Leaves vs. Bikes
Ah yes, it’s that time of year again when bikes and leaves must battle for possession of the highly coveted sides of the street. As a bike commuter, I am all too aware of this problem as I bike down liberty and see the bike lanes disappear in front of me to make room for leaves that will be picked up by the city in the next couple of days.
Sigh . . . yes, this is a problem, and one that people have brought up time and time again. And it’s a challenge because people are putting the leaves out so they can get picked up and the only time many people have to rake leaves is the weekend, so they rake them to the curb and then they sit there, posing and obstacle for those of us commuting by bike.
I’ve gotten a call about this, and I am sure this person is not the only concerned citizen.
So what to do? What do you do when there are a bunch of leaves in your way? What suggestions do you have for the City, etc. to remedy this problem?
I’m all ears. As for me, I’ll just bike into traffic until the leaves get picked up.
Are A2′s bulk leaf pickups scheduled, or do they happen sporadically and unpredictably? If leaf pickups are scheduled (and publicized), then it’s possible to say “don’t put your leaves in the street until the week of your pickup”, ticketing offenders (like a parking ticket), and thus limiting the amount of interference with bike lanes to part of one week per year.
In the meantime, the general traffic lanes are fair game for bikes – just stay aware for leaves in the bike lane and take the general traffic lane before you get to them.
Comment by Murph — October 29, 2007 @ 8:18 pm@Murph – it’s a regular schedule.
I see it as adding a dose of fun to an otherwise mundane commute. Slipping in and out of a bike lane into traffic from time to time is no big deal really, and giant piles of leaves are certainly more predictable than an occupied parked car, a preoccupied pedestrian, or a squirrel…
Comment by Matt Callow — October 30, 2007 @ 7:56 amAlso, the leaves were gone by today, which only meant one day of having to commute in the street. I agree that traffic lanes are fair lane for bikes and it’s safer for a cyclist to go in the lane than get themselves caught up in a mess of leaves.
Comment by Nancy Shore — October 30, 2007 @ 2:42 pm@Matt Calllow sums it up well, although I don’t think there’s much you can do about a squirrel. *grin*
I don’t doubt that leaf pick-up is a logistical challenge, but pick-up is often a couple days late on my street. So even with the best intentions, leaves could sit out for a while. Also, I’m impressed the web pick-up webpage even mentions bikes:
http://www.a2gov.org/government/publicservices/fieldoperations/Pages/FallLeafCollection.aspx
Biking, I often ride on Main St between downtown and Stadium and I’m surprised that have had very few problems with motorists sharing the narrow right lane or even helping me out. There are many reasons that you might need to ride with traffic and it’s important to feel comfortable to use lane position for safety.
Comment by Bill Merrill — October 30, 2007 @ 3:35 pm