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Bicyclist has some serious tunnel vision
By adamg on Fri, 07/17/2015 - 12:56pm
Andy MC spotted a bicyclist today where you don't normally see one: Heading north inside the Tip O'Neill Tunnel on I-93.
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Comments
Cripes
That is a terrible idea. I hope that he/she got into the tunnel by accident and didn't actually plan this route.
And now I'll sit back and wait for the usuals to point to this insanity as evidence for why bikes are always at fault for every accident...
How do you "accidentally" end up there?
Other than being high as a kite?
Accident?
How do you accidentally enter a restricted highway, let alone a tunnel, on a bicycle? It's not like you can't just stop, pick up the bike, and go back the other way when you realize what's happening on the ramp.
No, my guess is he was in South Boston and wanted to go to Logan/East Boston and couldn't take the T due to rush hour and didn't know about the Logan Ferry and didn't want to go all the way to the Chelsea River crossings, so he took a shot at making it to 1A without dying.
If he was trying to get to Route 1A
and/or East Boston, then he has a very poor sense of direction, in addition to his extremely poor judgement. It's the Williams Tunnel that gets you to East Boston, not the O'Neill Tunnel.
Good point
I remember you can only get into the Callahan going one direction and not the other. But it's south not north that gets you into it. So, maybe he was headed to Costco in Everett? Haha.
Sidewalk
There is a raised walkway in the tunnel, except in this case it's on the other side of the tunnel. No effing way would I want to cross that highway to get to safety ... yeesh!
Trust me I wouldn't know
That whole idea is insane.
But I do know someone who accidentally got on Storrow while riding a bike once, so I figured it could happen. But Occam's razor would suggest it's just stupidity or complete reliance on google maps.
Storrow is a little more
Storrow is a little more plausible, it has sidewalks, connects with local roads, doesn't look like an interstate highway...
Hubway
It's too blurry to tell if it is or isn't Hubway, but it wouldn't surprise me. I hear about tourists on Hubway rolling onto Storrow every now and then. An underground Interstate tunnel is a whole different matter!
Not a hubway
Hubway bikes have built-in lighting systems. This guy doesn't have a tail light.
Hubway On The Turnpike - Indego Bikes On I-676 (Philadelphia)
Storrow
Storrow Drive is not "legally" restricted to bicycles, especially as the section before Charles has roadways entering and exiting Storrow. Yeah, Storrow, the road that was built against the wishes of the people who donated the land and besmirched a really nice parkland. As we know, stupid is fairly common on Storrow.
There'd Be Much Less Storrowing If It Was Restricted To Bicycles
Says You
I know someone who storrowed his tall bike
He had a huge disco ball on top of his bike, and he hit the top of the new Mystic River bike path underpass under Route 28 at Assembly Row (Wellington bridge). He's since lowered the disco ball so that nothing like this can happen again.
MA thinks storrow is limited-access
GIS data designates Storrow as a limited access highway west of Arlington: http://maps.massgis.state.ma.us/map_ol/oliver.php?lyrs=Structures~Basema...
Presumably the "Cars Only" signs would satisfy the requirement that signs be posted, though they are certainly unconventional.
Storrow is definitely limited WEST of Arlington
because it turns into Soldiers Field Road and then....oh wait you mean Arlington Street?
Bicycles can be legally prohibited on Storrow Drive with signs
The state can legally ban bicycles from limited-access highways if they put up proper signs, which they have done on at least some parts of Storrow Drive (such as the westbound on-ramp from Charlesgate). Most of Storrow Drive qualifies as limited-access, though not the eastbound section from Arlington and Beacon Streets to Leverett Circle.
I suppose that part of Storrow is "safe" for bikes
because the cars on it usually aren't moving ...
In All Fairness, Traffic In The Tunnel Is Sometimes So Slow ...
... that you could walk through faster than driving.
Guess he missed the "no
Guess he missed the "no horses, pedestrians, or cyclists" sign at the entrance to all limited access highways.
Either that or he is intentionally epic level trolling Mark in Arlington.
Actually, a quick GSV review
of some of the Downtown Boston entrances to the O'Neill Tunnel entrance shows that the "no peds bikes horses" signs are
apparently conspicious by their absenceindeed in place, but are not immediately obvious to anyone other than pedestrians on the sidewalks adjacent to the tunnel entrances. So it's likely a super focused cyclist would not see the signs.Still no excuse however, as the cyclist would have to had ignored both the large signs that proclaim "You are Entering Interstate 93", as well as the actual tunnel portal itself. Then again, I would hope that even the most determined cyclist would have the common sense to stay off an Interstate highway.
Actually a lot of Interstate
Actually a lot of Interstate highways are safer due to shoulders and few intersections, some are legal for bicyclist traffic as there are no alternatives.
Correct.
However, it should be apparent to almost anyone that the O'Neill Tunnel in Downtown Boston doesn't meet any of the criteria you listed. Plus, even in the western part of the country, allowing bike travel on Interstates is the exception rather than the rule, and accounts for a very tiny fraction of the actual Interstate mileage.
Those signs are all in English
so poorly meet the needs of the illegal immigrants living here and riding bicycles. At least this one isn't driving without a license where he could become a future hit and run driver.
Nice try there
However, the signs in question are graphical, not text. They show the international "prohibition" symbol through a pedestrian, a bike, and a horse.
New hobbyhorse
Nice and shiny. Keep rocking.
damn waze.
I bet it's a hipster
Trying to be different.
Or something.
It was a slow click day
Adam paid the guy off.....
OMFG Totally the fault of car drivers everywhere!
The cars made him do it. Nobody respects the rights of cyclists.
On the plus side
At least he won't be taking out his usual .7 pedestrians/mile down there.
No jaywalkers underground
More than 0.7 jaywalkers per mile above ground. Try many multiples at every intersection, illegally crossing against the light.
You probably scream at cyclists for daring to run green lights.
Keep making it a pedestrian
Keep making it a pedestrian vs. cyclist thing... way to accomplish absolutely nothing. Pedestrians had nothing to do with: sorry and thanks for playing. psst... stay off the sidewalks! Sidewalks are for people on foot and in wheelchairs.
No red lights
To blow through to.
Honestly, if he was going
Honestly, if he was going north on I-93 at rush hour he was probably moving faster than all the drivers.
Wish I could see anything
Wish I could see anything other than a blurry outline of the bicycle. There's been a huge upswing in idiots on shitty walmart bikes salmoning, sidewalk riding and generally doing illegal and less than legal stuff this summer. Probably would explain a lot.
That is goddamn insane.
And I've gone around Sullivan Square on a bike. (Not often; it's too dangerous)
Tried Sullivan Lately?
Very much improved bike navigation.
As for this guy, I have a fake word: Suicyclist!
That's good to know.
Have they cleaned up the Broadway-Revere Beach Pkwy circle in Everett, too?
Sullivan Square works pretty well for cyclists these days
There are bike lanes all over it, including on 99 heading towards Everett.
Sullivan Square is not that
Sullivan Square is not that bad, really.
It used to be scary as hell.
I haven't been through there in a few years, and am happy to hear it has been cleaned up.
Was he wearing a helmet?
Was he wearing a helmet?
Sense of entitlement
How typical.
I know, right?
Put your damn phone away and keep driving. I hope the driver is ticketed for this stunt.
making good time
Depending on traffic, he could be making better time than the drivers.
Traffic moves at a snails
Traffic moves at a snails pace there, we should set up a bike lane but just during rush hours. And we should fix the T, also lets make car pooling mandatory in all highway roads during rush hour.
Holy -
- pucker effect turned up to eleven!
WTF are all those cars
doing in the bike tunnel?