Bikes trigger then at most intersections and the city seems to respond when you find ones that don't trigger.
I'm not sure where you bike, but I'd say bikes don't trigger the signals at ALMOST ALL traffic lights in the Seattle area. These traffic walking signals are one of my biggest pet peeves. Especially walking signals that don't give you a walking signal when they give traffic a green light. I want to scold each and every dipshit transportation engineer that programmed intersections that don't let people walk on default.
If I put my wheels over the loops then the lights trigger. I really don't find myself stuck at an intersection often. If I do get stuck and it is an intersection that I ride through frequently then I complain. Someone else already posted the details on how to complain.
I'm riding in Seattle, presumably the same place as everyone else on here. I live in Roosevelt, close to the Whole Foods. I mostly ride in the north end.
Quote:
Also, on a side topic, I've found a really cool website that calculates how walkable a neighborhood is based on the nearness of amenities. Check it out: www.walkscore.com
Interesting tool. Lowest score of anywhere that I've lived was my intern housing at Microsoft, 34. The highest was where I grew up in Philadelphia with 97. My current house gets an 86.
Of course the tool is only a fuzzy estimate since it doesn't know the quality of what is nearby. The house with a 97 is close to a 7-11 which the tool counts as a grocery store. However the closest real grocery store is much farther away.
DJStroky
Posted: Tue Jul 31, 2007 12:46 pm
Joined: 25 May 2007Posts: 356Location: Downtown Tacoma
henry wrote:
Make sure you wash the black hair dye out before you come back.
We'll have to see about that. I'll be riding with the ZooBombers on Sunday evening. From what I've read online they ride the MAX (a light rail train) from downtown Portland to the Zoo which is up on a big hill. Then they "Bomb" back downtown. It may be going downhill as much as 700ft in 3 miles. Oh and a lot of them do it on kiddie bikes.
After that I'll be in Oregon for most of August visiting family. And after that I might even bike down the California coast, but I'm only 40% sure about the California part.
_________________ Tacoma isn't that bad... well maybe it is
lantius
Posted: Tue Jul 31, 2007 12:52 pm
1337Joined: 22 Jul 2005Posts: 6705Location: right over
zooo BOOOmmmmb!
yes, the zoobomb is fun. try not to get killed or go to the hospital. most of them do it on minibikes. i did it on my fixie last year (because i had to hustle straight across down after one run) - it's a fast freaking descent.
TrikerTrev
Posted: Tue Jul 31, 2007 1:29 pm
Joined: 23 Oct 2006Posts: 2303Location: FOCO, MOFO!!!
zuvembi wrote:
^^^^^^^^^^
Edit: Damn it Dave!
TrikerTrev wrote:
lantius wrote:
Eric_s wrote:
RIDE THROUGH DOWNTOWN PROTESTING THE RED LIGHT HEGEMONY AND FREE MUMIA!.
drive through downtown protesting the speed limit hegemony (and free mumia)?
seriously, running a stop sign or red light on a bicycle is the same as going 5mph over the speed limit. the same people who rant and rave at cyclists who do that behavior and call for crackdowns are the same that bitch about the +4mph speeding tickets they hand out on uw campus.
it doesn't need a protest, it just needs to fade into reasonable accepted behavior.
Mumia Abu-Jamal (born Wesley Cook April 24, 1954) is an African-American journalist, political activist, and former militant leader from Philadelphia best known for his controversial conviction for murdering a police officer in 1981.
Currently serving life in a Waynesburg PA prison.
It's a controversial case with a long standing widely publicized group of people protesting his sentence.
Coincidentally, I'm leaving for a trip to the city of Brotherly Gunfire in about 36 hours.
DORK!!!
it's a play on words...free mumia! Whats mumia, and why are they giving it away
shesh!
_________________ Insufferable ass, est. 1969
DJStroky
Posted: Thu Aug 02, 2007 12:56 am
Joined: 25 May 2007Posts: 356Location: Downtown Tacoma
gsbarnes wrote:
Make sure you're not overlooking a white 'T' at the intersection, or you'll look stupid. That's where you're supposed to stop to trigger the signal. If there is no appropriate 'T', go ahead and complain. Or if the 'T' doesn't work, definitely complain.
