Crosswalk laws have little basis in reality

Oh, you cyclists, always wanting special rights. First you want to be treated like cars on the street, now you want to be treated like pedestrians on the sidewalk. Next thing you know there will be an article about cyclists wanting to be treated as aircraft when they jump the curb only to hit a street sign at night that clearly did not have a blinking light marking it for low-flying bicycles.

Not to be too cold, but honestly, she was going across a crosswalk with a car coming the other way. Was looking both ways too much time out of her day? How about using the streets like a car?

Why must someone other than ourselves be at fault whenever something bad happens. Sometimes you have to accept the fact that sh!t happens, and move on.

not only is this article horribly written, but the argumentative skill possessed by the author is horrible.

Low flying bicycle, that is the funniest thing I have read this entire month. I view the bicycle, pedestrian, vehicle conflict at State the same way we treat illegal immigration: everyone just hopes it’s only a phase and it will fix itself.

The 2020 plan by Lou Simon may fix things on south campus, as skeptical as most students are of it. You will be able to walk from the Administration building to the Engineering building without having to cross a street designed for vehicular traffic.

And it deserves to be said, there are many err, uh, culture shocked students who are dangerously incompetent drivers. State being known for 4,000 of our wonderful international students, I would never allow a child of mine to ride their bicycle on the streets on campus.

A friend of mine was hit by a car because he pulled out in front of him when he was riding on the sidewalk. Who’s at fault? He spent 2 days in the hospital with two slings and Several stitches.

I would like to see an International Student that can obey simple traffic laws – like stop signs for starters.

I saw a woman get hit by an SUV while on her bike. It happened at the Harrison / Kalamazoo intersection on 9/28. It looked really bad.

I blame the city and the university for doing nothing to accomodate bikers; placing them in a situation where they must violate ordinances and ride on sidewalks, or ride on roads where cars do not respect their presence. Just give this significant portion of the student population one safe option, instead of two unsafe ones.

We have governments so they can protect the health and safety of citizens. This is not a new problem, so what is the hold up?

“[T]he city does not keep a record of the number of collisions on crosswalks.” Why? So they can claim they don’t know of the problem?

Power comes with responsibility.

My husband rides his bike to work on campus year-round, and is often frustrated by the lack of enforcement of the rules. For the past two years he’s been riding only in the street, and while people often swear at him to get off the road (the only place he legally belongs), it’s been far safer for him. While cars may not like that you’re on the road, even if you’re going the speed limit, you’re a lot more noticeable there. He went from 3-4 close calls a year to 0 when he quit the sidewalk.

However, enforcing the bicycling laws would make things a lot easier for him, and a lot safer for the other cyclists out there. Better bike lanes (e.g., that don’t randomly end in the middle of the road and make you merge with cars) and making drivers aware that the road is where cyclists belong would make a huge difference.

Bike using crosswalk is a red herring. The problem is aggressive and distracted drivers making turns and failing to yield right of way to bikes and pedestrians. However, at this intersection, the city and state are guilty of gross negligence for failing to provide adequate crossing time, so bikes and pedestrians must cross Michigan Ave. when they probably do not have right of way.

Sure, more could be done to help the problem, but the city is hardly “at fault”. The only people at fault for these collisions and close calls are the cyclists and the drivers. The city didn’t make you pull out in front of a car or ignore the cyclist crossing on the crosswalk.

“A collision between a car and a bike — such as McDaniel’s situation — has the potential to be life-threatening. A collision between a bike and a pedestrian, although never ideal, is not that dangerous in comparison.”

from the SN “Editorial Board” (it figures)

Wrong ASSumption.

“not only is this article horribly written, but the argumentative skill possessed by the author(s) is horrible.”
100% agree

“While cars may not like that you’re on the road, even if you’re going the speed limit, you’re a lot more noticeable there. He went from 3-4 close calls a year to 0 when he quit the sidewalk.”

Amen Lauren.

Liz stop whinning and move on.

I remember reading the first article about this girl getting hit at a crosswalk. Literally ten minutes after that I was passed by a biking police officer while crossing at a cross walk.

I don’t think drivers have problems with bikers using sidewalks or using the road. The problem is they use both based on convenience at any given moment.
As noted by the posters above, it is safer if bikers use the road. However, how often have you been passed by a biker at a stop sign or at a red light? I know that happens to me far more often than a biker stopping next to me or behind me.
Both bikers and cars need to observe the rules properly.

About 10 years ago, I was driving on campus, Farm Lane, to be specific. A pedestrian walked into the side of my car, as I was stopped with the nose of my car in the crosswalk with a green light. I was ticketed for being in a crosswalk while pedestrians were present. The pedestrian dropped the charges and admitted that she walked into the side of my car, though she told police I had hit her. Since then I have seen several vehicles in crosswalks with pedestrians present. I feel that I was ticketed because there was nothing else they could ticket me for. Watch out!

Just so we’re all on the same page, you aren’t in the City of East Lansing until you’re north of Grand River Avenue. The Michigan State University campus is an autonomous municipality, this is why we have a police department, fire department, public works, and our own power plant for just the campus.

