{"id":325,"date":"2013-06-13T09:42:34","date_gmt":"2013-06-13T16:42:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/washingtonbikelaw.com\/blog\/?p=325"},"modified":"2013-06-13T09:42:34","modified_gmt":"2013-06-13T16:42:34","slug":"merging-with-traffic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.washingtonbikelaw.com\/blog\/merging-with-traffic.html","title":{"rendered":"Merging with Traffic? But Bikes ARE Traffic…"},"content":{"rendered":"

I recently noticed this sign, “BIKES MERGE WITH TRAFFIC”\u00a0 in Seattle’s International District:<\/p>\n

\"photo\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I remember the Critical Mass <\/a>cry, “We ARE traffic”…<\/p>\n

\"we<\/a><\/p>\n

There shouldn’t be a debate about whether bikes qualify as legitimate traffic; we really are legal traffic<\/a> in Washington State.<\/p>\n

And, while some bicyclists do occasionally block other traffic to make a point (which is usually illegal<\/a>), bicyclists are also the best traffic to have on the road– no matter who your are.<\/p>\n

Why? Because motorists pretty much always block other motorists.\u00a0 On my ride in this morning I noticed motorized traffic blocking not only other motorized traffic, but the bike lane as well.<\/p>\n

\"blocking\"<\/a><\/p>\n

As traffic, I rode outside of the bike lane (which is legal in Washington<\/a>), and continued to the light (where I stopped and took this photo).<\/p>\n

I’m not sure what SDOT means with its “BIKE MERGE WITH TRAFFIC” sign, it seems to perpetuate the myth that we are not traffic.\u00a0 I like this sign<\/a> better:<\/p>\n

\"WeAreTraffic\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I recently noticed this sign, “BIKES MERGE WITH TRAFFIC”\u00a0 in Seattle’s International District: I remember the Critical Mass cry, “We ARE traffic”… There shouldn’t be a debate about whether bikes qualify as legitimate traffic; we really are legal traffic in Washington State. And, while some bicyclists do occasionally block other traffic to make a point […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-325","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bicycle-advocates"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t