View Full Version : Bicyclist killed at LRT intersection
Trevize1138
08-08-2006, 07:44 AM
Please be careful crossing the tracks, folks:
http://www.startribune.com/462/story/600913.html
That's a sad story - a reminder to everyone to ride safe, especially in traffic and around transit.
I've ridden that intersection many, many times, and it was designed by a total bozo. The sidewalk/bike lane stops at the north side of 46th, yet continues in a straight line on the south side. There is no crosswalk or stripe that goes across the intersection! To continue straight to the other side of the crossing, you either have to skirt into the train's barricaded right of way, or sidetrack a block or so down the street. Very dangerous considering the amount of traffic that is turning from Hiawatha onto 46th, mixing with trains and busses. This is especially confusing considering the fact that all of the other street crossings are stright-thru's that the streets north of here. Odd how public transit stops are often so tough to get to if you are not in a CAR.
It is sad that someone had to pay such a price for being in a bit of a hurry, or beign confused by poor transit planning.
manual63
08-08-2006, 10:14 AM
It is sad that someone had to pay such a price for being in a bit of a hurry, or beign confused by poor transit planning.
I would say #1. The dude was crossing tracks.....just like crossing a road, maybe it's a good idea to look to see if it's safe to cross. So poor transit planning or not, it's an error by the cyclist.....IMO.
jkalla
08-08-2006, 10:36 AM
I would say #1. The dude was crossing tracks.....just like crossing a road, maybe it's a good idea to look to see if it's safe to cross. So poor transit planning or not, it's an error by the cyclist.....IMO.
I would agree. It's not too hard to stay out of a trains way. Drivers can cut you off, but trains - you know exactly where they are going.
Jackrabbit Slim
08-08-2006, 11:18 AM
I would agree. It's not too hard to stay out of a trains way. Drivers can cut you off, but trains - you know exactly where they are going.
Plus when you ride diagonally between the flashing lights and down gates at a RR intersection: it's just hard to take the biker's side. It's really sad, on many levels (including the train driver that couldn't stop in time), but I'm pissed that he chose to try to "beat" the train.
ebrandel
08-08-2006, 11:40 AM
I live about 6 blocks west of that station. Trains come into it and out of it at a much faster speed than one would expect.
A slightly safer route through that area is to take Minnehaha parkway. It's about 2-3 blocks south of there and runs over a bridge over Hiawatha. There still are some unsafe intersections though. They occur on both sides of the bridge. On the east side there's a roundabout that drivers don't seem to quite understand and definitely do not yield the right away at a bike/pedestrian crosswalk. On the west side is a set of intersections that occurs right after Minnehaha parkway splits. They're weird because traffic heading west there has to stop, but traffic heading east does not, and always seems to be moving way too quickly. You can avoid the western intersection if you want and take a bike trail that runs north from the bridge and works its way along the Minnehaha creek and either brings you directly to 46th Street or, if you follow it about a mile longer, brings you back
to 46th street at Nokomis Ave, just a couple blocks east of Lake Hiawatha.
This is the area I'm talking about: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=Minneapolis,+MN+55406&ie=UTF8&ll=44.917835,-93.218029&spn=0.005409,0.011888&t=h&om=1
Nickel
08-08-2006, 11:49 AM
Flashing lights and also a very large whistle that is blown as the train approaches the intersection...I race trains but not to cut in front of them, just to push myself
berrywise
08-08-2006, 12:19 PM
Not saying he did or didn't but it frustrates me everytime I see a driver (or cyclist) make some kind of crazy manuever to save themselves what a minute of their time? All the while if anything goes wrong it could be the end of their life. Or worse yet the end of someone else who is just minding their own business.
syntaxjunkie
08-08-2006, 12:55 PM
The reality of riding a bike in any environment is that you're going to be almost constantly surrounded by objects that can do you serious harm: trees, rocks, cars, trains – you name it.
Even though cars and trains are operated by humans, it's best to treat them like trees and rocks: big, inanimate objects that can't see you and don't care what happens to you. The fact that they also move at a high rate of speed should make you doubly cautious.
All of us take chances when we ride. It's how we become better riders. The trick comes in being able to make snap judgments about what chances are worth taking. Chances that involve pitting yourself against tons of moving metal do not favor you, no matter how good you are.
Not saying he did or didn't but it frustrates me everytime I see a driver (or cyclist) make some kind of crazy manuever to save themselves what a minute of their time? All the while if anything goes wrong it could be the end of their life. Or worse yet the end of someone else who is just minding their own business.
Add Peds to that sentance. My wife rides the LRT everyday (she was on the train right after this one - the buses did not come BTW..... people had to walk). She is constantly telling me stories about people running to catch the train and they will run right in front of it just to make the train.
If anything good can come of this, hopefully it will help educate folks of the risks.
AC/BC
08-09-2006, 10:28 AM
Moral of the story, look both ways before crossing.
Moral of the story, look both ways before crossing.
