veloman said:
I disagree with your thought that it is reasonable to ban ebikes from multi use paths. We both live in Austin, and you and I both know that 20mph makes you an obstacle for drivers on most roads, even many roads downtown. Yes, even roads like Nueces, 20mph cyclists play a yo-yo game with cars trying to pass.
We don't like it, but we can do it. Drivers don't like sharing the road with each other, either. And peds don't like sharing the path with us.
I have been riding for transportation in the streets of Austin since 1987. It has gotten better during that span of time. You can be phobic about sharing the streets if you like, but it won't do you any favors. Admit that you just
don't like having cars pass you at higher speed, the same way that peds don't like having you pass them on the path, and don't try to present it as a safety issue. It's legit not to like it, but I don't think you can make a strong case that it's abnormally dangerous. Riding on a sidewalk or a bike path that's crossed by driveways or streets is more dangerous than taking the lane, and accident statistics show it.
I like to think in terms of using whatever is my best option. Sometimes I take a back street or bike path to avoid the unpleasantness of car traffic, and sometimes I'll hang with the cars to avoid excessive hills or to use a shorter route. My wife likes to use the Hike & Bike Trail in her crosstown routes, whereas I usually prefer paved surfaces even when I could ride the trail for some of the way.
PLEASE tell me how you think crossing the river on any of the non-pedestrian area options (car travel lanes on any of the bridges) is safe at 20mph. PLEASE PLEASE tell me. I personally think you are insane if you think it's safe to go 20mph in any of the car travel lanes across ANY of the bridges.
I routinely ride in the lane across the dam at Pleasant Valley Road, and occasionally across the South First Street bridge. Redbud Trail is also a fine bike crossing. I even use the northbound I-35 frontage road across the lake sometimes. Rarely do drivers want to be in the rightmost lane there, and visibility is good. I avoid using the lane on the Lamar Street bridge and the Congress Avenue bridge. The latter feels safe enough, but has been the site of many car-bike collisions because the abrupt slope off the bridge on the south side eclipses cyclists from the view of drivers who approach too fast. Lamar is too fast and too narrow with too much traffic, and West Austin people drive like dicks. Besides, we have the ped bridge there now, and it isn't even out of the way.
All this talk about banning things..... How do you enforce it? The reality is that under an ebike ban, the law is saying that no matter what, you as an ebiker are dangerous to others and should be fined for using the multi-use path. The officer sees you ebiking on a path safely, but the law says you must be fined so he stops you and tickets you. Now, true, it's possible some ebikers may be using the path unsafely, and of course they should be fined.
I don't care how such a ban would be enforced, because I don't want an e-bike ban. I just think it's a reasonable idea, in the same way that it's reasonable to ban mopeds and motorcycles from the path.
If dangerous ebikers are banned, what makes you think THEY will actually obey the law?
Mopeds don't ride on the paths, even though they could. It's not because they're law abiders either. Most of the traditional mopeds I see in East Austin don't even have plates. The cops don't seem to care about the registration/insurance thing, though I think they could become very interested if they saw any mopeds on bike paths.
I realize the extreme value using these off-street facilities are to me, since I know how stressful it is to try sharing a car lane with auto traffic. To take that away from me, or any other law abiding cyclist/ebiker would be a huge loss.
My wife agrees with you. She also thinks nothing of adding 50% to her trip distance and 100% to her elapsed time by using bike paths or neighborhood streets. But I've spent twenty-five years demonstrating to myself that I can take the lane and get around successfully. You just have to use your head and take the path of least resistance. Streets go everywhere, while bike paths only go to a few places. Streets get the most direct, least hilly routes.
Oh, by the way. The typical most dangerous biker in Austin is a pedal cyclist (no lights, usually 1 gear bike).
Don't forget the no-brakes thing. Those guys (and increasingly, girls) are idiots. But I'd rather have them on bikes than in cars. I'd rather have them on pushbikes than on e-bikes, too.
The city has quite a few separated bike facilities planned for construction. To ban ebikes on these incredible useful facilities will drastically kill any chance of the ebike saving the city from it's woes.
E-bikes aren't going to save the city from anything. Regular bikes and public transit might, but only after lots of people start running out of other options they can afford. So far I'm convinced that e-bikes are chiefly the domain of eccentric hobbyists, crackpots who think they know better than anyone, and a few folks who are too weenie to ride normal bikes. Plus folks with physical disabilities-- lest anyone get bent out of shape about that. (In this regard, e-bikes are sort of like recumbents, but not as bad.) When the time comes that you can go to, say, a Honda dealership and buy a Honda e-bike, that might change. But in the world of today, where trying to buy a decent 1kWh battery feels like trying to buy a brick of hashish, we have a lot of things to sort out before e-bikes are ready for prime time.
Chalo