[dc-critmass-list] Swarming pedestrians

[RRev]

I think it bears repeating, at the risk of being flamed: Pedestrians are
king.  Period.  I agree with you Mark, they are more vulnerable.  My
boyfriend and I were unable to join the ride this past weekend because it
was the only day we could move from one apartment into another, and we were
bummed to miss the ride.  At this point I'm wondering if we should just
stick to riding out randomly and representing good biking habits.  I'm not
psyched to hear about people intimidating pedestrians.  Cars?  I have no
problem being the "mass" that causes some slowing down for cars... that's
the genius concept of Critical Mass.

And by the way these discussions are pretty cool and I think very important.

And by the way, please tell your biking friends:If you ride on the sidewalk,
give the right of way to pedestrians. Always -- if you hit them, it's gonna
hurt and then you're literally no better than a car hittnig a bike. And if
you ride on a sidewalk through a crosswalk (in the same path as pedestrians,
as if you're a pedestrian). slow way the f down, because I've noticed that
cars are looking for slow-moving not fast-moving objects... be safe!.



On Tue, Oct 4, 2011 at 1:47 AM, Mark Wilson <ominous_squirrel at hotmail.com>wrote:

>  I was another person who attended DC Critical Mass for the first time last
> week and who hasn't attended Critical Mass in several years because it faded
> away where I'm originally from. I'm really glad that others have spoken up
> about the swarming of pedestrians at the DC Mass. I don't think it
> particularly matters whether that was a one-off of the last Mass or an
> ongoing trait of DC CM. It's violence against more vulnerable road users and
> it is unacceptable.
>
> One strategy for blockers is to chat with pedestrians on the curb to keep
> them from stepping into the middle of the Mass and to explain that keeping
> the ride together increases safety. (And to be sure, that is what a lot of
> us believe about corking. For many CMers it's not a statement against
> traffic laws, it's to keep the ride together for safety.) Any other ideas
> out there for dealing with more vulnerable road users?
>
> Another sign that the Mass last week was too aggressive was the number of
> times I saw lesser experienced urban bicyclists lose control. (One of the
> guys on a Smartbike that joined  us at the White House crashed into a cop
> car by Verizon Center and a woman lost control in front of a car by Foggy
> Bottom station.) I've been on a lot of huge group rides and that shouldn't
> happen with so much frequency. If the pace takes off like that again, we
> should either let the front of the pack split off and figure it out for
> themselves or continually and annoyingly continue to call out to slow it
> down until they get the message.
>
> Slowing it down, stopping at the most relevant intersections and not
> splitting lanes also makes a great statement about the absurdity of traffic
> laws. Slowing it down also allows for more socializing and helps out the
> people who are joining CM because they want to become more empowered and
> confident at urban cycling.
>
> Also, thank you for sharing the bad history of the Navy Yard and the Nats.
> It would have been great to hear that at a clear rebuttal to last week's
> pack leaders' ideas.**** If you have an idea speak up and jump to the
> front of the Mass!
>
> -- Mark
> ****
>
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