Dear So and So

[malkin]

Dear Colleagues:

IRONY. You'd recognize it if you had been paying attention in school.

Speech-language pathologist with laryngitis.

Not humorous.
Not a really funny joke.
Irony.

Maybe it was covered at school on the same day as those pesky apostrophe rules.

Oh well. I took the day off and it is my birthday.

[kajero]

Dear who ever puts the signs on stop lights

I was riding my bike and needed to cross a very busy intersection with no bicycle lanes. It is the only route/intersection that allows me access to where I want to go. How do I do that when you have a sign showing the figure in the red circle with a slash going through it on every stoplight post in the intersection?

A terribly confused bicycle rider who can't cross the street legally!

[Sky King]

the sign says no bike? I am confused. You are a wheeled vehicle, take your lane and cross just like the motored vehicles. I cross a six lane highway everyday. If the light is red I line up behind the car in front of me and cross like a car. If there are several cars waiting, I go to the front and usually stop between the first and second cars - on their right side I say usually because I try to see who has their blinker on to turn right. When the light turns green, proceed - do not hug the side of the road. give yourself plenty of space, the cars can drive a little slower until it is safe to pass you.

Dear who ever puts the signs on stop lights

I was riding my bike and needed to cross a very busy intersection with no bicycle lanes. It is the only route/intersection that allows me access to where I want to go. How do I do that when you have a sign showing the figure in the red circle with a slash going through it on every stoplight post in the intersection?

A terribly confused bicycle rider who can't cross the street legally!

[Eden]

sounds like we need a photo.... I agree with Sky King about how to handle it as a cyclist, but what happens if you are a pedestrian...... we've had situations like that around here, though they are temporary... but come on, close all 4 corners of an intersection for construction at the same time.... the planner for that one must *never* walk anywhere... when my husband complained that he couldn't get to the store to buy his lunch (it was near his work) they put up signs that said "Businesses are Open During Construction"....

[OakLeaf]

Sky King is right about how to ride through an intersection ... you're a vehicle just like any other.

As far as pedestrians - I've never seen a sign like that at an intersection where the other side didn't have pedestrian facilities. So you just cross at the other side.

Now, I know plenty of roads and city streets that have no pedestrian facilities at all, and I just yesterday had to deal with some construction like Eden is talking about. But they don't have signs forbidding pedestrians to cross at both sides. Where there are no pedestrian facilities at all is almost easier - you wear your scrubby jeans and your hiking boots and expect to walk in the ditches, climb the banks, etc., but when there *is* a sidewalk but it's closed, typically you have no choice but the road, which can be super busy with no shoulder.

[Eden]

I think I have seen places where all 4 intersections are closed to peds - they want you to go down to a mid-block crosswalk light, often with some sort of center island or to a pedestrian over/under pass...

[kajero]

sounds like we need a photo.... I agree with Sky King about how to handle it as a cyclist, but what happens if you are a pedestrian...... we've had situations like that around here, though they are temporary... but come on, close all 4 corners of an intersection for construction at the same time.... the planner for that one must *never* walk anywhere... when my husband complained that he couldn't get to the store to buy his lunch (it was near his work) they put up signs that said "Businesses are Open During Construction"....

I just finished working on the map (I would have to ride 47 miles to get a photo.). Click on jpg to enlarge. Maybe I will drive out there. The drive is much shorter because I don't ride on the trails.



The green line on Post Road is a trail out of Fort Snelling State Park. The trail picks up on the other side of the intersection.
The lanes going across the freeway are very, very busy. Post Road is another way to get to the airport.
There are no shoulders and the traffic lanes are extremely narrow. There is very little area between the stop signs and the stop lights.

I think this is a dangerous intersection so I really need to be aware of everything! I wonder how many drivers are aware of bicyclists because of the signs.

And then surprise, surprise. The same thing is at the entrance of the cemetery. There is no way to get from the bike lane into the cemetery. I didn't see much other way than to disobey the signs. There is a lot of construction so I hope it is only temporary.

[Eden]

I checked out google street view - from what I can see there's a sidewalk in the park, that may or may not be signed as a MUP (multi use path). Outside of the park there are no sidewalks or bike lanes in the area, unless they've been striped since the street views were made. In order to go across the bridge it is necessary that you use the street - the moment you decide to do that you are officially a vehicle, not a pedestrian, so the no ped crossing signs have no bearing on you as a cyclist - you are not disobeying the traffic laws. The best way to handle a situation like this one where he lanes are narrow is to simply take the middle of the lane- across the bridge no one has any business trying to share that lane with you, they can wait the few seconds it will take for you to cross safely. At the lights, the same - claim your space, use the lights the same as you would in a car. I can't see any other way unless you intend to ride in the grass...

[lph]

Dear hubby,

I love you dearly, but WHY did you just give away that set of kitchen drawers? You were the one who suggested keeping them through the kitchen renovation, I agreed because we need them in the storage room later. And we really do need to have somewhere to keep our assorted cr*p while we turn the kitchen into a swath of desolation. Hello? Just because we were giving away the other cabinets doesn't mean the drawers we agreed that we NEEDED. Argh.

Dear self,
chill. It's just a set of drawers. I know it bugs you to have your neatly thought-out system fall apart the minute you turn your back, but really, it will all be ok. I swear.

[snapdragen]

I've been through a kitchen renovation. Find your happy place, it will be OK.