And don't forget, larger objects (tractor trailers, trains, buses) look as if they are travelling slower than their actual speed. Combined with their greater mass, even a slow speed impact can kill.
I've learned to really LOOK each direction instaed of simply glancing but then again, I spend 6-8 hours driving each day. :)
Jess
Maria
08-10-2006, 12:11 AM
I live near the LRT and cross it several times a week. Before a train is even close to hitting someone crossing the tracks, there's a screeching/hissing noise from the electricity. If that dude didn't notice that before he crossed, he was destined to be hit by another moving object pretty soon. Maybe I'm insensitive, I just think its Darwin working on the human population.
syntaxjunkie
08-10-2006, 08:41 AM
Another good reason to leave the iPod at home when you go riding.
Paul Swenson
08-10-2006, 08:59 AM
Another good reason to leave the iPod at home when you go riding.
Do we know if he was wearing an iPod? The bicyclist was an older gentleman, I believe in his late 50's, and I hadn't seen mention of a listening device yet so based the fact that he isn't in his 20's I wasn't sure if he had one on.
syntaxjunkie
08-10-2006, 09:14 AM
Do we know if he was wearing an iPod? The bicyclist was an older gentleman, I believe in his late 50's, and I hadn't seen mention of a listening device yet so based the fact that he isn't in his 20's I wasn't sure if he had one on.
I have no idea if he was wearing one. But the scenario does reinforce the importance of being able to see AND hear what's going on around you when you ride.
just because your using an i-pod doesn't mean you can't hear. Just don't crank it up and don't wear the noise cancelling ones. No different than listening to your car radio/CD/XM/etc....
Paul Swenson
08-10-2006, 09:48 AM
just because your using an i-pod doesn't mean you can't hear. Just don't crank it up and don't wear the noise cancelling ones. No different than listening to your car radio/CD/XM/etc....
From my limited expirience of biking with an iPod you have to crank it to cancel out the wind noise.
mn_ultra_guy
08-10-2006, 10:12 AM
If I am not mistaken, I believe it is illegal to wear headphones while operating a motor vehicle and I also believe that a bike is required to follow the same laws as a motor vehicle, so no ipods should be worn. I know the laws are not always followed, but when one disregards them, they up the risk of something happening to them or worse them causing something to happen to someone else due to thier distraction.
Trevize1138
08-10-2006, 10:21 AM
just because your using an i-pod doesn't mean you can't hear. Just don't crank it up and don't wear the noise cancelling ones. No different than listening to your car radio/CD/XM/etc....
I usually find that not only do I have to wear noise-cancelling devices to enjoy music while biking in rush hour traffic but I usually have to close my eyes to really concentrate on the music ...
berrywise
08-10-2006, 10:24 AM
I rock and roll my ipod on my commute to work. I have the ear buds zip tied to my helmet straps so that they dangle near my ears but are not actually in them. I find that I can hear the stuff going on around me ands well as hear the music. If it is a windy day then you're out of luck on music but for most days it works just fine.
Call me crazy but I guess I've never had a problem with it. I also don't commute on any heavily trafficed road though either.
ebrandel
08-10-2006, 10:32 AM
If I am not mistaken, I believe it is illegal to wear headphones while operating a motor vehicle and I also believe that a bike is required to follow the same laws as a motor vehicle, so no ipods should be worn. I know the laws are not always followed, but when one disregards them, they up the risk of something happening to them or worse them causing something to happen to someone else due to thier distraction.
Yeah, that is correct. Of course that doesn't stop people from biking while listening to their ipod with one ear and talking on their cellphone with the other (I've seen that on several occasions). I really enjoy that combination and when you see people biking, smoking, and talking on the phone all at once. Such amazing skills.
Paul Swenson
08-10-2006, 10:40 AM
When I was a kid I was struck by a car while wearing headphones.
I was biking to School on my shiny red Trek 830 with Shimano Antelope components cranking the Grateful Dead Alpine Valley 1985 Second Set on my Walkman when I blew through an intersection and was hit by one of my friends. I was all right and so was the bike.
It was pretty funny actually.
berrywise
08-10-2006, 10:46 AM
Yeah, that is correct. Of course that doesn't stop people from biking while listening to their ipod with one ear and talking on their cellphone with the other (I've seen that on several occasions). I really enjoy that combination and when you see people biking, smoking, and talking on the phone all at once. Such amazing skills.
I like to include my beer helmet into this equation. It's the trifecta of cycling.
Kingbozo
08-10-2006, 12:52 PM
When I was a kid I was struck by a car while wearing headphones.
I was biking to School on my shiny red Trek 830 with Shimano Antelope components cranking the Grateful Dead Alpine Valley 1985 Second Set on my Walkman when I blew through an intersection and was hit by one of my friends. I was all right and so was the bike.
It was pretty funny actually.
That's what you get for listening to the Grateful Dead. ;)
vBulletin® v3.7.0, Copyright ©2000-2008, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.