BSJD: I know what you mean and I’ve noticed the same thing. And as someone pointed out in a letter to the editor, those signs are actually bigger than the work being accomplished. They are pathetic.
After just returning from the Netherlands and Paris last night this is good to see. I pondered over our city differences chatting with a few native Dutch people and transplants. Amsterdam in particular was bicycle heaven with their bicycle lanes, but that whole region is a bit wiser when it comes to cycling. To see it in practice is pretty amazing.