r/hobart • u/ragebaitrabbit • 5d ago
Does anyone know which "reflective flexible bollards" they're going to use on Collins Street?
https://www.facebook.com/CityofHobartOfficial/posts/were-making-safety-improvement-to-the-transforming-collins-street-trial-followin/1511274017697423/Heaps of options online. Would be great if we could trust them to get something appropriate.
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u/BrenBiker 5d ago
No idea. What’s the best option? Aren’t there bollards near the bus stop island part? Better for pedestrians I suppose to just have bollards but cars can just drive over them onto the bike lane I assume.
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u/ragebaitrabbit 5d ago
Some of those flexible bollards can mess up your car if you do drive over them. You have to be super careful to keep them square under your wheels or they can get stuck in your exhaust system or wedge into trim panels. Ironically, it's the smaller ones that are more dangerous. Even a mid-sized car can negotiate most of the bigger ones with little risk
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u/BrenBiker 5d ago
Those poor vehicle under carriages
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u/parasiticparamedic 5d ago
I get that you're "WarOnCars" but it would be nice if drivers could pull over in there (for emergencies etc) without having to make an insurance claim afterwards
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u/BrenBiker 4d ago
I’m not war on cars, I’m against vehicles drivers acting like victims of some huge enormous “greenie” movement trying to ban them from cities, when it’s just a shared arrangement of space, nothing more. An entire city with 3 bike lanes and it’s like they’re having their hands cut off. “Where will I park” “how do I pull over in an emergency without hitting a plastic bollard?” FFS that is so ridiculous. Can you drop your kids off in Elizabeth St mall to go shopping at JD sports? NO, does anyone whine about it? NO… Can you drop your kids off during dark mofo right at the gate? NO… see the pattern…. You lose a tiny little bit of convenience for the sake of others small gain in convenience and safety…. No war.
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u/parasiticparamedic 4d ago edited 4d ago
I was referring to the name you gave yourself on Reddit...
There's lot's of scenarios I could think of that would emergency scenarios that would necessitate pulling into the bike lane, especially larger vehicles. Bikes are also allowed to ride on footpaths so to me it's ridiculous that we need to protect this bike lane like it's the Gaza strip
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u/BrenBiker 4d ago edited 4d ago
It’s used sarcastically, it’s a statement. Ride a bike around every day and you’ll understand. I also drive a car. If I was having an emergency and had to stop, I wouldn’t be worried about a plastic pole hitting my exhaust pipe. I could also stop IN THE CAR LANE…. would you rather bicycles come flying down footpaths instead, no protection to pedestrians? Again, a couple of bike lanes in an entire city and vehicle drivers are losing their shit as though they’ve been so hard done by… it’s hilarious!
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u/parasiticparamedic 4d ago
"It’s used sarcastically, it’s a statement."
Right.
Some would argue it's one or the other but let's just leave it at "sarcastic statement".
Whatever.
It's illegal to ride a bike on footpaths in most of the country but you're allowed to here which further lowers the case for your own little protected lane. When did this species become so endangered anyway?
You can already ride on the road and on the footpaths
AND you need your own little lane
AND the lane must be fortified
AND the little lane fortifications must damage vehicles?In an emergency, you don't think, you just do what you have to do. If I had to pull into a bike lane for emergency vehicle access or the like, I'd just do it. Just be nice if doing so didn't fuck up your car.
Personally, I see no need to further fortify a this "trial" at all.
Just remove the trip hazards and wait. Flexible bollards are just going to make the final bill for this failed experiment higher again.
It's still empty 99% of the time and it's turned into a political football so I really can't see it staying.•
u/BrenBiker 4d ago
LOL, a bit angry this morning. When you have a car “emergency” and there is no bike lane, what do you do? Pull it up in the footpath? Then blame the HCC for putting in gutters that ruined your wheels? Being allowed to ride on a bike on a footpath is not the same as, not being a total c&$t and riding down a footpath at 40 km/h just because I’m allowed to. So I don’t do that, much like I don’t drive around like I am more important than anyone else getting to where they need to go be it car, bike, bus, pedestrian…. It’s hilarious how you put “cyclists” in one huge bucket and claim they should all be capable of riding on the road.
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u/parasiticparamedic 4d ago
No ones angry or claiming that all cyclists are capable of riding on the road.
In an emergency, I'd mount the curb of the footpath if I needed to. If it damaged my car I would understand because we need footpaths. We don't need temporary "protective bollards".
Most of the good cyclists use the middle of the road anyway and the cyclists that aren't capable to ride on the road are free to ride on the footpaths. Even if I was an intermediate rider (which I am) I'd prefer a wider shared space free of "protective" obstructions. If the bollards they get are the type that can damage cars, they'd be just as likely to dismount a wayward rider. With this council I wouldn't be surprised if the sourced ones that could impale a cyclist.
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u/opinion_and_insult 4d ago
Bikes are also allowed to ride on footpaths
While this is true and makes sense in a lot of scenarios, it's not really the best idea. The speed at which bikes go with little effort on the flat is that of someone jogging at a brisk pace. So a good majority of riding on footpaths is looking for pedestrians, checking blind corners, compensating for people darting all over the place.
I'm 100% for people to be able to walk wherever and however they want on footpaths. If I ride on a footpath I treat it like it's a walker / joggers domain. That's why having dedicated cycling infrastructure is so important. It lessens the cognitive load on the cyclist while still giving them a safer space to ride.
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u/HunterKerouac 3d ago
Collins Street, the safe space for your cognitive load.
Unless in a car or a bus counting how many traffic lights it takes to get out while you stare at an empty bike lane.•
u/ladybug1991 4d ago
Any vehicle is capable of stopping in the LH portion of the lane for emergencies. Other vehicles can drive around them. It's why hazard lights exist.
Dropping off a passenger and texting aren't emergencies
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u/FriarFookselt 5d ago
I'm not one of the dozens of cyclists that occasionally attempt to ride a bike on it so the best option for me would be the green paint. Or no green paint, just make it a shared road or whatever. Be nice to be able to drop the kids off at the movies without breaking law. Either way, that red bus stop / skateboard ramp needs to be turfed.
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u/mch1971 5d ago
I believe it's the same crap they've put as you approach the end of the Southern Outlet in Kingston.