In this month’s issue of Bicycling magazine, Dan Koeppel notes that “do-it-yourself bike lanes are illegal, perhaps dangerous, potentially damaging to the cause of legitimate bike advocates everywhere—and really, really effective.” This is some excellent civil disobedience (and like all great CD, it’s guaranteed to piss off lots of people):
The $99 Rust-Oleum 2395000 looks like a tiny, four-wheeled wagon with low ground clearance and a handle that angles backward and up from the bed. The cargo area, so low it sits between the wheels rather than above them, is equipped with a mount for spray-paint cans; in the unused space, you can store five or six extra cans upright, ready to swap in when one runs dry. The 2395000 is most commonly used to create parking-lot stripes.
Starting at the southern end of the roadway, the three cyclists form a work crew. One holds the handle and pushes while another guides from the front, trying to make sure they walk a straight line. The third keeps watch for oncoming cars. (He’s also pushing a broom.) The cyclist holding the handle squeezes the bicycle brake lever mounted there—an unplanned talisman of righteousness?—and the attached cable actuates a nozzle on the bottom of The Machine. A blast of paint settles onto the asphalt below.
The whole story is here. Photo by seanbonner on Flickr.
Interesting idea.
That said, you’ll still be in danger from cars anyway.
Unseparated bike lanes are more dangerous than riding with traffic.
sure, civil disobedience means being arrested and going to jail, how brave of these folks. Tell them in jail they ought to be sure to write about the plight of cyclists in our land…a wrenching “Letter rrom the King County Jail” — inspred by tales from Birmingham and Robins Island, it could detail how civil disobedience was justified because, cyclists are not allowed to vote or run for office in Seattle, and thus can’t simply just change the laws through democracy ‘n’ stuff.
God you know, THERE AREN’T EVEN ANY CYCLISTS RUNNING FOR MAYOR OR CITY COUNCIL that one could vote for the “Jim Car” laws are so strong.
So here’s to all the cyclists engaging in disobedience, in their Ghandi-like higher consciousness, good luck with that! Namaste–
I would guess the auto industry lobby is probably more powerful than the bicycle lobby.
Hmmm… correction: I don’t think there IS a bicycle lobby.
Brilliant.
Let’s be real here – the ONLY way to achieve any recognition for bikes is through DIY efforts like this one. Democracy be damned. The system as it now stands simply doesn’t recognize bikes as a legitimate form of transportation. Highways, bridges, intersections, traffic lights – NONE of them are designed with the needs of cyclists in mind. Without doing it ourselves, we may as well be invisible. That’s why I’m 100% in favor of efforts like this and 1000% percent in favor of Critical Mass.
The only way for any small group to be recognized by the higher powers of media and elected officials is civil disobedience. Good on the people in the story for making a stand and risking themselves for the betterment of their community.
The problem with this, of course, is that if the fake bike lanes are accepted, the Critical Mass types will then specifically try to bike outside of it just to annoy drivers.
@7 – Nail on the head.
lol, I wish @7 wasn’t spot on.
So much hostility for Critical Mass on Slog. Poor car drivers might get inconvenienced at an intersection for up to five minutes per month. Sob sob.
Remember, bicycle lanes are a civil rights issue and civil rights cannot be abrogated by the will of the majority.
@3: Yeah! There’s one way to accomplish things, and trying to do things any other way is stupid!
“The system as it now stands simply doesn’t recognize bikes as a legitimate form of transportation.”
I simply can’t believe the number of honks I get every day as I rollerskate in the middle of the road. I mean, goddamnit people!!! I’m doing my best to save the environment by using the only goddamned piece of transportation I can afford, so why all the HATE?!?
Oh, and you pussies out there who whine about how roads weren’t built for rollerskaters, how dangerous it is for everyone, what an irresponsible action it is to put myself in harm’s way and claim victimhood when the inevitable hti and run happens, how they’ll call CPS on me because I’ve got my baby in a stroller as I try to get him to his daycare downtown during rush hour – it’s all bullshit.
I’m entitled to everything I think I deserve and nothing you can say will ever change my mind.
@10 – or maybe you can do something useful and make a point of all taking light rail with your bikes this weekend.
Corking sounds fun, but action is actually harder.
well it saved the tax payers a few bucks (good for the republicans) and I always like having a bike lane. sweet
Lets save civil disobedience for things that matter shall we.
@5 Go right ahead. Just remember were the money for bike infrastructure comes from.
The article mentions that these bike lanes have been approved, just not built.
And before #5 gets too smug, there is an important distinction between painting a DIY bike lane – making something useful and trying to do it right – and fucking up traffic on a Friday afternoon because you’re a misanthrope who likes to make everyone else’s day just a little bit worse. If you can’t see that, well, it’s not really surprising.
@16 – Tired of fucking retards like “giffy” who don’t know where money for car infrastructure comes from. Hint: You own land, you’re paying for roads.
That’s change I can believe in.
giffy@16: Property taxes and sales taxes. What’s your point?
As a land-owning, sales-tax paying cyclist, I offer Giffy a friendly glass of Shut The Fuck Up.
I’d like someone to put one of those in on my street. I’d welcome it.
Somehow here in Northern Europe, where urban space is at a premium, there are separate accommodation for bikes almost everywhere. I commute on a bike every day. The office building in which I work has dozens of over-subscribed bike racks. There are tons of bikes at stations all over town which can be rented for very little.
You SUV-driving dumbfucks can eat shit and die.
@10 Get it through your thick skull- IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH BEING INCONVENIENCED FOR 5 MINUTES!!
It’s all about the attitude of those behind it… It’s the equivalent of a pack of SUVs driving through the park to raise awareness for gas taxes- It does zero to help your cause, and it’s just an illegal, and ultimately douchey thing to do.
Anything that further marginalizes bike activism is OK in my book. Paint away, kids.
@25 FTW!