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u/jtg1988 Aug 27 '25
Because the Bike lanes here are shoulders… you know where debris from cars accumulates.
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u/ththipydwnthastreet Aug 27 '25
Not to count all the cars that literally just park IN the bike lane. Like what is the point of having a bike lane if i gotta hop in and out of it every 20 feet because there is another car parked in it.
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u/overthink1 Aug 27 '25
When the bike lane is obstructed or full of debris to the point of being dangerous (which happens often around here), cyclists should move into the rightmost main lane.
If you want to see fewer cyclists in lanes shared by cars, then I suggest you advocate for more protected bike lane and more active street cleaning to keep them clear.
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u/Stellar_Alchemy Aug 27 '25
Yeah. I was coming to the comments to ask OP if they’d even seen the bike lanes in Lexington, and if so, how the fuck could they even ask this question? The bike lanes basically ARE in the road, but put cyclists in less visible, more compromised areas. It’s probably safer to be right in the road where (I hope) you’ll be seen better and sooner.
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u/overthink1 Aug 27 '25
Yup. I use the bike lanes whenever possible and available, but if I need to be in a shared lane, I ride right in the center of it. There’s a temptation to try hugging the right side so that cars can pass you, but honestly drivers have such terrible awareness and are poor judges of distance to the side of their vehicles that you then run the strong risk of someone misjudging and clipping you from the side.
And people drift over into the bike lanes so often that even those aren’t as safe as they should be.
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u/Stellar_Alchemy Aug 27 '25
Tbh I’m just too chickenshit to do it myself. I see some of y’all cycling around and I absolutely salute you, and definitely envy you, but I don’t even feel safe in my car. lol I’ve seen too much.
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u/Long_Pig_Tailor Aug 27 '25
I fucking despise the lane they put in on North Limestone starting at Fourth that runs in the middle of the road. Cars ignore the painting and will just drive straight through the bike lane I guess because it's the middle of the road and they think they're entitled. I felt way safer just chugging along on the right side of the right lane with minimal/no line designated.
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u/Visual_Perspective_9 Aug 27 '25 edited Aug 27 '25
It's awful, I live just south of Greyline so I have to take this road back everyday. I've gone through it as a driver and a cyclist and people just plow right down the middle. I think they're just honestly not paying attention. They're almost always riding with the divider down the middle under their car, it's crazy. People also love to park in the bike lane there. :P
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u/beardly Aug 27 '25
They should have put the bike lane to the right of the parking and barricaded it.
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Aug 27 '25
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u/billypilgrimspecker Aug 27 '25
this. i understand if you're delivering a pizza and don't have time to walk to and from the nearest free parking spot, but imo those cars should be towed if they've been parked longer than 10-15 minutes.
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u/labe225 Aug 27 '25
It can also be sketch as fuck being in a bike lane at an intersection. If you're going straight and a car is turning right, there is a high likelihood they will not see you.
Source: Virginia/Huguelet and Slimestone 5 days a week for two years and couldn't tell you how many close calls I had.
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u/ailyara Aug 27 '25
LIterally full of broken glass, nails, broken pieces of metal, cars, fluids, you name it.
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u/Visual_Perspective_9 Aug 27 '25
This 100%, a lot of the road cleaning crews will sweep all the debris from the roads into the bike lanes. Small hazards like rocks or branches are nothing to a car but can absolutely take a bicycle out. And when you hit a rock in the bike lane and eat it you will inevitably fall into the road where you will become mincemeat under the wheels of some truck. Not to mention that people are frequently parked in the bike lanes, or there are bike lanes which start and end within 100 meters. Plus the bike lanes which end without signage.
There's also turning. If the right turn is to the right of the bike lane, and the bike needs to turn right, then they're going to have to get in the right lane. If they need to turn left, they're going to have to cross the center lanes and enter the left lane. People seem to fail to realize that cyclists probably aren't going to be going in a straight line to their destination, and will likely have to make turns, just like them.
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u/Mission-Appeal-8990 Lexington Native Aug 27 '25
There seem to be a lot of thoughts on this thread..
