Lower the speed limit on the Blue Ridge Parkway!
The Roanoke Times | File
Note from Dan: Tyler Moore lives in Roanoke County. He sent me this as a reaction to Tuesday’s column.
By Tyler Moore
I have biked the Roanoke section of the Blue Ridge Parkway literally thousands of times for decades and decades (started 1983 or so, so it has been three decades. OMG). I live just 300 feet from the Parkway.
The issue is that the Parkway is our lovely community’s major natural asset (Just spoke to an Outer Banks resident who said we have an asset comparable to the coast. And our fantastic asset must be treated and protected as such).
One of the biggest threats to our wonderful landmark is commuters who go to work every morning and come home every evening, not using the parkway for that which it was designed (I, too, when commuting, am not looking at the scenery, but thinking of the work in front of or behind me for the day).
The Roanoke section is special AND WE (ROANOKE) MUST PROTECT IT:
- Absolutely, it is an excellent idea to change the speed limit for the Roanoke section to 35! There are likely more local drivers and bikers and walkers than any other section of the Parkway.
- Money is an issue, so let’s install electronic toll booths on both ends of the Roanoke section to pay for the extra maintenance that commuters and more users use. (not bikers, as their bikes are light as napkins compared to motorized vehicles).
- Install SHARE THE ROAD signs at each Roanoke entrance. (Route 220 has such a sign, and I am the only biker along 220 I have ever seen)
- Because there are so many bikers and walkers, we need to build a walkway along the roadway.
- We need to form a Star City Protect Our Parkway Group (Dan, you should be chairman).
Thanks so much for keeping our community informed and fighting for action. I am serious about forming this group.
March 13, 2013 - 6:00 AM
The speed limit should not be lowered to accomodate bicyclists. Share the road applies to them also. The parkway is a 2 way street.
BobH, I’m glad to hear you’re in favor of sharing the BRP. But keep in mind that lowering the speed limit isn’t an accommodation for cyclists. It’s an accommodating for sharing the road.
If it were not for the bicylcists this issue wouldn’t even be up for discussion. This whole thing is because bicyclists are whining about it, not because motorists are. Share the road to bicyclists equates to them as “let me have it and you move over out of my way”. That’s what they call sharing. Betting the majority of motorists using the parkway on this stretch that are not also bicyclists would not want the speed limit lowered. I don’t even know why they have it lowered near Explore Park since that hasn’t been open for years.
Reality check needed.
Well if the speed limit is lowered to, say, 35, people will do 45 because the BRP is incapable or unwilling to ENFORCE THE LAWS ALREADY ON THE BOOKS! I’m just guessing here but I’ll bet that if cyclists and motorists were held responsible for the traffic rules already in place that we would not be having this conversation. It’s just a big urinating contest between two groups that share diabolically opposite senses of entitlement.
the club bikers could have helped themselves by riding in smaller groups and single file. They don’t want to do that, they have a self-rightousness indignation about their RIGHT to ride a bicycle on a curvy, hilly, narrow road that was designed and built as a driving parkway
You people make me so Mad! Complain about the amount of traffic and how the road is used,you say lets share the road but dont want to share the expense and maintance and you also want your own bike paths built,You must be a Democrat! Everybody pays or no one pays!! As for the speed limit,leave it alone,45 is slow enough to enjoy the scenery and still get somewhere. As far as I know,it was built mainly for automobiles to travel on it anyway,not bikes,I am just saying!
“If it were not for the bicylcists this issue wouldn’t even be up for discussion. This whole thing is because bicyclists are whining about it, not because motorists are. Share the road to bicyclists equates to them as “let me have it and you move over out of my way”. That’s what they call sharing. Betting the majority of motorists using the parkway on this stretch that are not also bicyclists would not want the speed limit lowered. I don’t even know why they have it lowered near Explore Park since that hasn’t been open for years.
Reality check needed.”
–BobH
BobH, your point of view on this matter could not be more wrongheaded. It’s the other way around. You’re the one who needs a reality check.
“the club bikers could have helped themselves by riding in smaller groups and single file. They don’t want to do that, they have a self-rightousness indignation about their RIGHT to ride a bicycle on a curvy, hilly, narrow road that was designed and built as a driving parkway.”
–Lance Hunt
Lance, incorrect. Most of the ride them already ride legally. The fact is, long chains of legally riding single-file cyclist also inhibit motor vehicle flow on the parkway because of he sight lines. The motorists are raising cain about legal riding, and hiding behind the subterfuge about the comparative rare illegal riding. They want the Tuesday night ride off the parkway, period.
“Everybody pays or no one pays!! ”
Don, tell me how you’re paying for the Parkway. Otherwise, calm the heck down.
Don davis, how do you as a driver pay for the Parkway anymore than I a biker, who is also a motorist? You people…why you must be a Republican…
Please remember the Blue Ridge Parkway is a Park. That says it all. We have plenty of roads where the speed limit is 55 to 70, they are highways made for going between two points. Few people say let’s head up to Interstate 81 and tour Virginia. The parkway is a nature tour not built for commuting, but for lovers of the beautiful Blue Ridge mountains and valleys and trees and birds and flowers…
Dan,
YOU need the reality check. If bicycles were banned from the parkway then there would be NO need or even discussion about lowering the speed limit. It IS about the bikes.
And their constant whining. If you don’t like the road, as is, ride your bikes somewhere else! You don’t see motorists whining because they can’t drive their vehicles on the greenway. Or about the taxpayer $ used to construct and maintain it.
That would resolve the situation, just go somewhere else…..
10:11 a.m.
