Fixing of a Prejudiced Light

The city has been constructin' along E 25th Ave, tearing a thin stripe up out of the middle of the road and then putting it back down again. Looks terribly important and productive..

What I've noticed has happened now, though, is that the light on 25th at Downing now recognizes bicycles! (Sort of.) That intersection is on what my map calls a “neighborhood bike route,” and the light used to not change for bicycles. It was a light on my PABST! (Prejudice And Bias Suck: Totally!) list with a "red" or "High Priority" rating. It's a high priority to have traffic signals on city designated bike routes recognize bicycles. That's obvious, right?

So I would reluctantly, but out of necessity, run the red light there at least once a day during my commute.

But, now! Suddenly I notice that twice it turned green for me! Neither time was there any motor traffic to trigger it. After a few more similar encounters, it became clear that the light is now on a timed cycle. (I watched it keenly from several blocks away as it cycled for no traffic of any kind.) I had hoped that maybe the intersection had been modified to recognize and change for bicycles, but I know that was wishful thinking. I'm unaware of any intersection in Denver that does that. But that is not to say that I don't consider this a victory because I most certainly do.

The change has me abuzz with curiosity. Was this a “one shot” kind of thing, an isolated adjustment unique to that intersection and unlikely to occur elsewhere along other bike routes? Or, and this is what I hope for because this would be really stinking cool, is the city adjusting traffic controls along bike routes to actually recognize—or at least periodically assume the presence of—bikes? ‘cause that’d be awesome.

In any case, I’m stoked about this change at this intersection. One less light I have to run!

Yay, safety.

Good ridin's!

Neighborhood bike route

So I was riding my bike down a new road. East 25th Avenue is very wide and pleasant to ride on, and it is home to KJ's Coffee Bar, which is itself the reason that I was on this new road.

What caught my eye were two "Bike Route" signs on either side of Downing.




The reason I made such careful note of these signs is that we (Ladyfriend and myself) got stuck at a prejudiced red light, and I lamented aloud, "This here is a red light that won't change for bicycles, and it's on a designated bike route!"

And as the words were leaving my lips, it occurred to me that 25th is not a designated bike route on any of my maps.

I boggled at that, ran the red light, and continued running my errands. But I kept that in the back of my mind all morning.

Later, after I got back home, I opened up the city bike map (updated 11/21/2003 -- can't wait for the new one, but that's a different story), and sure enough, 25th is not a bike route.

When I zoomed in, though, I saw what I assumed to be railroad tracks running along 25th.




There sure aren't any tracks along that road. The legend, though, clarified the issue.



Neighborhood bike route.

I don't even know what that means.

Obviously then, there is a difference between "grid bike routes", i.e., the ones I have plotted in my google map, and "neighborhood bike routes."

Neighborhood bike routes obviously don't stretch from one end of the city to the other like the grid routes do. They are short routes that either connect grid routes or skirt around within a graticule.

That's my definition. A more official one doesn't seem to exist. The phrase "neighborhood bike route" appears zero times in the Denver Bicycle Master Plan Update 2001 posted on denvergov.org.

I had never noticed these short routes on the map before. Or if I had, I didn't pay them any attention.

But now I'm aware of them, and I'm going to have to incorporate their existence into my ranking system for the PABST project.

Today, while riding on 25th, I was definitely on a designated bike route, and I was stopped by a light that definitely didn't acknowledge bicycles. And that's definitely a problem.

But how big of one?

I'M BLOGGING ABOUT BLOGGING YALL

Just a coupla meta-updates here.

1. Added an entry to the Velosopedia. (It's "Velo".)

2. Added a new PABST to my bike map. It's at York & 21st.

I guess that's it!

PABST: Prejudice And Bias Suck. TOTALLY!

The problem

Pirates and cyclists both know what it's like to suffer the prejudice of those who are biased against their lifestyles and proclivities. We learn to deal with it, address it where necessary, and combat it when needed to.

The chief focus of the PABST Project is to combat, draw attention to, document, and otherwise correct the problem of biased and prejudiced traffic lights.

Cyclists are by state law entitled to the same privileges and responsibilities of the road. When traffic control methods fail to recognize them, it creates inequality amongst road users that lawfully should not exist, and it creates a situation in which a cyclist must choose between running a red light and leaving the road to press the pedestrian crosswalk button to get a green light. Neither of these options are acceptable because

1. one must break the law, or


2. one must leave the road and to press the crosswalk button. Cyclists are not pedestrians, and this is humiliating. It causes an even bigger problem for scooterists who are unable to bring their vehicle with them up onto the sidewalk to press the pedestrian crosswalk button.

Identifying and prioritizing Prejudiced Lights

Firstly, prejudiced lights can be ranked by the perceived urgency of their repair.

1. High Priority traffic lights are lights that exist on designated bike routes, but which fail to recognize or perceive bicycles in the intersection. An obvious mistake! And one requiring immediate attention!


2. Medium Priority traffic lights are lights that are not on designated bike routes, but which exist on roads heavily used by cyclists, and which fail to recognize bicycles in the intersection. In these cases, it would be nice for the lights to change for cyclists, but it is not of the highest urgency.


3. Low Priority traffic lights are lights that do not recognize or perceive cyclists, but which exist in intersections that cyclists are unlikely to be using. Such as at the intersection of two major highways. Low priority lights are unlikely to be identified because cyclists rarely encounter them!

Prejudiced traffic lights will be identified and documented on my map of Denver bike routes.

The solution

The solution is making lots of noise!

An unordered list of suggestions:

• Report the traffic light as malfunctioning. denvergov.org's traffic FAQ provides a phone number for "traffic signals that are not working properly:" 720-865-4000. (This number, incidentally, can also be used to report signage that is blocked by trees or other things.)


• Send letters, emails, and phone calls to local representatives and local bicycle advocacy groups.

The short term fix for these intersections is to change the light from a sensor (induction coil) to a timer.

Video detection and laser sensors have also been used effectively.