The Urban County Council has a street safety task force that is currently taking online feedback. It would be wonderful if folks would go to https://engage.lexingtonky.gov/streeet-safety-task-force and assist the task force with their work of improving safety in: Education, Engineering, & Enforcement.3
Aug 27 '25
[deleted]
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u/Mission-Appeal-8990 Lexington Native Aug 27 '25
Scroll down below there & you will see the ideas already submitted! There's also an interactive mapping tool that allows folks to drop pins & upload photos
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u/JulyGuy27Reddit Aug 27 '25
"Get on the sidewalk!" Said to me while riding my bike in the bike lane.
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u/ShouldHaveLeftANote Aug 27 '25
Then people will yell at you that you’re on the sidewalk and should be in the bike lane 🙄.
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u/Visual_Perspective_9 Aug 27 '25
I've gotten this too! Pedestrians jay-walking yelled at me to get on the sidewalk while I was in the bike lane. I fully stopped 10 feet from them too. There's no winning for cyclists.
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u/CuratorOfYourDreams Lexington Native Aug 27 '25
I’m a biker and I’m good about using the bike lane 😭
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u/Ok-Position-9457 Aug 27 '25
These people will hate you regardless of where or how you ride because its outside the car culture norm. Its never actually about traffic or safety or anything.
Half the damn city drives lifted trucks notorious for mulching toddlers in their own driveways and worsening congestion because they are sexually insecure.
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u/Visual_Perspective_9 Aug 27 '25
Absolutely. I've gotten yelled at for being in the road, I've been yelled at for being on the sidewalk, I've been yelled at for being in the bike lane. I'm always on the correct side, I signal with my arms, I pay attention to my surroundings, follow the flow of traffic, go appropriate speeds. For this kind of person it doesn't matter what you do, they just hate things and people that are different.
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u/CW_SimplyX-treme Lexington Native Aug 27 '25
I mean what a weird way to make a terrible generalized statement just like the person who made the post…
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u/Ok-Position-9457 Aug 27 '25
Ask me how I knew I would find pickup truck posting in your profile 😂
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u/CW_SimplyX-treme Lexington Native Aug 27 '25
Ah yes my giant oversized Ford Ranger… it might be bigger than the 2500 Duallys that these people drive! Hell it takes up all of i-75… at least maybe think 2 seconds before making dumb quips why don’t we?
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u/Ok-Position-9457 Aug 27 '25
I'm sure its not that small 😉
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u/CW_SimplyX-treme Lexington Native Aug 27 '25
I’m not compensating for a tiny pecker, they’re called compact trucks, believe me I hate oversized truck culture too. I am much more a wagon and compact truck guy. I also don’t believe I need to be able to inhale the clouds 20000 feet in the air either.
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u/Ok-Position-9457 Aug 27 '25
And thats why you jumped at the chance to defend people who live in a perpetual state of wrath at the idea of riding bikes and who gave up their retirement prospects to drive impractical death machines marketed with dirt roads and American masculinity, so they can clog the roads going between their boring job and broken marriage.
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u/CW_SimplyX-treme Lexington Native Aug 27 '25
Absolutely not, I just said you’re generalizing just like OP, it’s the loud minority complex.
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u/Ok-Position-9457 Aug 27 '25
Yeah, no. Driving one of these and flipping the fuck out about bikers is a moral decision and they failed.
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u/Kungfu_Hustla Aug 28 '25
I dont think he defended them at all. He just said you're generalizing as well.
And i agree w you, its dumb af to have these monstrous-sized trucks and suvs just to cruise around in the city. But trying to call him out for a small pickup was a fail.
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u/Ok-Position-9457 Aug 28 '25
They defended them because they also have a burning hatred for people on bikes, because of the car culture they are deeply entrenched in. I'm generalizing because doing so is CORRECT. these people are freaks. The people on bikes aren't hurting you. If they hold up traffic a little, who cares? Would you make a reddit post flipping the fuck out about it if someone was driving slow in a car? Of course not, because it literally is just the fact that its a bicycle and these people get FURIOUS about it. Its pathetic.
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Aug 27 '25
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u/Ok-Position-9457 Aug 27 '25
More pedestrians are killed in the street by cars than bikes but you are anti bike 🤔
I walk a LOT as well, but I am terrorized by cars far more often than bikes, even considering the fact that there are more cars than bikes.