“The speed limit should not be lowered to accomodate bicyclists. Share the road applies to them also. The parkway is a 2 way street.”
BobH
4:05 p.m.
“YOU need the reality check. If bicycles were banned from the parkway then there would be NO need or even discussion about lowering the speed limit. It IS about the bikes.”
–BobH
In less than 5 hours he flipflopped from “sharing the road” to banning bikes from the parkway!
Kristen/scott whitaker, I believe Don was refering to Tyler’s suggestion that toll booths be set up to charge motorists and not bicyclists. I would somewhat agree with his opposition to that point. It seems to me that solution would only benefit the cyclists at the expense of motorists. I also think that ‘Share the road’ has a different meaning to both groups. I think that cyclists who want to share the road should also be subject to the same traffic rules as motorists. I regularly travel Peters Creek and have seen on 3 seperate occasions in the last 2 weeks that cyclists have blown through a red light like it wasn’t there. If you want to share the road and want motorists to respect your rights, then respect the traffic laws that they have to follow.
PeterJ,
Bicyclists that run red lights (or stop signs) are subject to the same laws as motorists.
Dan, BobH has been busy counting the cyclists who run the stop sign on Campbell while ignoring the cars that do so. He probably also has a blowup of the photo of the drunk driver in Mexico plowing through cyclists.
Dan,
Where did you get your comprehension skills?
I said IF bicyclists were banned. IF.
No where did I even suggest or say that they should be banned.
Obfuscating away from the fact that you need the reality check.
I particpated in the CROP walk last October, some of which was on the greenway. I have never seen anything as rude as most of the bicyclists were. Most never said a word when they went zipping past and treated us like we were an annoyance to their turf. They did not believe in sharing anything, especially not the greenway.
But we got the last laugh. We strarted walking 5 abreast making the bicyclists go around us off the pavement. They had some choice words for that too, none of which were “sport” or “sir” and none of which will pass even the low standards of this BLOG.
The BRP is a scenic route not a commuter route, I think lowering the speed limit would allow for more scenery enjoyment, fewer deer and animal accidents and better safety for bikers, hikers, horse riders and those who just want to enjoy the views (while they can as development is so encroaching!)
Those who complain the loudest are likely those who use the BRP as a commuter route, which it is not.
Biking is a great sport, a wonderful exercise and a purely enjoyable activity for millions of people. They deserve accommodation when it can be done safely and the BRP is a perfect place for them if all can learn to abide by the rules of the road.
We should be applauding people out there exercising and not polluting the air!
FWIW, I am no bike rider, I tried, I wrecked and I will try no more, but I know why people appreciate it and I believe they deserve to ride without fear of vehicles.
PeterJ, I haven’t seen anyone here dispute that. Riders who run lights should be ticketed, and serious riders would be the first to say so.
“Where did you get your comprehension skills?
I said IF bicyclists were banned. IF.
No where did I even suggest or say that they should be banned.
Obfuscating away from the fact that you need the reality check. I particpated in the CROP walk last October, some of which was on the greenway. I have never seen anything as rude as most of the bicyclists were. Most never said a word when they went zipping past and treated us like we were an annoyance to their turf. They did not believe in sharing anything, especially not the greenway.
But we got the last laugh. We strarted walking 5 abreast making the bicyclists go around us off the pavement. They had some choice words for that too, none of which were “sport” or “sir” and none of which will pass even the low standards of this BLOG.”
–BobH
We all know what you wrote, BobH.
Honestly, until you copped to it, it had never crossed my mind that people walking 4 and 5 abreast might doing it to deliberately block the greenway to bicyclists, as you did. I had always believed they were merely thoughtless.
Well, you sure showed those cyclists, didn’t you? I’m sure you derived great satisfaction from your exercise in not sharing the greenway.
Funny, I’m on the greenway every single day and I almost never have a biker pass me without saying “On your left”. As in 99% of the time. Maybe people like BobH just attract bad behavior. Not to mention, his story sounds like nonsense.
We started on the BRP and ended up on the Greenway. This cyclist ALWAYS announces to walkers and joggers that “I am going to your left”. Problem there sometimes are those folks that are tuning out with ear buds and they don’t here us. I was knocked off my bike last summer, after I announced I was going to the left by a jogger who never even looked when he turned into my path. His explanation: I didn’t hear or see you coming. So Bob H or who ever you are, you’re one piece of work! You want it all and then some. And who cares what political party you’re apart to. Bottom line, The BRP is a Park and it come under the Executive Branch of the Department of the Interior headed by Ken Salazar. Bob H. and all of the other Bob H’s, its a Park, not a commuter route. We all pay Federal Taxes which means we equally share the road, cyclist or motorist!
I am not a cyclist, but I am a regular traveler on the parkway because I greatly enjoy a peaceful, scenic ride in my car. I have often thought that the speed limit should be reduced between Clearbrook and 460 to discourage (often impatient, speeding) commuter traffic. I have occasionally encountered a large group of cyclists and I must admit that they sometimes cause a disruption in the normal flow of traffic. Also, they make me nervous because it scares me to pass them (I consider that a deficiency on my part). That said, I would hate to see them discouraged from using the parkway. Every time I encounter someone on a bike, I think how magnificent it must be to experience our beautiful Virginia mountains in that way, which leads to the next thought about what a wonderful place Roanoke is to live. In that spirit, I am willing to share, or yield, or pull over entirely for a little while if that is what it takes. Once again, I have been reminded that people can bicker over anything. Can’t we just all get along?
Thank you Roanoke Girl for so objectively saying what I was trying to say.