radar...for bicycles

[finboy]

On my walk to work today I noticed 6 peace officers with radar guns in eau Claire, to my surprise, they were ticketing cyclists that were using the paths. I didn't realize there were speed limits are there, but having almost been hit several times by cyclists, I am curious to see how this pans out.

Apparently bike Calgary don't like the idea, surprise surprise

http://bikecalgary.org/node/3399

[speedog]

Ummm, that link goes to a Bike Calgary thread that's almost a year old. Not sure how relevant it still is and BTW, pathway speed limits have been in place for a long time.

[finboy]

Originally posted by speedog
Ummm, that link goes to a Bike Calgary thread that's almost a year old. Not sure how relevant it still is and BTW, pathway speed limits have been in place for a long time.

The context around the thread shows that they want speed limits increased

I didn't know they enforced the limits, or had a team of 6 people to do it at once.

[Lex350]

It would be nice then if they could also ticket the pedestrians that are completely oblivious to everything around them and walk like drunk sailors while on the paths.

[SJW]

I've been thinking about riding my Gixxer on the bike paths.

[speedog]

Originally posted by SJW
I've been thinking about riding my Gixxer on the bike paths.

Go ahead but I suspect there's some laws in place that prohibit that.

[JRSC00LUDE]

Fucking dumb.

[rage2]

I ride fast on the paths to work from Arbour Lake because I don't want to take 2 hours to get into work. The speed limits on the paths is WAY too low especially since it's not even shared in most sections with pedestrians.

I've seen them setup speed traps entering downtown, I've even got chased as I drove around them at top speed lol.

[mr2mike]

Ya I've seen them target cyclists. It's usually in areas where two paths merge to one. I walk into work (or used to) and you really have to look and even then, it's like crossing a race track. I don't complain, I usually walk on the left hand side till it's safe to cross.

Worst is I have seen people out with hair dryer's pretending to clock people and telling them to slow down.

[Tik-Tok]

Damn walkers on bike paths! They should create special lanes for those environmentally friendly people who don't use dirty oil on bicycle chains, and walk to work.

[98type_r]

Originally posted by rage2
I've even got chased as I drove around them at top speed lol.

I've never run into one of these speed traps myself, but i know a handful of guys who have done the same thing. Bylaw guys on slow heavy bikes, odds are they'll never catch you.

[MalibuStacy]

In the areas where the paths are shared by both pedestrian and cyclists I think it is very fair to have an enforced speed limit especially in areas like Eau Claire. As for the areas where the path is a designated Bike path, I personally have no issues for myself with raising the speed limit in fact I would welcome it. Although I think the radar is really only enforced in high traffic areas so it doesn't make much of a difference having signs which none of us obey.

[FullFledgedYYC]

I was going to say... it's a bike, not a car, it's not like you have a license plate. If I saw them come out to get me I would just pump my legs twice as hard and blow by them.

Good work folks

[Redlyne_mr2]

It makes cycling downtown more interesting trying to outrun these clowns lol.

[Moonracer]

I saw those guys there this morning as well. My co-worker got stopped yesterday there for going a little over and let her go with no ticket. I think it would be easy to make a case in court to not have to pay a speeding ticket on the bike path though. How can they make a law that posts a legal speed limit but it's not the law to have a speedometer? Or at least I have never heard of a law stating that you have to have one.

I went for a ride on the paths on the weekend and was pretty pissed off with pedestrians. I was riding west on the north side of the river past crowchild tr. where it eventually splits off into two separate paths, one for bikes and one for pedestrians. 90% of the dumb fuckers were walking on the bike path and I almost said fuck it and rode on the pedestrian path but I refrained. Why isn't there a crackdown on this???

[Sugarphreak]

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[spikerS]

Originally posted by Sugarphreak


Brings me to my next point, I didn't even know I was doing the speed limit because bikes DON'T COME WITH MOTHER FUCKING SPEEDOMETERS. So tell me how the fuck am I supposed to even observe the speed limit if I have nothing to observe it with!? Even if I had exceeded it were they going to write me a ticket for unknowingly breaking the law or something.

/rant

As with the rules of the road, ignorance is not bliss.

If there is a speedlimit, and you don't want a ticket, go bring your bike up to "spec" and buy and install a speedometer.

It is not up to the city to tell bike manufacturers how to make bikes, but if you want to use a bike on the cities bike paths, then you must make sure you are in compliance with the laws governing their use.

The straw man argument of "my bike does not have a speedo" does not fly in traffic court, why would it apply for the bike paths?
/endrant
/devilsadvocate

[Sugarphreak]

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[spikerS]

Originally posted by Sugarphreak
^^ Car manufactures are told to put speedometers in their vehicles for this very reason, not only that they need to be accurate within a certain degree of tolerance.

Right, those are federal regulations, and enforceable across Canada.

If the city doesn't want to take the steps to force retailers here to equip bikes with speedometers (and they won't because there would be a huge outcry against it) then they shouldn't be ticketing people for speeding.

No, they can't. The best a City can do is create a bylaw, which they did, creating a speed limit for public pathways. If you want to make sure you are in compliance with that speed limit, you need to make sure your bike is equipped with a speedo. If you don't, then you run the risk of breaking that bylaw and getting a ticket.

Also, some runners can exceed 20km... why aren't we ticketing them too?

Example: Marathon distance record ~26 Mile/42 Km is ~13MPH/21KmPH

Jeesus, and I thought Modelexis was the only one to use way out there strawman arguments! Don't make me use the facepalm smiley on you!

[Sugarphreak]

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