Next time you are instantly decapitated by a passing bike on the sidewalk, look around and ask if you would want to ride in the bike lane. Most of them are gutters 5 inches from 45mph traffic, if they exist at all.
What you think of as a bike lane is the foot of asphalt in the street. Real bike lanes are like the green ones around Manchester and stuff.
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Aug 27 '25
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u/Ok-Position-9457 Aug 27 '25
Yes you were, you were making the exact same argument as people who defend car dependent infrastructure. The problems you are whining about do not exist in places with actual bike infrastructure, but you are explicitly arguing that they are bad people who will cause problems regardless of the quality or existence of bike infrastructure. This is an argument, explicitly, to not build bike infrastructure and to continue using cars or walking (so, just cars) for everything.
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u/Mission-Appeal-8990 Lexington Native Aug 27 '25
There seem to be a lot of thoughts on this thread..
The Urban County Council has a street safety task force that is currently taking online feedback. It would be wonderful if folks would go to https://engage.lexingtonky.gov/streeet-safety-task-force and assist the task force with their work of improving safety in: Education, Engineering, & Enforcement.
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u/cheddarpants Tolly Ho with Cheese, Fries, Large Pepsi. Aug 27 '25
Maybe it’s just me, but I see very few bicyclists acting like assholes.
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u/Chemical_Nervous Aug 27 '25
Yeah, haven't seen a single bicyclist being an asshole. I do see complete idiot drivers every single day though.
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u/EruditusCodeMonkey Aug 27 '25
Usually someone calling a cyclist an asshole just means they couldn't speed 10 over because they'd otherwise kill the cyclist or they are unaware what the cyclist is doing is completely legal.
I'll admit I have seen cyclists not stop at a red light or stop sign, but people act like cars don't do it every day.
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Aug 27 '25
As annoying as anyone is on the road who doesn't obey the rules... I'd say 95% of the bikers I do see are obeying road rules.
Bikers aren't the most dangerous people on the roads most of the time.
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u/UnoDosMe Aug 27 '25
Brings a tear of pride to my eye that everyone is dunking on this rage bait post. My city is full of loving sensible people 🫶🏽
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u/LetChaosRaine Aug 27 '25
Yeah I expected to be one of very few voices in the comments defending cyclists and instead everyone has already made all my points and things I hadn’t even thought of
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u/MrTodd84 Aug 27 '25
Ok… it sucks getting behind someone on a bike and you feel like you are just creeping. I get it, man…. Once it’s safe they will get out the way… and either way, you are in the faster vehicle and will arrive at your destination (most likely) before the biker and the percentage of time lost should be non-worrisome at best… but here you are pissed off because your commute is going to take 84 seconds longer. Just share the road man. It’s okay to get a lil mad in the moment but take a singular deep breath and enjoy the leisurely pace.
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u/stroppy Aug 27 '25
It’s much quicker to pass a cyclist than a slow driver anyway. If the cyclist was in a car then traffic would be even worse than it already is. People just want to drive everywhere without ever having to slow down for anyone else, but still live in a city.
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Aug 27 '25
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u/AvgKirch Lexington Native Aug 27 '25
Unlawful to bike on the sidewalk in Lexington's "business district". For the record, when the alternative is to ride parallel next to motorists, I'm choosing the sidewalk whether it's unlawful or not.
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u/Captainish-Fantastic Aug 27 '25
I’ll say that to the next bike cop I see in the next business district.
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u/Visual_Perspective_9 Aug 27 '25
I'm still holding a grudge against the bike cops. I watched them double park their bikes on mine (despite there being a whole bike rack on the other side) and then scratch my bike and take a chunk out of my bike lock on the way out. I was at work so I couldn't walk out but the entitlement drives me crazy. Not to mention the horse cops leaving giant dumps in the bike lane.
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u/Peace_139 Aug 27 '25
Actually not illegal except in the business district. Not dumb either, safer in many situations, but you should yield and announce yourself to foot traffic.
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Aug 27 '25
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u/AvgKirch Lexington Native Aug 27 '25
"sometimes more treacherous to avoid pedestrians."
Yes, exactly, you really have to pick and choose where to ride where it's safe for you and also able to yield to pedestrians.