WHOA!!!!! I have now found what one of these 'T's looks like:
Now I won't look stoopid anymore. YAY!!
_________________ Tacoma isn't that bad... well maybe it is
SeditiousCanary
Posted: Thu Aug 02, 2007 5:16 pm
sorry, can't make it!Joined: 26 Jan 2006Posts: 2315Location: Fremont Troll
SeditiousCanary wrote:
laura wrote:
omg, omg, omg - i WANT those ...
You all know the magnet trick which does this on regular stop light loops, right?
Seriously...
You all know about the magnets, right? I was going to order some next week if anyone else wants some.
joby
Posted: Thu Aug 02, 2007 5:21 pm
goes to elevenJoined: 25 Jul 2005Posts: 3899Location: The Cloud
SeditiousCanary wrote:
SeditiousCanary wrote:
laura wrote:
omg, omg, omg - i WANT those ...
You all know the magnet trick which does this on regular stop light loops, right?
Seriously...
You all know about the magnets, right? I was going to order some next week if anyone else wants some.
Magnets do not work.
These are not magnetic switches. They are induction loops. The only thing that works is to but a chunk of metal close to the loop.
gsbarnes
Posted: Thu Aug 02, 2007 5:35 pm
Joined: 15 Aug 2006Posts: 2666Location: No Fun Town, USA
joby wrote:
SeditiousCanary wrote:
SeditiousCanary wrote:
laura wrote:
omg, omg, omg - i WANT those ...
You all know the magnet trick which does this on regular stop light loops, right?
Seriously...
You all know about the magnets, right? I was going to order some next week if anyone else wants some.
Magnets do not work.
These are not magnetic switches. They are induction loops. The only thing that works is to but a chunk of metal close to the loop.
Well, typically magnets are metal objects. But yeah, the magnetism is irrelevant.
_________________ I have always thought in the back of my mind: Cheese and Onions
eärendil
Posted: Mon Aug 06, 2007 12:48 pm
Joined: 23 Jan 2007Posts: 88Location: Beautiful Bellingham, Washington
I would think that a strong, moving magnet would probably trip the sensor, but not a stationary magnet.
Also, your luck with tripping the sensor depends on the impedance of your bicycle. A old steel bike with steel wheels will not be as effective as an aluminum frame with aluminum wheels. My 17 lb aluminum bike seems to be more successful at setting off the sensors than the 60 lbs of steel that is my tandem. And if it's plastic or other non-metal, don't bother stopping (although I suppose the chainrings may generate a weak signal).
Finally, what we really need is a traffic signal preemption device. Be in the right place at the right time with a laptop and an IR receiver, and it should be possible to work something out. Nevermind the 6 months minimum sentence.
Gracie
Posted: Fri Aug 10, 2007 11:16 am
Joined: 04 Aug 2007Posts: 575Location: Haus deiner Mutter
Aluminum is NOT magnetic. Must be a coincidence that your aluminum bike triggers it. Maybe it was the chain?
Last edited by Gracie on Fri Aug 10, 2007 11:31 am; edited 1 time in total _________________ Never use your face as a brake pad
joby
Posted: Fri Aug 10, 2007 11:24 am
goes to elevenJoined: 25 Jul 2005Posts: 3899Location: The Cloud
Gracie wrote:
So is it a magnet or not?
If not, how can it detect metal objects?
If so, how will it detect anything aluminum? Aluminum is NOT magnetic.
Im a bit confused on how it works. I think i should educated myself & read some more online.
It's an induction loop. a large coil of wire embedded in the roadway.
a controller passes an AC current through the coil. This induces a electrical current in nearby metal objects. The controller measures the load of these nearby metal objects (how much power is lost energizing them), and switches the light if the load is above a particular threshold.
while aluminum doesn't stick to magnets, it is subject to induction.
yay for teh near field!
lantius
Posted: Fri Aug 10, 2007 11:33 am
1337Joined: 22 Jul 2005Posts: 6705Location: right over
as far as i know there's no passive way (magnets, etc) to make them sense, but you could create an active transceiver that would "fool" the inductance coil. i prefer to just run the light or use the pedestrian signal myself.
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sorry, can't make it!
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