The enforcement of MSU ordinances ultimately falls on the responsibility of the Chief Executive Officer of the university, Dr. Simon. The legislative process falls squarely with the eight-member Board of Trustees, Joel Ferguson as chair.

Read The Ordinances Here

mara-kame…Wow. Did you get up on the wrong side of the bed? I didn’t see an author’s name attached to this article so what gives you the right to say, “Liz stop whinning and move on.” Why don’t you let someone knock your front teeth out and we’ll see who whines?

“This was evidenced when journalism freshman Liz McDaniel was struck by a car as she was riding her bike across Harrison Road.”

Hmm… What a coincidence that the editorial board sides with the journalism student.

1. If you’re on a bike, ride in the street.

2. If you’re in a car, stay out of the crosswalk until it’s clear.

End of story.

replying to “What?”

see the post below yours there’s your answer.

What?…I have all my body parts with me simply because when I drive, walk or ride my Bicycle I FOLLOW THE RULES.

so shut up.

mara-kame

What an intelligent and snappy reply. You need to quit being sooo cranky. You implied that Liz wrote the article and told her to quit “whinning” (btw it’s spelled whining). That’s all I’m saying.

all that I’m saying is she should follow the rules, even if they have “little basis in reality”.

I “implied” for her to stop whining (there you go) since she writes for the SN.
and more than likely she it was her fault.

“A collision between a car and a bike — such as McDaniel’s situation — has the potential to be life-threatening. A collision between a bike and a pedestrian, although never ideal, is not that dangerous in comparison.”

I don’t understand how anyone could object to this. As a pedestrian I have been hit by bicycles. I have been hit by bikes going full speed when the person made no attempt to avoid me or stop, despite having plenty of room and time to do either.
It hurts. It sucks. But you cannot compare that to being hit by a car on a bike when a car is going a significant speed. They are not comparable.
I walk most of the time, sometimes ride my bike, and often have to drive certain places (like work).
In ever situation I believe non-motorized bicycles have no place in the street. I feel safer driving when I’m not sharing my lane with people on bikes. I feel safer on my bike not driving next to cars worried that if I lose balance and fall, I’ll end up right beneath someone’s car tire. And walking, despite the occasional collision with bikers, I still believe they should be on the sidewalks, not roads.
A non-motorized bicycle is not comparable to a car. It travels slower that a car and it is lighter than a car. The damage produced by collisions with each is quite obviously far different.

Perhaps we should all think back to that time when our parental units were teaching us basic survival skills. Look both ways before you cross the street, especially when you’re in the city and there are potentially crazy people driving giant steel boxes around. There’s a reason why your folks teach you these things kids.

Nothing seems to generate more anger here than transportation issues on campus. Bikers, drivers, and pedestrians all have a legitimate beef about how bad things are.

And what makes everyone angry is the feeling that nothing is ever done about it, or ever will be.

Things aren’t this chaotic on other large campuses, even urban ones? Why does it have to be this way here?

It’s no different than any other ACTUAL campus I’ve ever been to (urban campus is an oxymoron).

My guess is that the naive writer of this editorial does not own a car, or spends very little time driving on or around the campus. Accordingn to your logic, because the law prohibiting bikers from riding their bikes through a pedestrian cross walk is rarely enforced, fault for this particular accident rests with the City of East Lansing? If true, I’m that you would also blame EL for a jaywalker getting hit by a moving car. I suggest that you lobby City Hall for mass enforcement of this and other rarely enforced ordinances so that we can better protect the ignorant from themselves. Time to grow up and take some personal responsibility.

As a periodic cyclist, but regular pedestrian and driver on the MSU campus, I may have a unique appreciation for all sides of these issues. Cyclists in particular are in a tough situation. IF they ride in the street as they are supposed to (hopefully in bike lanes where available), they get hassled by drivers. If they ride on sidewalks around pedestrians, they put themselves and others at risk. Either way, blaming the city and the driver of the vehicle in this particular case is absurd. If you ride your bike across an intersection and get hit by a a car, YOU are to blame (unless of course the driver ran a red light or stop sign). Vehicles are only required to yield to PEDESTRIANS who are IN a crosswalk, not cyclists who are approaching a cross walk or pedestrians who are preparing to crossing. as it is, driving on campus is already challenging enough with the ever increasing number of other travelers who are listening music, reading, or otherwise taking no responsibility for their own safety.

Finally, I suggest that we all consider one set of laws that above all others; the laws of physics. Being “in the right” won’t make us feel any better if we are lying in the hospital with broken legs or worse. Besides, “paying” attention is a lot less expensive than paying a steep hospital bill.

Dear Rufus,

To suggest that “nothing is ever done about [safety], or ever will be” is truly ignorant. Please find me another campus MSUs size that has spent more money and made more renovations to the streets and sidewalks than MSU. The intersection of Shaw and Farm Lane has more people cross it than any other intersection in the Great State of Michigan. Making matters worse, is the mix of foot, bike and vehicle traffic. In my estimate, the University has done an exceptional job of trying to make the campus as safe as possible. Granted, there is still lots of work to do. In the meantime, I suggest that we all slow down, take personal responsibility for ourselves, and be on the lookout for those who do not.