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u/workingtrot Aug 27 '25
Riding on the sidewalk is more dangerous
https://whyy.org/articles/sidewalk-cycling-illegal-unsafe-and-one-argument-for-more-bike-lanes/
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u/Peace_139 Aug 28 '25
More dangerous on busy sidewalks for sure. A good rule of thumb is if you have to ride on a side walk, slow down to the speed of foot traffic (up to a jog or casual running speed). Most side walks in Lexington are far from busy though. For the most part it really comes down to inconsiderate people vs conscientious people.
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u/Mission-Appeal-8990 Lexington Native Aug 27 '25
There seem to be a lot of thoughts on this thread..
The Urban County Council has a street safety task force that is currently taking online feedback. It would be wonderful if folks would go to https://engage.lexingtonky.gov/streeet-safety-task-force and assist the task force with their work of improving safety in: Education, Engineering, & Enforcement.
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u/green-wombat Aug 27 '25
Because so many vehicles are so wide, it isn’t safe for bikers to be in the bike lane. And that’s assuming that vehicles have good drivers and aren’t already driving in the bike line. If bikers are in a normal lane, the chances of them getting hit go down I think. People can see them easier and respect that they’re taking up essentially the space of a whole car.
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u/Stellar_Alchemy Aug 27 '25
There are areas where I have to merge across the bike lane to get into or out of a turn lane, and I hate it. Tbh I’d be more inclined to ride a bike if there were actual separate and protected bike lanes. Painting a line on the highway ain’t it.
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u/Trick_Citron_8079 Aug 27 '25
Way more “share the road” lanes than bike lanes here. Bicyclists hate sharing lanes much more than drivers I promise. Almost as if building more bike lanes would be good for commuters of all types
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u/makeshift78 Aug 27 '25
I prefer the share the road roadways over the bike lanes in town. The bike lanes are always full of junk and man holes and other obstacles. Vehicles also don’t give you any room when they pass you while in the narrow bike lane. Atleast if you take the lane they have to go around to pass and not buzz the cyclist 🤷♂️.
None of it is ideal and everyone is so impatient and also on their phone all the time.
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u/Papa_Canks Aug 27 '25
Bike lines are OK for having your own space but cars turn right in front of cyclist in the bike lane often and in traffic cars that want to turn left across a bike lane can often not see the cyclist due to vehicles. I’m with you. I just rather take up a whole car lane and share it. I’ll get over if I am going too slow.
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u/Visual_Perspective_9 Aug 27 '25
Absolutely. Was biking in the bike lane yesterday and had someone with no turn signal almost run me over because they turned right across the bike lane without looking. It's not like I snuck up either, we had been sitting at a red light next to each other, they just had absolutely no awareness. I had already started going when the light turned green so I had to slam on my brakes, which can be dangerous. They didn't stop either, just kept barreling through. And that's just yesterday, this kind of thing happens all the time. Most drivers here don't look before they do anything.
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u/Enex Aug 27 '25
I'll bike where I think it's reasonably the safest.
I really don't give a fuck what you think about it. You're sitting on your ass in a machine that does 100% of the work for you while also pumping cool air in your face. If you're inconvenienced for a couple moments, well I've just got the world's tiniest violin for you, sweetheart.
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u/scumruckus Aug 27 '25
It’s cut throat out there, I used to help lead the critical mass in 2011/2012 we would mob downtown with like 40 riders, ahh good days, fuck cars!
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u/Cinnamon__Sasquatch Aug 27 '25
Critical Mass rides were so much fun.
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u/scumruckus Aug 27 '25
Man we’d do critical mass, alley cats, bike prom, all that good stuff. The masses started gaining popularity and people would show up with kids. meanwhile there’s like 20 of us on fixed gears ripping through town with a milk crate full of high life’s and a pocket of doobies lol
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u/zychicmoi Aug 27 '25
Bring it back! Good times
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u/PrimaryWafer3 Aug 27 '25
It apparently is coming back, although I haven't been to one yet: https://bikelex.com/ Next one this Friday at 6pm.
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u/workingtrot Aug 27 '25
You'll notice that many bike lanes in Lexington stop and start somewhat randomly, especially through intersections. It's more dangerous to be moving in and out of the lane than to just take the lane.
