Bicycling is a popular mode of transportation for 81 percent of those responding to an Argus-Courier online poll Aug. 28, 2008.
When asked if they were riding their bicycle more often these days, 56.4 percent of those responding to the poll said yes, 41 percent said no and 2.6 percent were not sure.
More than half of the respondents (54.8 percent) have noticed an increase in bicycling by other people. Nearly 30 percent said they hadn’t noticed an increase, while 16.7 percent were unsure.
While poll takers are riding their bicycles more often, half of the respondents felt that Petaluma is not a bike friendly city, while 26.2 percent said that Petaluma is bike-friendly and 23.8 percent weren’t sure.
Here are some of the comments of those who participated in the survey:
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“I would like to see bike lanes through all of the major parts of Petaluma.”
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“The physical condition of the streets makes it difficult to cycle!”
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“I am grateful to be able to bike to work each day and feel that the drivers around me are respectful. I drive a car and am a pedestrian also. I believe that most traffic conflicts are caused by bicyclists. They drive any which way expecting traffic to stop for them. Bicyclists must remember to follow the same rules as autos.”
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“I know the Pedestrian and Bike Committee works hard to make this a bike-friendly town. But so many drivers are not paying attention.”
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“The bicyclists need to follow the traffic laws. Someone is going to get killed.”
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“The more folks on bikes, the better. Think about it.”
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“More money needs to be spent on bicycle friendly infrastructure including lanes, racks, etc.”
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I’m very upset about the recent bike ticketing. I think there are much better uses of police time and honestly feel it is inappropriate to ticket people riding on sidewalks (outside of downtown, of course) because there are not adequate and safe lane options for cyclists. By the way, where does the fee money go? Let’s hope to creating bike lanes on East D Street and East Washington!”
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“Petaluma needs to become bike friendly and advocate for bicycle issues.”
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“It’d be nice to have more bike racks around downtown and in the malls.”
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“Some drivers need to learn or re-learn some basic right-of-way laws!”
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“Communities should be thrilled to have more people out of their cars. Biking seems to be in the news because of the problems. Motorists need to be constantly conscious of bicyclists (and pedestrians) in the right-of-way. Bicyclists need to ride lawfully and with some manners ” get off downtown sidewalks, wear a helmet, ride on the right, etc., and ride even more to practice safe driving skills and prove to motorists that bikes do belong.”
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“I have been injured in a bike lane, when another bike rider jumped into the bike lane from the sidewalk going the wrong way. It’s important to have more bike riding in the interest of reducing greenhouse gas, saving money and exercise. I’d love to see a lot more education available at schools, through the city, etc. With regard to the bike tickets a couple of weeks ago, most of the incidents that have occurred for me have been related to motorists either not paying attention or flagrantly objecting to me taking up space as a bike rider. It is very important to get a Safe Routes to Schools program into Petaluma. We need the cooperation of the school district on this.”
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“Many roads are not maintained to be bicycle friendly; often there are three-inch asphalt bumps between the black top and concrete gutter.”
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“Walking is safer than biking in this town. Too many drivers don’t know the legal rules of the road and neither do most of the bike riders. It’s a recipe for disaster.”
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“Not only are there not near enough bike paths, there are not even sidewalks on too many street!”
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“Get off of your fat asses and ride free.”
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“The city streets are worse than some Third World dirt roads.”
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“Recent city trends, like sharerows, are good. The sensors that cause traffic lights to change must be calibrated for bikes.”
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“Petaluma is trying to be bike friendly but has a long way to go.”
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“It is a shame that there are no bike lanes on Petaluma Boulevard going through town.”
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“Too many cars, everyone’s in a rush, hardly anyone pays attention to their driving.”
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“I ride a bike. I’m friendly.”
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“Love the connector through the Payran project east to west side.”
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“More bike lanes! More bike lanes! More bike lanes!”
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“Fewer SUVs ” more bikes.”
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“The bike routes and paths need huge improvement. The infrastructure as it is today discourages bicycle use by making it dangerous. Traffic engineers do not seem to consider bicycles at all when designing road. The bike paths are not maintained and poorly constructed. It makes me sad.”
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“I walk a lot as well and I absolutely despise having to dodge bikes on sidewalks. Yes, some of our streets such as East Washington are not bike friendly. But bikes on sidewalks make them very dangerous for those on foot. One last thing. The cobblestones downtown are very dangerous for bikes.”