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Hi folks,
I'm a longtime bicycle advocate but am relatively new to the CM approach. I'm all for in-your-face bike advocacy but am ambivalent about the CM practice of running red lights and tying up traffic--not because I support the dominance of the automobile, but because antagonising people isn't a great way to win hearts and minds.
Do all city CM rides run lights in order to stay together, or do some communities do it differently? Are others on the fence about the practice?
I'm a longtime bicycle advocate but am relatively new to the CM approach. I'm all for in-your-face bike advocacy but am ambivalent about the CM practice of running red lights and tying up traffic--not because I support the dominance of the automobile, but because antagonising people isn't a great way to win hearts and minds.
Do all city CM rides run lights in order to stay together, or do some communities do it differently? Are others on the fence about the practice?
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Washington, D.C.
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Unsu...
Hey there;
Out over here on the far west coast (Victoria, BC, a small city across the strait from Vancouver and Seattle) we try to stay together by 'corking' the intersection if the light changes while the mass is halfway through (a couple of riders stopping in front of cross-traffic until all of the mass has passed), because we're a smaller city, averaging only about 20 - 50 cyclists each month, so it's safer and makes more of an impact by keeping together.
I'm pretty sure I read an article about running red lights somewhere on this CM page: www.scorcher.org/cmhistory/ .
There are a few interesting articles/meditations on CM worth checking out on it..
rrr...!
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I was pretty ambivalent about it until last month.
I understand that corking intersections is illegal. However, last month we aroused enough visibility to get a police escort. What did the motorcycle cop do? He corked the intersections for us. If it is dangerous and illegal for me to do it, then why on earth do the police do it for every other single type of parade, march and demonstration? Clearly, people are basically unanamous that it is safer and less detrimental to traffic to have one mob instead of 4 or 5 mobs with traffic interspersed. The question is whether we are allowed to do it ourself or if we need the official sanctions from the city government. Furthermore, the cities where corking intersections is most problematic are the very cites where the city government isn't doing enough to support city infrastructure for bicycle traffic.
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I agree with the whole parade bit above. I'm a longtime masser in vancouver.
I think it is not good to enter an intersection that is already a red light. That is not safe. Also, it splits the group rather than keeps it together. It is good to stop and let the people behind catch up so people don't get spread out and then cars get in the middle and it's bad. Tight is good. Also, corking gives the opportunity to talk with drivers who are waiting and explain to them what is going on. Some are hostile but most just confused and appreciate the discussion. And it they are hostile it is better to be pre-emptively discussing things.
I rode portland CM and it was very instructive. The police are totally against the ride there. They chase down corkers and hand out tickets. As a result the tendancy is people at the front run red lights when they shouldn't and in the middle they stop at the light because cops are present. It results in breaking up the ride, cars getting stuck in the group and violent dangerous confrontations. It is really bad. Portland CM has a lot of trouble.