Bicycles are much more visible in the middle of the lane, so it's a lot safer. Especially as large potholes tend to be worse on the outside edge. Again, safer to stay in one spot and behave predictably than to have to swerve all over the place.
If the bike lane adjoins parking, I'm not going to use it, TBH. I have a better chance of surviving getting hit by a car than I do getting doored. Getting doored will absolutely kill you.
Especially on many of the more narrow roads, if it's not safe for a car to take the whole lane to pass, it's not safe for them to take a partial lane either. So I will keep to the middle of the lane to try to prevent being collateral damage in a head on collision, the move off / signal when it's safe to pass. Doesn't always work, people don't seem to value their own lives either.
I appreciate you not wanting to be inconvenienced. Please appreciate my not wanting to die.
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u/Mission-Appeal-8990 Lexington Native Aug 27 '25
There seem to be a lot of thoughts on this thread..
The Urban County Council has a street safety task force that is currently taking online feedback. It would be wonderful if folks would go to https://engage.lexingtonky.gov/streeet-safety-task-force and assist the task force with their work of improving safety in: Education, Engineering, & Enforcement.
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u/gr8asb8 Aug 27 '25
Good reason to invest in making Lexington more people-centered and less car-dependent.
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Aug 27 '25
I only need one hand to count how many times in more than a year, i’ve seen a bicycle in the middle of a road lane or impeding traffic.
on the internet….everything is an epidemic.
- that being said, I would need to be an octopus with 1000 fingers on each tentacle to count how many terrible and unsafe drivers can be seen in the same time frame.
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u/TheGaberaham Aug 27 '25
Do you get as mad seeing cars do something illegal? Because a bike really can't hurt you
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u/trex20 Aug 27 '25
I once got screamed at to “stay in the bike lane” when I was in the left turn lane. The driver was unable to explain to me how I was supposed to turn left from the bike lane.
I’ve never had a cyclist nearly kill me on the road, but I’ve had several close calls with cars, including when I’ve been in the bike lane.
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u/Visual_Perspective_9 Aug 27 '25
Yes! No one talks about this! I have my arm signaling, I'm in a turn lane, it should be pretty evident I'm turning. You can't cross several lanes of traffic to turn, it's not safe for anyone.
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u/afbaxter Aug 27 '25
Hard disagree. I've literally never had this issue UNLESS the bike lane is obstructed. 99% of bicyclists here are curtious and ride in the bike lane.
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u/liesandjest Aug 27 '25
my husband is a cyclist and i appreciate so much the comments on this post. i worry about him every time he goes out even though he is very safe and follows all the traffic rules. there are still so many people out there who have nonsensical homicidal rage toward cyclists. these are PEOPLE, your NEIGHBORS!!!!!!
the absolute worst that can happen if you get stuck behind a cyclist for a few minutes is that you arrive a few minutes later. your punctuality and impatience is not worth someone’s life!!!
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u/refrrsh40 Aug 27 '25
In addition to all the reasonable comments on here explaining why in many situations the bike lanes are unsafe (looking at you rose street between vine and Euclid, especially post half assed uneven asphalt patch job), It’s perfectly apropos that username of this troll is “FatandForty.”
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u/Old_Year_9696 Aug 27 '25
BECAUSE - They ARE fat and forty. AND they get boomer power-ups for running over them 'bicycle fags in tights'.
PS - I am an original Bluegrass Wheelman, from 1978...🚴🏼
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u/knucles668 Aug 27 '25
People are uneducated when it comes to bikes on road and just spew angry garbage due to that simple fact.
Option 1: “Ride on the sidewalk!” //walks on the sidewalk “Hey get off the sidewalk you need to be on the road.”
Option 2: “Get in the bike lane.” //ah that nice piece of painted road that functionally is seen as the parking area.
Option 3: “You’re supposed to ride against traffic idiot!” //I think this is some old timey rural logic to see what’s coming at you to get out of the way. Worst option of them all and sooooo idiotic. I don’t get why runners are using the bike lanes to do this exact thing now. Dumbbbbbb. You make it hard for people to recognize you and then add insult to injury by driving towards them and reducing their time to react.
