Downtown pedestrian/cyclist issues thread

[TheTed]

I'll start this thread, as I have plenty of beef with downtown as a pedestrian.

*The Civic Center plaza is not a parking lot. If you park on Denver, at least cars have room to go around. When a UPS truck is parked on the sidewalk there's hardly any room for a pedestrian to go around. Nevermind the extremely hazardous situation caused when a wheelchair user tries to go around.

*The sidewalk is the pedestrian thoroughfare. You don't get to block it with your car. Parking lot operators: you don't get to block it with your giant parking signs or your yellow caution tape. Your car will be kicked and have debris thrown on it. Signs or yellow tape will be removed by me, and if you're lucky, you'll be able to find your parking signs.

*Automobile operators: Don't stop in the crosswalk. I reserve the right to kick your car if you do.

*Drivers on Sixth Street by the courthouse: those giant, well-marked crosswalks mean you have to stop for pedestrians. I don't think you want to risk running down a lawyer in a crosswalk.

These are all things that major city cops can and do ticket for regularly. Tulsa cops, stop missing out on all this revenue and start issuing tickets for flagrant disregard of pedestrians' rights. You wouldn't allow me to park my car halfway out in the street all day, yet you allow people to park in spots that block the sidewalk all day every day.

[rwarn17588]

Between kicking vehicles and throwing stuff, you're cruisin' for a bruisin'. Or at least a road-rage incident. You probably ought to cool it.

[Conan71]

Sidewalk rage???

[nathanm]

Blocking the sidewalk to load or unload is one thing. I don't mind if someone blocks a lane on the street to do their loading or unloading, so why should it bother me if someone blocks part of the sidewalk for that reason?

Parking on the sidewalk is a completely different thing and should be aggressively ticketed. Signage that blocks a sidewalk should be confiscated. However, signage placed in such a way to be on the sidewalk but not blocking it (either by placing it next to a streetlamp or in another relatively out of the way location) should be allowed.

[custosnox]

Blocking the sidewalk to load or unload is one thing. I don't mind if someone blocks a lane on the street to do their loading or unloading, so why should it bother me if someone blocks part of the sidewalk for that reason?

Parking on the sidewalk is a completely different thing and should be aggressively ticketed. Signage that blocks a sidewalk should be confiscated. However, signage placed in such a way to be on the sidewalk but not blocking it (either by placing it next to a streetlamp or in another relatively out of the way location) should be allowed.

You just want to collect shame on signs.  Come on, admit it.

[nathanm]

You just want to collect shame on signs.  Come on, admit it.

Shame On. Guaranteed to make the holder feel better about themselves! Shame On. Only $19.95. Shame On!

[Conan71]

Shame On. Guaranteed to make the holder feel better about themselves! Shame On. Only $19.95. Shame On!

Awesomeness!

[SXSW]

I'd personally like to see a dedicated bikeway through downtown.  A good route I noticed biking the MV trail was Cincinnati.  Right now Cincinnati becomes a one way one-lane street as it crosses Hwy. 51/75 south of downtown.  I'd propose making this overpass for bicycles only and an extension of the MV trail north from Maple Park into downtown.  Then have one of the 5 lanes of Cincinnati, probably the one on the west side of the street, become a dedicated bike lane all the way through downtown up to OSU-Tulsa to connect to the MV trail there.  This would provide a direct route from downtown to the river, and better connect Uptown, Cherry Street, and Maple Ridge to downtown for cyclists.

[Ed W]

Tulsa already has bike lanes along Archer, Mohawk, and some others.  They're poorly designed and poorly maintained, yet we're supposed to believe that if they simply install more of them, the conditions will somehow get better?

Learn some simple vehicular cycling techniques and all this is moot.  Every road becomes suitable for bicyclists.

[sauerkraut]

Yeah, you kick my heap in the crosswalk, I reserve the right to kick you right back. What do ya think of that? There has to be room for everyone. Maybe if you circle around the block you can avoid the UPS truck.

[TURobY]

With the weather improving, I've been riding my bike to work again. I try to keep on neighborhood streets when at all possible. But the few times that I've had to ride on arterials, car drivers seems to be fairly easy with which to co-exist. I'm too nervous to ride on the street at this point, mainly because I'm out-of-shape and would create more of a hinderance to traffic than its worth. LOL

[sauerkraut]

I don't even know if I can ride a bike it's been so long. I have a old 10 speed from 1984 that sits in storage. I don't enjoy cycling much and never did. Many people I see on the trails seem to like the sport of cycling. I never could get into it and I kept getting flat tires all the time. I do alot of jogging that's a sport I can handle. I rode some motor dirt bikes  and a I had a fair number of crashes on them.

[TheTed]

Yeah, you kick my heap in the crosswalk, I reserve the right to kick you right back. What do ya think of that? There has to be room for everyone. Maybe if you circle around the block you can avoid the UPS truck.

We have traffic rules for many reasons. Tulsa Police don't seem to care about pedestrian traffic issues, only car traffic issues. If you can't park in a driving lane on the street, you can't park on the sidewalk. Drivers are not any more important than pedestrians.

My porch is kinda small. I think I'll BBQ in a traffic lane on Denver Avenue. You can just go around. That makes just as much sense as parking your car on the sidewalk.

All I'm asking is for Tulsa police to make an attempt to care about pedestrians. Try to park on the sidewalk or block a crosswalk in New York City or Philly and see what happens. Unlike in Tulsa, cops actually care about the safety of pedestrians.

[nathanm]

We have traffic rules for many reasons. Tulsa Police don't seem to care about pedestrian traffic issues, only car traffic issues. If you can't park in a driving lane on the street, you can't park on the sidewalk. Drivers are not any more important than pedestrians.

He's from Columbus, Ohio, where it's perfectly legal to park in the right lane almost anywhere in town.

[Red Arrow]

He's from Columbus, Ohio, where it's perfectly legal to park in the right lane almost anywhere in town.

Unlike Boston (visit in 1982) where it was not legal but all the delivery vehicles did it anyway.