Hello Brad

I would have to say not so much a change among the motoring public.

There still is this feeling of entitlement that motorists display, that they can do what ever they want, a point and shoot driving mentality.

We are still pushing the educational program.

I have been a member of the Joint Transportation Committee out of the Martha's Vineyard Commission for over 15 years and I do see a change in regards to the powers that be.
They are coming around to what the law says and the state and federal guidelines in building a safe bicycle path. Most of which has ben ignored on Martha's Vineyard for so long.
All six chiefs of police and the Sheriff of Dukes County has acknowledged, that the stop signs that are on the bike paths for the cyclists are not legal and that the cyclists have the right of way when riding on them.

The High way departments are coming around, Stewart Fuller being the foremost in this regard. In the next few years there will be a revamping of all the existing paths on the Island, to bring them up to an acceptable level of safety.
A reconfiguration "Traffic calming if you will, of drive ways and entry roads that cross these paths so that motorists will have no choice but to take the turn in and out of road ways, drive ways and parking lots slowly. At each of these intersections, that is what they are, they will be marked and signed as a crossing so there will be no misunderstanding about who has the right of way. 

There will be barriers to keep motor vehicles from using the path ways as turning lanes and passing lanes. Stop the use of these paths as staging areas and parking for contractors and delivery vehicles such as FEDEX and UPS.

Motorists for the great part show us in their actions that they are not capable to do the right thing, to show consideration and obey the existing laws so we need to make it so they have no other choice.

Don't get me wrong, I would be the first to give a ticket to a cyclist riding the wrong way on a one way street.

I received an email from Bob Colvin with a couple of pics he thought would make me see the light.

One showed cyclists and pedestrians on a deserted (no cars) paved road on Chappy which showed me that perhaps you need a side walk there.

The other showed a cyclists riding along with a motorist passing the cyclist. The motorist was crossing a double yellow line right into the path of an on coming vehicle in the other lane.

That picture showed me that you have a problem foremost with the motoring public. Did you know that you cannot pass a cyclist in a no passing lane if you have to cross the yellow lines to do so?

Plus you have a 25 mph speed limit on a road that is fed cars three at a time from the Chappy ferry.

You do have a problem all right and it's not with cyclists.

David Whitmon

Posted by David Whitmon on Thursday, 1/8/09 @ 6:41pm