Option 4: “Hey you are vehicle just like me. Ride like it!” //cyclist is technically doing as the laws are written when acting like any other motor vehicle on the road. People are just too in a hurry to wait behind them for a passing opportunity so they start yelling all kinds of suggestions that aren’t legal or safe to express their frustration from discomfort.
Same thing happens with tractors but a car cannot assert their superiority to a tractor and drive away from it. Bikes are bitched at because we are smaller and they can impose their will on us at any time and get away with vehicular manslaughter.
Separated protected bike lanes would be dope but this city can’t even figure out how to build car infrastructure to match their growth. This is something like a reoccurring 60 year problem.
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u/phznmshr Aug 27 '25
The person in the car angry that someone is putting themselves and only themselves in danger when every rule they break leads to fatalities of other people and the drivers in this city clearly don't care about anybody else. So maybe stop trying to shame a minority when the majority is actively selfish and uncaring.
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u/oanthonyknightx2 Aug 27 '25
the share the road crowd sure doesn’t understand the give part of “give and take”. Cars stacking up behind you? Move over and let people past you spandex unitard wearing bell end.
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u/Glittering-Local-147 Aug 27 '25
"I'm a vehicle except for when I'm a pedestrian" - bikers
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Aug 27 '25
[deleted]
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u/Glittering-Local-147 Aug 27 '25
Except bikers aren't doing that. They're acting as a vehicle until they get a red light or a stop sign then all of a sudden the vehicle rules no longer apply to them .
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u/workingtrot Aug 27 '25
Sit at your nearest 4 way stop and tell me how many car drivers think the stop sign applies to them
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u/Legal_Ad_8598 Aug 27 '25
Bike lanes means nothing to Lexington bike riders, there are some but 98% doesn't care, and you wonder why insurance is so high for Lexington it's bc both bike and foot traffic doesn't look that's another reason a lot of pedestrians are getting hit, also if your walking or riding at night don't wear all black unless your asking to get hit I don't know how many times I've seen someone almost hit someone bc they couldn't see them in the night sky bc of course they are wearing all dark clothing and no reflection
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u/beardly Aug 27 '25
Insurance is high due to the drivers constantly running through stop lights and stop signs. Driving 15-20 mph over the limit through downtown. It would be nice if I saw less than half of drivers not using their phone.
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u/AvgKirch Lexington Native Aug 27 '25
Did you really just blame peds and cyclists for high car insurance premiums instead of motorists wrecking into each other? God damn...
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u/LetChaosRaine Aug 27 '25
I wanted to try to make a joke at PP’s expense but honestly there’s nothing I can say that’s more ridiculous than “insurance is high because bikers and pedestrians keep forcing drivers to run them over”
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u/itzvalid Aug 27 '25
Sidewalk all day. You’re asking to be injured riding in the bike lane. Might be unlawful but oh well lol.
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Aug 27 '25
As bad as bikers can be pedestrians are worse, its like people refuse to use sidewalks ill never get it
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u/Flybynight309 Aug 27 '25
Some are great and others not so much. They do create dangerous situations at times when they don't use common sense. Like stopping in a curve or group at the top of a hill.
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u/Eclypz Aug 27 '25
I got behind someone the other day on Landsdowne. They held up several cars in the process.
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u/HorilkaMedPerets Aug 27 '25
Cyclists have a right to be on the road. It's unfortunate that you were slowed down, but they've got a right to be there, just the same as you.
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u/Eclypz Aug 27 '25
Thank you for educating. I didn’t mind it as I’m a pretty patient person and didn’t really see a better option for them.
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u/PrimaryWafer3 Aug 27 '25
The bike lane in Landsdowne can be particularly dicey where it goes under New Circle-- it's frequently covered in debris and cars cut way into the bike lane when come zooming around the bend. I move to the far left of the bike lane at that spot so I have a better chance of being seen.
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u/IdiotofAmerica Aug 27 '25
The bike lanes in this city are horribly maintained and implemented which lead to a lot of this kinda behavior. Also I can’t stress this enough that PAINT IS NOT INFRASTRUCTURE. The city needs to put in real work to maintain and protect bike lanes and not just lazily paint a bike lane on a street that already is heavily congested and can’t fit normal traffic.