I filmed the intersection at 23rd and Valencia for fifty minutes on a Wednesday morning. It's more dangerous than you can imagine. https://youtu.be/s1XSS4Y0dDk
Drivers running red lights or driving into bike lanes are common occurrences all along #ValenciaStreet. We need physical changes to our streets to make them safe for everyone.
I support the BetterValencia.com plan. Add curbside protected bike lanes and take steps to pedestrianize Valencia Street.
@docpop to make any city bike friendly( also more green) it is necessary to separate the traffic from the bike lane, here in Madrid is even worst. There is so much to be done…
@szakib they are, but not they aren't everywhere. Some cities have more, some (like SF) have less. I can't fully speak as to why they aren't more common here. I think they'd only solve a small part of the problem though, cars would still drive through crosswalks when people are crossing or use bike lanes as a shortcut, etc.
Traffic enforcement historically starts strong, then gets abandoned.
In simpler terms, cops are there to issue a ticket after someone has already been hit. Long-term solutions mean ditching car-centric designs and focusing on safer streets for everyone.
@docpop don't let them get away with blaming it on 2020! They've been on a work slowdown for a decade, per that chart, with 2/3rds of the decline in enforcement (from 12K/year c. 2014 to 4K/year c. 2019) taking place pre-COVID.
@luis_in_brief good points, but to be clear I'm noticing that sudden drop that correlates with the election of Chesa Boudin (in January 2020) and the BLM protests later that year. I wasn't thinking COVID had anything to do with the cops not doing their jobs. Especially since the line was already dropping and never came back up.
@docpop I get it, but lots of people genuinely worry about whether there was a post-Floyd over-correction (wrong, but debated), or point to "well, they were told to stop taking tickets because of COVID" (true, but temporary).
Talking about the pre-2020 quiet-quitting has been, in my experience, more effective. "What do you mean they just stopped filing tickets for no particular reason?"
Based on Reddit/Youtube comments, I'm surprised at how many people think drivers only run red lights at 23rd & Valencia. You are just as likely to see a driver running a light on Mission & 23rd as you are to see it on Valencia. The difference is that we aren't asking cyclists to travel across a car lane at those other intersections.
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