Bikers stand up

[dhbearguy]

Walking down my street I came across 3 news vans, and a bunch of people at the intersection of Market and Octavia.

The bicyclists were holding signs that said "Right turns are illegal", as well as some proposed street painting proposals.

Since they built the Octavia off ramp from 101, many motorists ignore the "No right turn" signs. A few bikers have actually been hit because of careless motorists turning right at that intersection. I see motorists turn right there all of the time.

I personally don't know the difference between turning right there, and turning right 1 block down on Valencia. They both carry the same risks to bikers. Maybe a "bikes" traffic signal would help, but I doubt it.

Comments

[akil.livejournal.com]

It's absolutely ridiculous (and poor planning) that the right turn is illegal. I've never made the illegal turn, but I suspect that some people have done so out of sheer ignorance. It would make sense, one might think, that a right turn onto the freeway from a main arterial would be permissable. So many of the of the drivers on SF streets are visitors from somewhere else, where driving is simpler, after all.

I fight the constant urge to have the utmost contempt for bicyclists in the city. I have yet to see one stop at a stop sign. They fly through intersections without the right-of-way and ride on the wrong side of the street ... and then act surprised when an accident occurs.

A good friend of ours is a member of the Bicycle Coalition; he was arrested when they staged a party on the central freeway segment, now the beautifully landscaped Octavia strip, on the eve of its demolition. Our ideologies on the issue are so disparate that we can't even have discussions about it anymore.