BIKEPGH MESSAGE BOARD ARCHIVE

not pitt bus drivers, but those darn transportation soultions shuttles. those are the worst. i think it's where port authority drivers go after they've been let go.

this is no lie: i have seen 2 transportation

solutions busses drag racing up smallman in the

strip where it is kind 4 awkward lanes

whenever i think of those TS shuttles, it's usually smallman in my mind

Baum and Millvale is a really dangerous intersection in general. Cars treat like a speedway and often run the light.

The new bank on the corner has significantly reduced the field of vision as you anticipate the intersection. And an intersection like this would really benefit by having NO TURN ON RED signs (good ideas Erok).

Several years ago there was a bunch of talk about a "Baum Center Corridor". There was hope that this would calm these streets and make them more aesthetically pleasing - they need it!

No plans in the works, to my knowledge in making Baum bike friendly. I think that's okay, but the city really needs to make improvements at intersections where bicyclist frequently cross Baum.

It can't hurt to contact your council person. Let them know about your experience.

I have also found that most access bus drivers and school bus drivers are terrible. In general, I can't say I have ever had a problem with PAT drivers, but I have been nearly run off the road several times by first student buses and access buses.

The Baum/Millvale intersection could also use some better "Left lane must turn left" signage for traffic coming south on Millvale. The sign is all the way on the right of the road, with no road paint or sign on the light boom; drivers will frequently go straight from the left lane into the stretch connecting Baum to Centre, cutting off road users who are correctly using the right lane to go straight.

I wrote an email to the transportation department of Pitt. This morning I received a very nice email from Kent L. McGaughey, the manager of the transportation:

Mr. Dombrosky(spelled my last name wrong):

Thank you for sending in your concern. I appreciate the feedback.

I want to take this opportunity to apologize for the actions of the

driver. He obviously is not fully aware of the rights of bicyclists and

needs to be reminded that correctly sharing the road is paramount to

safety for all those in it.

In our next safety meeting, I will be reinforcing driving tips as they

relate to bicyclists and the "rules of the road" for drivers. Also in

the meeting, the habits of bicyclists and their rules of the road will

be addressed so that the shuttle drivers can understand better the

potential actions of bicyclists (drive defensively).

I've referenced material from www.bike-pgh.org to prepare for this

meeting. If you are willing, I would welcome additional reference

material and would appreciate if you would forward it to me.

Thank you,

Kent L. McGaughey

Manager, Transportation and Travel

University of Pittsburgh

I was extremely surprised by this behavior because of the very high concentration of bike riders in this area of the city. A very large majority of those cyclists help to pay for his salary. Most of the Pitt employees I know like students, after all, they are the reason they have a job.

It doesn't sound like he had it in for you, personally. It sounds like he was in a hurry for some reason - end of his shift, or maybe they have some kind of pressure to make their schedule without enough built-in buffer.

Yeah, he should have given you more room. It's been remarked by others, and I think it's true, that motorists unthinkingly give you the same amount of room on your left as you give yourself on your right. It seems that is what happened here, as you gave yourself ~2 feet on your right, and he took ~2 feet on your left. I blame shoddy road construction (okay, I blame the collapse of the steel industry, but that chain of blame goes back to Adam). I have commented elsewhere on those sorts of cracks and humps that always seem to occur right where you want to ride, so you have to choose between riding too far right (which is dangerous), and riding too far left (which is discourteous). Remember, your right to be safe trumps courtesy.

ha ha. thanks for this mess, adam.

On a number of occasions riding down Fifth Avenue in Oakland near Lothrop and Darragh, I've seen shuttle buses, white with blue accents which I'm pretty sure are run by Transportation Solutions, sitting at the curb, not obviously loading or discharging passengers, in a zone clearly marked "No parking or stopping." It makes me want to issue a "citizen's citation" on the spot, but I'm too busy merging into the next lane over to get out my ticket booklet.

Maybe they could change the pick-up location to a side entrance (on Lothrop or Darragh, for instance) or a regular bus stop?

Apparently, it's okay to double-park or otherwise leave your motor vehicle in a no stopping zone, as long as it's a box truck with big corporate logos emblazoned on it.

I don't think UPS or FedEx could survive without persistently violating the parking laws. Technically, I think this makes them criminal enterprises.

If I were king, I would dictate that certain locations be permitted for short-term off-peak unmetered parking, and sell those permits to UPS, Fedex, USPS, PAT etc for a princely sum.